Northcode SWF studio questions

[patez]

Hello,

I am new to SWF studio from Northcode and this is something I would like to find out:

(1) The expiration feature allow you to disable the exe on a certain date. My question is, how can you unlock it? Let's say I am creating this exe which user can purchase and use with an registration code. What is the best strategy to do this? (and by the way what is the best way to handle reg codes like this?)

(2) I understand that ultimately, swf files can be extracted from exe's very easily and that the best thing to do is simply not to create it as a Flash swf file? Or use director? Or C++? So may be my first question is just being stupid?

If someone has experience with such issue please let me know. Appreciate your help.

[Northcode]

1. The expiration feature in SWF Studio doesn't allow the projector to be unlocked. It's a one way operation.

2. You'll have the same protection problems because the SWF ultimately has to be extracted to be played, then it becomes vulnerable.

I've been working on a good way to add registration features to SWF Studio, to expand on the expiration feature.

I'm also experimenting with various methodds to stop an SWF from being played if extracted from SWF Studio.

[jamesbooth97]

Why not have SWF Studio set a varible when it first opens up, then have a frame check to see if the varible is "true", if so play, otherwise, go to frame 1 an stop. Then the swf could only be played in SWF STUDIO I would think. Haven't tried it, but should doable.

[Northcode]

That would be too easy to circumvent with all the tools available to reverse engineer SWF files. My idea is more solid and won't require the user to modify their SWF (I hope).

[patez]

Northcode,

Thanks for the replay. Actually we have been very interested in SWFstudio and definitely looking forward to buying it.

One (pretty silly) suggestion is to have a compression/encrption scheme only known to SWFstudio to compression the SWF files. But then of course since it will be extracted anyway, someone persistant enough would still be able to get what they want (from the memory??)

But then there is the question of .... what kind of top secret are you producing that require that kind of security... all software can be cracked anyway....

[jamesbooth97]

Patez, I would do more than look forward to it, buy it. It is extremely powerful, and does everything flash can't. I have purchased and tried a lot of the other tools, but this one is great. It is such a fantastic compliment to flash, and for the first time in years, I have a relatively simple tool to develop in (flash) and a simple tool to add the complex power (SWF STUDIO) I need to develop complex training modules on cdrom and track student progress and test results. I can play audio/video files (reliably), send emails, store/retrieve data to the users hard drive (whereever the user wants to store it or where YOU want to store it), eliminate the annoying right click, add my your own icon, center the project on the screen, resize it to fit the desktop, or ask the user to resize his desktop, what ever... plus a whole bunch of other stuff. If you are considering distribution flash on cdrom as a flash exe, then you really need this product.

[Northcode]

>what kind of top secret are you producing that require >that kind of security... all software can be cracked
>anyway....

With all the tools out there to read and modify the SWF format it's getting easy for ANYONE to hack an SWF file without too much work.

The professional hackers or thieves will eventually get what they want and there's nothing I can really do about that.

The whole idea of adding security is to keep the honest people honest and discourage the average hacker and the dumb thieves with good tools.

I want SWF Studio to provide Flash developers with a modest amount of protecttion for their hard work so they can give out demos to clients without getting ripped off.

[patez]

Thanks for the reply, and if someone ask me for a Flash 6 wish list, my number one wish is more security. Better yet to allow Flash 6 to export to an offline non-open format (not swf). or to allow encrpytion scheme. so I can write my rocket science software to nuke unfriendly countries...

Better yet to see SWFstudio as an integrated part of Flash 6... just my foolish suggestion. will that be a possibility?

[Northcode]

Better yet to see SWFstudio as an integrated part of Flash 6... just my foolish suggestion. will that be a possibility?

You'll have to talk to MM about that one. Sounds good to me though