Ian & Stuart's Australian Mac 1993 September/September 93.iso/Archives/Comunications/network/Hacks/Net Hacking Apps List #4

Internet Message Format | 1993-08-19 | 14.4 KB | [TEXT/R*ch]

Date:  18/8/93 5:19 PM

To:  All

From:  Sysop

Subject:  Net Hacking Apps List #4


From: [e-mail] (Fred Morris)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Net Hacking Apps List #4
Date: 14 Aug 1993 23:24:36 -0700
Organization: Northwest Nexus Inc.

NETWORK SNOOPS,  14-AUG-1993,  Rev. 4

This is a list of Macintosh applications that take it upon themselves
to explore your network as an unrelated side effect of their operation.
I would have to agree that in principle this sort of licensing is better
than key disks or dongles; it also makes "n user" licensing schemes
possible.  What I don't like is that there doesn't seem to be much
standardization or information for people who need to debug their
networks or watch out for intrusions on them.

This list is based largely upon reports provided by others.  In some cases
they may be reporting symptoms that they simply have been unable to
attribute to any other cause and unable to resolve with the vendor.
In all cases, standard disclaimers apply;  these people are not
speaking for their employers, but rather providing information in the
highest and best use intended for usenet as a way to promote quality
software and to alert the community to potential problems. In spite
of the attributions you should consider the words mine. I apologize in
advance should I garble something or change its meaning far beyond
what was intended.

How do these apps do it?  The most common way seems to be to broadcast
a request to a published socket and create a listener for such messages
using the AppleTalk Name Binding Protocol (NBP), not necessarily in
that order.  Beyond that the details presumably vary widely.  Although
I know a lot about the Macintosh, I've never had the (dis)pleasure of
writing anything that needed to create or talk directly to AppleTalk
sockets, so maybe somebody else out there can help out.

I would like to see more information on *how* the serial numbers are
tracked: Are the serial numbers encoded into the distribution diskette
or entered at a registration screen?  Are the serial numbers written
on the distribution diskettes?  Can you obtain the serial number from
within the program?  does the alert that you see when  conflict is
detected give you any useful clues as to whom the other party might be?
Have you had to contact technical support with regard to the protection
scheme?  What was their reaction?  Were they helpful?
This information will assist people who have to manage groups of Macs
in gauging the hidden costs in installing and administering the
applications.

Some people have suggested using Apple's InterPoll to see who's creating
sockets. Or as a side effect, who's running what apps (if they're
doing this, they'll show up).  Trawl (available from some of the larger
ftp sites) will let you look at NBP names.

A suggestion was made to type in the serial number as the company name
when registering software that doesn't let you display the serial number.

For logistical and security reasons I can't test code submissions.

E-mail your additions, ratifications, corrections, rebuttals, etc to
me at [e-mail]. I will try to post an updated version of
this list once a month. My [totally gratuitous] comments are printed
inside of square brackets, as are the attributions.  Be forewarned that
your e-mail address will generally be listed as a reference;  I will
consider requests for anonymity, but I frown on it. This list is intended
to contain quality information, not unsubstantiated rumors.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

4TH DIMENSION
Upon startup, looks for itself.  If it finds another copy in use,
it exits and erases the licensing information; the checksum/key is
not built into the software, you enter it from the card that
comes with the distribution. [version 2.x, 3.x] 4D Net from Business
Network is able to display 4D's encoded serial # on the network as
the actual serial number so you can see who's using your copy if
that happens [Too bad ACIUS doesn't see fit to provide this utility.
Too bad the other companies in this list don't either].
    [Fred Morris <[e-mail]>]
    [Mike Cohen <[e-mail]>]
    [Steve Maser <[e-mail]>]

ADOBE TYPE MANAGER
Adobe Type Reunion is not network copy protected.
ATM only checks if the ATM Font Database is installed.
Multiuser licenses are exactly that: multi-user serial numbers
which allow n people to work on the same network with the same
serial number.  It's a matter of encoding the serial numbers.
[This is as close to "official information" as you're likely to see.
If you experience anything different than this, by all means contact
Adobe Technical Support]
    [Harrison Page <[e-mail]>]

CANVAS
When it starts up, looks for other running copies with the same
serial number. If it finds one, it just doesn't load any farther.
Once successfully launched it may be broadcasting its serial number
out on the net to any other system that asks for NBP lookups.
    [Bob Brickman [e-mail]]

