Machine Locking Considerations

Developing Applications Using The SoftwareShield System > Deploying Licensed Software > Machine Locking Considerations

## Machine Locking Considerations

One of the most important considerations when designing and deploying your license is deciding if you should use a FingerPrint with your Authorization Definitions.

Finger Printing (or Machine Locking) ensures that Activation Codes you generate will not work on any system for which the code was not specifically generated. Note that once you enable Copy Protection in a SoftwareShield License, Machine Locking is automatically enabled. This means that once your client purchases a finger printed version of the software from you, the Activation Codes you provide them, which work on their system, will not work on any other system. However, (depending on the options you set) this also means that if the customer gets a new hard-drive, or a new operating system, or changes some other aspect of their system on which you have based the FingerPrint, the Activation Code you provided them will not work and they may have to contact you to get a new one. These options are totally configurable to your required level of security, refer to: FingerPrinting Machine Locking in the Feature Guide for details on the specific flags available.

Many customers, especially commercial ones, are reluctant to purchase software that uses machine locking in this manner because of the frequent hardware changes they may make. On the other hand, some software is so narrowly targeted and so highly priced that losing a single copy of the software is a major consideration worth the added security and maintenance. Always weigh the tradeoff between security for you and usability by your customers. The exact options you use for a FingerPrint also directly impact the flexibility of the hardware binding. If you choose only one option (such as BIOS Version for example) the Activation Codes you issue will continue to function in the future, unless the users BIOS Version changes, no matter what other system changes take place. On the other hand, if you use all the options, Activation Codes will not work if almost anything changes, even the logged in user name. See FingerPrinting Machine Locking for details on all the possible options.