Copy Protect Your Software with CopyMetric
CopyMetric is a web-based automatic software registration and update system
that automates registration of Windows applications, software
metering, copy protection and installation of updates, or patches,
released by application developers.
It can be also used as a licensing control tool (or license
manager) where specialized software is provided to a limited number of
users, e.g. on a subscription basis.
Automatic Software Registration
The benefits of automatic software registration via the internet, without
user interaction, are:
- Each copy of your software product is allocated a unique
registration number.
- You know exactly how many copies of your software are
installed, where (locale code, time zone, IP address
and, if available, organization/owner of the computer system) and how
regularly each copy is used.
- You can view various usage statistics, including the
number of hits per day and the proportion of copies used on different operating
systems.
- If your software comes with a serial number, you can choose whether
multiple copies per serial number are allowed.
- You can deny access to your software and display purchasing instructions if
it was installed illegally or reinstalled on another computer under the same
serial number (copy protection).
- Automatic software registration can be a cost-effective alternative to
installation CD's and dongles.
- You can make trial copies of your software available for download from your
website ("try before you buy" marketing) and
activate them remotely as soon as payment is received.
- You can turn on/off certain features remotely.
- You can enhance your software with the ability to upload
diagnostics data.
- You can publish version updates.
Updates
The update process involves creation of package files with CopyMetric
Package Builder. The package files are uploaded to the web server for
distribution.
Every time your software product is used, CopyMetric checks for updates for
this product. If updates are available, the user is offered to install them. In
addition, the user can see the details of each update, including description,
size and modification date, and select which updates need to be installed.
The installation replaces application files with the newer versions
contained in the package. Replacing of running .exe and .dll files requires a
system restart at the end of the installation.
Additional tasks, such as changes to the registry or configuring desktop
shortcuts, for example, can be performed by running scripts or setup files
built into the package. CopyMetric does not have its own scripting language. It
simply delivers the required files to the target system and, if necessary, runs
some of the files.
Integration
CopyMetric can be integrated into a Windows application to automatically
register each copy of the software on the developer's website as it is used.
This is achieved by adding a DLL function call to the initialization code of
the application. Most of the time, CopyMetric remains inconspicuous to the
user, only checking the registration status and updating the usage statistics.
When one or more updates become available to download, CopyMetric notifies
the user and offers to install the updates. This is usually done by displaying
a taskbar icon with a 'balloon', just like the one below. Normally, the
application icon is used unless a different icon is specified.
The following screenshots were produced for an imaginary application
TaxMaster 5. The icons and the text displayed in the Update window will vary
depending on the application that CopyMetric is integrated into and the
contents of updates.
|