CHEMDRAW
It will not lot you open the conflicting copy.
    [Toby J. Sommer <[e-mail]>]

CLARIS
[This is the official word from Claris. I will still list reports for
individual products where it looks like there may be a bug related to the
protection scheme.]
European versions of Claris products use Network serialization (this
serial number has nothing to do with the Registration number).
If the same copy is on two different machines in the network then only
one can be launched at a time. Attempting to launch the second will give
an error message saying that the maximum number of users of this
application has been exceeded.
Claris also offers a Concurrent User License (CUL), which does allow the
same copy to be launched multiple times but counts the number of launches
and when a preset limit is reached it will disallow any further attempts
to launch.
Further questions should be directed to Claris Customer Relations at
[phone], or via email to [e-mail].

CLARISWORKS
Copies purchased from a Swedish distributor contained enhanced network
protection.  This caused numerous problems,  finally culminating
in a situation where even separately-purchased copies could not
coexist on the network.  Serial numbers are not indicated on the disks.
    [Tuomas Eerola <[e-mail]>]
    [Stephen Cooper <[e-mail]>]

DATEBOOK PRO
Looks for same serial number, asks for new password if found.
    [Kenneth S. Williams <[e-mail]>]
    [Dale LaFountain <[e-mail]>]

DAYMAKER
Daymaker, the personal calendar program from Pastel, will check the network
for other copies with the same serial number.  If it finds one the second
copy will refuse to run.
    [Kyle Barger [e-mail]]

DISK EXPRESS, DISK EXPRESS II
Will not run the control panel if a copy is running. The serial numbers
are encoded into the distribution disks.
    [Michael Dautermann <[e-mail]>]
    [Michael Roman <[e-mail]>]
    [Scott Sutherland <[e-mail]>]

EXPRESSIONIST
Versions 3.0 and above.
    [Mark Borrie <[e-mail]>]

FILEGUARD
    [Gunner Cal <[e-mail]>]

FILEMAKER PRO
Refuses to run if duplicate copy detected. U.S. version not copy protected.
    [Jens Paulsen <[e-mail]>]
    [    <[e-mail]>]

FRAMEMAKER
Refuses to run if a duplicate copy is detected.
    [Fabrizio Grandoni <[e-mail]>]

FREEHAND
Version 3.1 checks on startup and printing for duplicate serial
numbers, and bails if it finds any.
    [Dale LaFountain <[e-mail]>]

JMP
There is a version of this software that uses AppleTalk to implement
"N User" pricing.  You pay for n users, and if there are n users
concurrently using it the n+1 user can't run the software.The single-user
version of JMP does no network checking whatsoever. The
first time you run it, it asks you to "personalize" your copy by entering
your name and organization. After that, it just checks at launch that this
info hasn't been munged.
The number is encoded on the diskette. The serial numbers are [also] on
a piece of paper in the package. But since they're already encoded
on the disk, you don't have to type them in when you configure it.
"About JMP" will tell you the serial number, the name of your network
administrator, your organization, the number of copies you're licensed for,
and which user of that number you are (ie: 5 of 20).
Displays a dialog with a scrolling list of "<user> in <zone>" for
all the current users. Text in the dialog explains the situation and what
can be done about it. There's a "Quit" button and a "Try Again" button--if
you can get someone else to quit, you can then click "Try Again" to have it
let you in. [..and if you experience any other behavior, contact technical
support..]
    [Michael P. Hecht <[e-mail]>]

MATHEMATICA
Apparently Wolfram [the vendor] can provide a version which is
is configured to allow multiple users [up to a limit] running the same
serial number.  But only on request.  One report of interaction with
HP LaserJet 4 naming, i.e. the LJ4 responding when the software
looks for itself, causing the application to quit.
    [Reid M. Pinchback [e-mail]]
    [Dean Shough <[e-mail]>]

NFS/SHARE
Checks over internet, not appletalk. The way this one works is that a
software key is printed on the front of the install disk, which
the user is prompted to enter the first time the NFS/Share init
starts up. The init itself is the same on every disk, but uses
some kind of "public key" system to check that the software key you
entered was valid, so that if the same key were entered for
somewhere else's copy, it would still work.
NFS/Share uses TCP/IP protocol to make the mac an NFS client, and
checks the local IP subnet for other copies of NFS/Share which
were initialized with the same key. This means that you could
have multiple copies running if you put each one on a separate
subnet. One person reporting a corrupted distribution said that
Intercon tried their best to remedy the problem.
    [Amanda Walker <[e-mail]>]
    [Jim Glidewell <[e-mail]>]
    [Ebbe Petersen <[e-mail]>]
    [Niles D. Ritter <[e-mail]>]

