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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!lll-crg!dual!ptsfa!ptsfb!che
From: che@ptsfb.UUCP (Mitch Che)
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc,net.micro
Subject: Re: Re: software protection - dongles & other gizmos
Message-ID: <208@ptsfb.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Aug-85 15:27:52 EDT
Article-I.D.: ptsfb.208
Posted: Thu Aug  8 15:27:52 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 12-Aug-85 04:21:07 EDT
References: <433@othervax.UUCP> <1775@ecsvax.UUCP> <590@psivax.UUCP> <250@sesame.UUCP>
Reply-To: che@ptsfb.UUCP (Mitch Che)
Organization: Pacific Bell, San Francisco
Lines: 27
Xref: linus net.micro.pc:4625 net.micro:10169

In article <250@sesame.UUCP> slerner@sesame.UUCP (Simcha-Yitzchak Lerner) writes:
>A previous posting brought up the patching issue again.  As previously
>stated, if complex program routines are executed in the key and not
>in the host CPU, patching will cause the software to malfunction.
>You say that you can reverse engineer the routines?  Even when their
>are several random dummy paramaters going in and out?  Even when the
>routine varies by a state machine?  [FLAME OFF]

Hmm, still doesn't take care of the "black box" boys who hang a
passive, intelligent device onto the RS-232 and monitor the data stream. I
expect to see a hardware product in about 90 days of the first
software package protected by a dongle.  Yes, you can make the dongle-
software interaction extremely sophisticated, but stable?  At $5.00 a
dongle?  Gee, if you attach a dongle consisting of a CRAY-2 to the
RS-232 port, I'd bet it would be almost unbreakable... Unless I had
a CRAY too.  The possibilities are astounding.  Dongle Wars - The
Movie...



-- 
Mitch Che
Pacific Bell
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