Computer ID

cjohnson

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 21, 2006
Messages
63
Location
WV
Programming Experience
1-3
Hi Everyone,
I am writing a program that I want to copy-protect. I need to retrieve some kind of computer ID. I have read what I can on the net, but can not find a suitable solution. It does not need to be incredibly secure. The idea is that the program is not intended for advanced computer users, and needs to be protected from simple sharing. I am on a tight timeline, so any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris
 
Hey cjohnson,

We had to do something similar, I started by trying to obtain a computer specific fingerprint from serial etc.. We then got them to activate the product with a product key using a simple php script and mysql database online. However for simple sharing, I wouldn't worry about making the fingerprint computer hardware specific, just a permanent registry key (so it sticks around post uninstall) would do, make it a long random string.
 
You can try the following code for retrieving Motherboard serial number:
VB.NET:
[LEFT][COLOR=blue][FONT='Courier New']Public[/FONT][/COLOR][FONT='Courier New'] [COLOR=blue]Function[/COLOR] GetMotherboardSerialNumber() [COLOR=blue]As[/COLOR] [COLOR=blue]String[/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT='Courier New']        [COLOR=blue]Dim[/COLOR] searcher [COLOR=blue]As[/COLOR] [COLOR=blue]New[/COLOR] System.Management.ManagementObjectSearcher([COLOR=maroon]"SELECT SerialNumber FROM Win32_BaseBoard"[/COLOR])[/FONT]
[FONT='Courier New'] [/FONT]
[FONT='Courier New']        [COLOR=blue]For[/COLOR] [COLOR=blue]Each[/COLOR] obj [COLOR=blue]As[/COLOR] System.Management.ManagementObject [COLOR=blue]In[/COLOR] searcher.Get[/FONT]
[FONT='Courier New']            [COLOR=blue]Return[/COLOR] obj.Properties([COLOR=maroon]"SerialNumber"[/COLOR]).Value.ToString[/FONT]
[FONT='Courier New']        [COLOR=blue]Next[/COLOR][/FONT]
[COLOR=blue][FONT='Courier New'] [/FONT][/COLOR]
[FONT='Courier New']        [COLOR=blue]Return[/COLOR] [COLOR=blue]String[/COLOR].Empty[/FONT][/LEFT]
[FONT='Courier New']    [COLOR=blue]End[/COLOR] [COLOR=blue]Function[/COLOR][/FONT]
By the way, by changing the couple of "SerialNumber" to "Product", you can retrieve Motherboard name.
 
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