PAGEMAKER
Version 4.x.  [No U.S. reports]
    [Tuomas Eerola <[e-mail]>]
    [Jens Paulsen <[e-mail]>]

PANORAMA
Panorama II vers 2.1.0
Appears to check only when launched.  If it finds another copy
with the same serial number running, it diplays a dialog box with
the user names and quits the program.  It appears only to check
when you first launch the program.  If you quit the program, if another
person launches the same serial numbered version, it will still stop
them and show them your machine as a user. May set some flag at launch time
and the flag is not reset until you restart your mac.
    [ken <[e-mail]>]


PHOTOSHOP
Photoshop v 1.x did not check the network.  Version 2.x does.  Somebody
may have a hack that traps attempts by the application to register itself.
The application should tell you who the other user is before it quits.
The i.d. number is entered by hand and is not hard-coded onto the
distribution diskettes, so it is possible to install multiple copies from
the same master disks [as long as you type in different i.d.s].
Possibly only a single zone [is checked].  It may check before printing
as well as at startup. Does it give increasingly frequent messages alerting
you to the fact that other copies with the same serial
number are running on the network until it eventually quits? [this is disputed]
One report that a mis-entered registration number worked under 2.0, then
worked for a while under 2.01, then quit.
    [Dale B. LaFountain <[e-mail]>]
    [William Moss <[e-mail]>]
    [<[e-mail]>]
    [Mike Swartzbeck <[e-mail]>]
    [Elliotte Harold <[e-mail]>]

QUARK EXPRESS
Checks all available zones;  may check both at startup and before printing.
It should just refuse to run if it finds itself. [One report that Quark
was crashing the *other* machine when it detected a duplicate i.d.;
this was probably an interaction with an an INIT] Version 3.0 [and
probably others]. To find out the serial number; press option key
while chosing About QX under the Apple.
    [Gordon Etches personal communication]
    [[e-mail]]
    [[e-mail]]
    [Mike Swartzbeck <[e-mail]>]
    [Bart Jones <[e-mail]>]
    [Dale B. LaFountain <[e-mail]>]
    [Elliotte Harold <[e-mail]>]

RAGTIME
Version 3.1
    [Jens Paulsen <[e-mail]>]

SOFTPC
Probably the whole SoftPC family.  Use a code string included (as text)
in the package (not on the disk, though you are intended to stick
them on the disk).  The code string maps to a triple of serial number,
license type (e.g SoftPC Pro, SoftPC Universal...), and number of
licenses.  The number of licenses and the serial number are available
from the about box. If you try to run more copies than you have
licenses, the last one you launch will refuse to run.
    [David Schenfeld <[e-mail]>]
    [Matthew T. Russotto <[e-mail]>]

STUFFIT DELUXE
Version 3.  Won't run if it finds itself.
    [Eben King <[e-mail]>]
    [David Richardson <[e-mail]>]

TCPACK
May occasionally report that the copy is in use when it is not.
    [Tim Hammett <[e-mail]>]

TIMBUKTU
Timbuktu won't run if there are other copies with the same serial number.
It creates two sockets; one for communication with other machines running
Timbuktu;  the second socket is presumably used solely for protection
checking. You have to enter the serial number as part of registration.
    [Bob Brickman <[e-mail]>]
    [Tim Hammett <[e-mail]>]
    [Matthew T. Russotto <[e-mail]>]

TOPS
Creates a Top2Serial socket [presumably in addition to whatever it
sets up for file sharing].
    [Eric Aubourg <[e-mail]>]

TOUCHBASE PRO
Looks for same serial number, asks for new password if found.
    [Kenneth S. Williams <[e-mail]>]
    [Dale LaFountain <[e-mail]>]

UP-TO-DATE
Now Up-To-Date calendar application will not allow two copies with
the same serial # to talk to the same server. The second copy to load
gives a "serial number in use" and quits.
    [Tom Bickle <[e-mail]>]