Stumbled upon, better software protection . . . .

[codewalker]

Hi to all,

Yesterday I stumbled upon a website promoting an interesting way
of protecting software against piracy, reverse engineering, etc. etc.

http://www.oreans.com/index.php

http://www.oreans.com/themida_features.php

http://www.oreans.com/themida.php

Prices are 149 and 49 euro

Does anyone know of this oreans company ?

They sure make some impression.

greetings

[codewalker]

Hi about the Themida software protection,
i just found out that it ships with a SDK
for Purebasic !

greetings

[Rook Zimbabwe]

It looks like WinLicense is the real software protection package and at E349.00 that is far too much.

They have a very amatuerish website for a software company. It almost looks like a predefined framework. Several navigation methods are absent... or not thought of? I wonder what else they didnt think of!

[IdeasVacuum]

I have recently started using WinLicense. Too early for me to measure it's effectiveness out in the wild but I have no doubt that it is a good deterrent. The whole package is impressive, professional interface and good manual. I'm using it with PB apps and C apps/DLLs. It is possible to purchase just the protection features (SecureEngine, Themida) but WinLicense is the icing on the cake because it adds a nice customer/app database feature and if required you can code-up your own database app and build-in the WinLicense functions required. Possibly the most impressive feature is the technical support. The company is friendly and very active in trying to find a solution to your problems. I think I'll ask them for a winning lottery number next - wouldn't be surprised if they could deliver that too!

[c4s]

Well, it's just another software protection product that claims to have some super power features no other tool has...just google for common phrases that prove the opposite (just tested it, but won't let you know ) and you'll see that it isn't better at all.

Fact: Every software protection can and will be cracked!

[IdeasVacuum]

Fact: Every software protection can and will be cracked!

I beg to disagree 50% - all software protection can of course be cracked, but a lot of applications never are because the crackers have no interest in them or simply do not know they exist. Some of my work falls into the later category, where an app is written specifically for one customer - so the main protection I need to build into those is to prevent the customer from making extra copies without paying for them.

For publicly released apps, I think it is better to have some protection rather than none - I know the cracker 'teams' see that as a challenge but so be it. A good aspect of WinLicense is that (a) It's a constantly moving, improving target and (b) you can protect the same app in very different ways, so if v1.0.0.0 is cracked, they have to work all over again to crack v1.0.0.1. Crack protection requires some skill and forethought when applied, if the app developer does not take the time to do a good job with that regard then of course the protection will be weaker than it could be.

It's possible that my house could be burgled, even though the lock mechanism is the most highly rated by insurance companies. Of course, those locks can be defeated by clever burglars, but I'm not going to simply leave the door open and let them in easily.

[sphinx]

There is no absolute protection!

If I recall right, Themida protected app has been cracked but do not remember the link.

A similar protector called EXEcryptor claimed it can not be cracked and it never stand still.

Though they make it much harder for the casual user and harder for the cracker to copy your software.

[c4s]

It's possible that my house could be burgled, even though the lock mechanism is the most highly rated by insurance companies. Of course, those locks can be defeated by clever burglars, but I'm not going to simply leave the door open and let them in easily.

I think that isn't the best comparison because using a strong software protector that claims to be the best means that you also have a sign in front of your house saying: "hey burglars, you won't get into my house!".

If I recall right, Themida protected app has been cracked but do not remember the link.

As I already said it is very (!) easy to find it. In fact you just have to type the name and the phrases you would need are auto-suggested by google...

[TomS]

I think that isn't the best comparison because using a strong software protector that claims to be the best means that you also have a sign in front of your house saying: "hey burglars, you won't get into my house!".

In fact it means that you're selling chest and claim that they can never be opened without the individual key.
But any cracker can buy or borrow a chest and can do whatever he wants with it in the private of his own house.
No police, no neighbours and not you will ever know, someone tried to crack the chest. Unlike a burglar who's breaking in your house.

[IdeasVacuum]

using a strong software protector that claims to be the best means that you also have a sign in front of your house saying: "hey burglars, you won't get into my house!"

No, it doesn't - there is no indication on my apps about any form of protection, just as there isn't a sign on my house about the door locks. So, in both cases, the bad guys have to take a chance. Just because they can does not mean that the good guys have to lose - I have had one-on-ones with some very very dangerous people, but I'm still here to tell you about it and they are not.

[utopiomania]

Fact: Every software protection can and will be cracked!

It's like pushing a button and the above pops-up, only almost none of them can
crack anything, when you use a protector like that.

This company has a lot going for it, the poster I quoted has not, so just don't
believe in what they say.

[c4s]

Fact: Every software protection can and will be cracked!

It's like pushing a button and the above pops-up

Yeah, you can't beat down the truth.

This company has a lot going for it so just don't believe in what they say.

I'm not going to explain my point to you, instead I give you a scenario:
Software is protected with this protection -> cracker either is good enough and knows how to deal with it or searches for tutorials and existing unpackers -> finds them -> uses them...so where is the difference?

If just one system would hold its promise of being the best uncrackable protection there would be so much of them, right?

[IdeasVacuum]

If just one system would hold its promise of being the best uncrackable protection there would be so much of them, right?

If your logic is correct then there would be only one database, one word processor, one spreadsheet............. and we can all pack our bags and move to a different profession.

Asides from protection software, it's not uncommon for developers/vendors to claim that theirs is the best - and since there are so many parameters, the claims of many competitor products can all be true. If you have a conversation with a group of car enthusiasts, each one of them has an explanation as to why his/her 'baby' is better than the others.