10 reasons for using CodeMeter
In a world where product piracy is becoming ever more prevalent, full protection against piracy, reverse engineering and manipulation is a must for a company’s survival. Intelligent license management systems also help to boost business turnover and cut costs. This article explains the 10 most important reasons why Wibu-Systems is the right partner in all of these areas.
1. Global Player
Wibu-Systems has been offering secure hardware and software protection solutions for programs, documentation and media since 1989. With headquarters in Karlsruhe, Germany, and branch offices in the USA, China, the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Spain, the company is one of the two leading global suppliers of software protection and licensing solutions. Many years of experience and technological leadership make us a competent and reliable partner for small and medium-sized companies. Our ownership of a large number of international patents means customers can be sure our solutions are correctly implemented in their programs. Wibu-Systems undertakes ongoing research into market needs and technological advances to make our customers’ systems even more resilient and secure. To this end we collaborate with universities and research institutes to develop the security concepts and solutions of tomorrow.
2. In-house R&D to the highest security standards
In the ever-changing world of IT, it is essential for software vendors to stay one step ahead of professional and well-organized hacker teams. Often used homegrown solutions are no longer able to fulfil this important demand of protection. Even commercially available products are sometimes incapable of protecting software from hackers.
The well-established camouflage and deception techniques in informational warfare can be directly deployed to protect software from potential hackers. Wibu-Systems combines its own innovative deception techniques with internationally recognized standards such as AES and ECC encryption to optimally fulfil this demand. The security of its products has been successfully demonstrated at various hacker contests around the world.
3. Scalable solutions under one umbrella
All available CodeMeter products share a common construction type and have identical functionality. They are integrated into the customer’s software via a standard API. This method is also used by CmActLicense. In this case time- limited licenses must be used which can be managed via the network.
Regardless of whether a customer prefers a hardware dongle or a soft license, the integration procedure and functionality are the same. It is even possible to use both methods in a single application. This means customers can adapt their license models at any time to regional market needs without modifying their applications. A standard concept helps software vendors familiarize themselves more quickly with the look and feel of the product, and hence lowers the cost of investment.
4. Comprehensive license management
A major benefit of the Wibu-System concept is that it allows a wide range of flexible licenses to be deployed in a variety of situations. Licenses can be generated in either a dongle or a license file. In the latter case the license is then tied to a specific computer. License types range from single-user or network licenses through time limited “pay per use” licenses to “feature on demand” concepts which allow modules to be combined as required.
5. Back-office integration
One of the most important aspects beside the actual protection of the application is the management of the licenses used by persons operating the protected application. To this end Wibu-Systems provides its customers with a powerful database tool called CodeMeter License Central. This is a unified solution for sales, product management and shipment. The real benefit of CodeMeter License Central lies in its flexible integration into exisiting ERP and shop systems using special connectors. It only then requires a gateway to directly activate the licenses via the Internet.
6. Investment security for customers
Anyone investing in the protection of their software wants to be sure their investment is sustainable and adaptable to future needs. Customers often need to quickly adapt their licensing strategies to deal with new technical requirements or changes in the market. Solutions from Wibu-Systems are downward compatible and licenses are easily updated on or offline via a remote file. No expensive or time-consuming replacement of hardware is necessary. Because the firmware can be updated, new functionality can be added at any time to hardware already in use.
7. The right type of construction
No matter how the product is used, Wibu-Systems has the right hardware solution. The classic CmStick comes in a plastic or precious metal housing and connects to the USB port. Options include a high quality industrial flash memory card and a battery-backed clock in addition to the standard internal clock. Our latest product highlight is the extremely small and compact CmStick/C which only protrudes a few millimeters from the USB port. Suitable construction types are also available for compact flash, PC card, express card, secure digital and microSD interfaces, all of which deploy Wibu’s tried and tested protection technology. The CmStick/I and CmASIC chip have been designed for use in embedded systems and are therefore easily integrated into a hardware environment.
8. Multi-platform support during development
Wibu-Systems protection solutions cover a wide range of operating systems. Regardless of whether the protected software runs on Windows 32/64 bit or .NET, Linux 32/64 bit or Mac OS, the API used to integrate the Wibu solution into the customer’s software is always the same. Wibu-Systems’ security and license features have been fully integrated into the CoDeSys V3.5 development environment which is used to develop programmable controllers for embedded systems. Software protection and licensing solutions are also available for VxWorks and Windows CE.
9. Straightforward integration and user-specific GUIs
A central development environment with an extensive Help function and many useful examples exists for the integration of all Wibu-Systems products into customer products. AxProtector quickly and simply protects programs without needing to access the source code. Customer-specific solutions with special security and licensing needs should use IxProtector. This tool allows parts of the program to be encrypted. The flexible design of user dialogs is of significant benefit to customers as they allow individualised information and error messages to be displayed in the protected software application.
10. Services
Wibu-Systems’ product range is supplemented by a wide assortment of business services to ensure products are optimally deployed in tailor-made systems. Prior to purchase, our team of security experts are at hand to help you design the right concept. Our Professional Services team help to adapt the solution to your special needs. The Training Services team are skilled specialists with a wealth of practical knowledge to support the implementation of the software protection and licensing strategy chosen by the customer. Make sure you benefit from our knowledge and experience, and save yourself time and money with the implementation. And for your end users, Support Services is there to give quick and comprehensive assistance whenever needed. You may also be interested in using our Wibu Operating Services to host your CodeMeter License Central in the secure Wibu Cloud.
KEYnote 23 – Edition Spring 2012