License System Security - Win32 Programmer's Reference

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License System Security

It is not possible to guarantee complete protection against the unauthorized use of software. A licensed application is only as secure as the steps the software publisher takes to prevent code modifications that could result in bypassing license requirements. However, if you incorporate the License Service Application Programming Interface (LSAPI) functions in your application, you can deter license system tampering and reveal when tampering occurs. The measure of security the LSAPI functions provide is not tamperproof, but intruders must use an overt act of programming to compromise it.

Much of the security provided by the LSAPI functions is accomplished by including a challenge/response protocol in the calls to the LSAPI functions. The purpose of the protocol is to ensure that a valid license is present. It provides a reasonably reliable way for both the license system and the application to verify that the other has an identical secret value. Applications can use the protocol to authenticate both the license and the path from the application to the license.

The LSAPI functions use the MD4 Message-Digest Algorithm from RSA Data Security, Inc., to meet basic LSAPI security goals. This algorithm does not require patented cryptographic techniques. Knowledge of the algorithm neither compromises the secrets the application passes through it, nor the level of security the LSAPI offers. If you use a more complex challenge/response algorithm, it may not raise the level of security, and if you use a more sophisticated challenge/response protocol, all license systems may not support it. Maintaining the privacy of the shared secret values, however, is essential to the reliability of the LSAPI security protocol.

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