ramon
June 28th, 2002, 10:38
Software guards could help fight piracy 
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posted 8:49am EST Thu Jun 27 2002 - submitted by Matthew
NEWS
Researchers at Purdue University have created a new piracy deterrent in the form of software guards. These guards are very small programs that run within a piece of software, performing a number of different tasks to help maintain the integrity and security of the software in which they are embedded. The amount of guards a piece of software has can range from a handful to hundreds, all performing different tasks and placed in different areas of the software.
Pirates usually bypass software security and then produce key generators or patches that allow other copies of the software to be cracked as well. If software guards were used then the pirate would have to bypass each one before the software was accessible. This is made even more difficult because guards can be set to look at certain areas of code, and if the code has changed from what the guards know it should be they can change it back, creating a form of self healing software. This means a pirate could bypass a single guard, continue to the next guard, and return to find that the guard has fixed his earlier work. If there are hundreds of guards implemented in a piece of software it would be an uphill struggle for even the most determined pirate.
The guards are being programmed to undertake tasks that include obfuscation, encryption, check summing, anti-debugging, and anti-emulation, allowing a piece of software to be resilient against a whole range of attacks, but with the added security of a distributed defense. Each guard is very small in terms of program size, and their use of resources is minimal.
The technology has created an offshoot company called Arxan Technologies, which is currently in the testing stages with the system on the Windows platform. The end product will be marketed for software vendors, games publishers, and governments initially.
PS: UUoooooOuuhhhhhhhh another good challenge !!!!
Ramon
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posted 8:49am EST Thu Jun 27 2002 - submitted by Matthew
NEWS
Researchers at Purdue University have created a new piracy deterrent in the form of software guards. These guards are very small programs that run within a piece of software, performing a number of different tasks to help maintain the integrity and security of the software in which they are embedded. The amount of guards a piece of software has can range from a handful to hundreds, all performing different tasks and placed in different areas of the software.
Pirates usually bypass software security and then produce key generators or patches that allow other copies of the software to be cracked as well. If software guards were used then the pirate would have to bypass each one before the software was accessible. This is made even more difficult because guards can be set to look at certain areas of code, and if the code has changed from what the guards know it should be they can change it back, creating a form of self healing software. This means a pirate could bypass a single guard, continue to the next guard, and return to find that the guard has fixed his earlier work. If there are hundreds of guards implemented in a piece of software it would be an uphill struggle for even the most determined pirate.
The guards are being programmed to undertake tasks that include obfuscation, encryption, check summing, anti-debugging, and anti-emulation, allowing a piece of software to be resilient against a whole range of attacks, but with the added security of a distributed defense. Each guard is very small in terms of program size, and their use of resources is minimal.
The technology has created an offshoot company called Arxan Technologies, which is currently in the testing stages with the system on the Windows platform. The end product will be marketed for software vendors, games publishers, and governments initially.
PS: UUoooooOuuhhhhhhhh another good challenge !!!!
Ramon
