The company names escape me at the moment, but you can be assured that they are "not" knowingly on this list.Which companies do that? Can you elaborate how it works?For example, there are now developers claiming they only use serial number copy protection, but then the copy protection ties itself to a particular CPU or other hardware.
Is the entire list accurate/cleared now? Thanks for all your work!
Here's how it works when a developer does this... They claim that all you need is a serial number or a keyfile. You download the installer, install the software, and everything works--just like they said. HOWEVER.....two years later, your hard drive crashes. You buy a new hard drive, and reinstall your OS and your DAW. You still have your backup of the installer software and your serial/keyfile. You think you are all set. Unfortunately, the company went out of business or discontinued the product and there is no support for it. Your Installer tries to download the files from the vendor's site, but can't--the company is gone.
Here's another scenario... The company tells you that all you need is a serial number or keyfile to use their software. Everything is working great until the cat swishes it's tail and knocks a drink over onto your laptop. Unfortunately, even drying the laptop in rice doesn't help, and the liquid has damaged your laptop. Your laptop costs more to fix than it would to buy a new one. You buy a new one, and then go to install your plugin software. Fortunately, you backed up your installer and your serial number or keyfile. You happily pull your plugin installer and serial or keyfile off your backup drive thinking everything is going to be OK. Unfortunately, your software won't authenticate. You talk to others who have had similar problems and find out that the software tied itself to the CPU of your old laptop to avoid there being too many installs. No problem, you think, I'll just go get the device unregistered and get my new device registered. You go to the company' web page, only to find that the web page is gone and the company along with it.
These are just a few scenarios where even if the company told you that it uses serial number or keyfile protection, you could still be screwed. In these cases, even if you used a serial number or keyfile, you'd be just as out of luck as would a person who used challenge/response copy protection.
The ONLY way you can really confirm that your investment is safe, is by making sure that it meets all three of the criteria listed on the first post of this thread.
1. The copy protection must use either a serial number, a keyfile or a per user Watermark.
2. The copy protection must not tie itself to anything. For example, there are now developers claiming they only use serial number copy protection, but then the copy protection ties itself to a particular CPU or other hardware. Another example is having just a serial number, but the software has to download required files from the vendor site in order to run. This is just as bad as challenge/response authentication. The software should not restrict you to using only the one computer. If you buy a new computer, you should be able to use it without dealing with the company further.
3. The software should not require any form of calling home to authenticate or to obtain the plugin. In other words, if a company were to go out of business, you should be able to pull a copy of the software and serial number or keyfile off of your backup drive, and authenticate the software. Be wary of companies using a single installer for their entire lineup of products or of installers that have to download components from the vendor site to complete the install.
To answer your second question, "No." the entire list has not been guaranteed accurate or "cleared". This is a community effort. The list above contains companies that are known to have safe serial/keyfile protection. However, only a handful of the vendors have been contacted, and even less of them have replied. As I'm sure you know, vendors are less than happy to tell users what copy protection they use. It is as hard as pulling teeth to dig each specific part of the information out of them, to determine if each of the three criteria have been met or not. Those vendors that most care about their honest customers will answer truthfully, because they don't want their customers to have to jump through more metaphorical hoops than the pirates do. The honest shouldn't be punished for being honest. It shouldn't be a pain to authenticate your software, and you should be able to authenticate even if the company is gone.
So, to be clear, nothing is guaranteed. I try to be overly cautious and not list vendors if it appears that one of the criteria may not be met. I have been wrong and not listed perfectly fine vendors, but I figure people who want to buy their software unencumbered by bad copy protection will understand and prefer that I make a mistake in not listing a vendor, rather than making a mistake the other way, and someone buys a plugin that turns out to not meet the criteria.
I invite all who find a plugin vendor or application vendor that meets the criteria to mention it in the thread. Likewise, if you question one of the vendors in the list and think it shouldn't be there, I would really like to know about it. Furthermore, I would like to extend my hand out to developers and vendors that would like to be on the list. If your software meets the criteria listed in the first post and you'd like to be listed, I would happily encourage you to let m know!
This is a community effort. That is the only way this can work for the benefit of all.
Statistics: Posted by audiojunkie — Fri Sep 06, 2024 10:43 pm