Ok, I'm gonna post this suggestion here, since for some reason I can't post in the vb3 suggestion forum anymore since the upgrade...
But I've been thinking on the anti-piracy issue for a while and think I've found a solution which will work 100%!
So why is this waterproof? You can remove the license-code or change it right?
True, but:
So either way: a piracy-checker can see if it's a valid license or not!
Ofcourse this isn't a routine which automaticly will detect every pirated version, but it enables everyone to check the validity of that board/license. As long as I've not overlooked one flaw I think this is a 100% solid way of checking if a board is pirated...
But I've been thinking on the anti-piracy issue for a while and think I've found a solution which will work 100%!
- First every vbulletin version a user downloads from the members-area will contain the license-number of his license. Either in the code itself, it will be saved in the database or in a separate file, it doesn't matter as long as it is somewhere.
- In the forum-footer there will be a link (next to the jelsoft copyright for example) which will say: 'check if licensed'
- when you click on this link the license-number and the domain where the forum is hosted will be send to a form on vbulletin.com.
(maybe just the showing of the license-nr is better, since with a link pirates can change the link to another one and pretend it's a link to vbulletin if the user doesn't notice it. In that case the piracy-checker just copies the license-nr, the forum-link and the domain and fills it in the form) - this form will check the jelsoft-database on the license-nr/domain combination and can decide of this is a valid combination (ie: if the license is allowed to use this license for that domain).
- If it isn't: a piracy report will be send to the jelsoft-staff: these can take appropiate actions
- if it is: nothing will be done, the license is valid
So why is this waterproof? You can remove the license-code or change it right?
True, but:
- If you remove the license-code you violate the agreement/license (assuming the agreements will be changed on this matter)
- If you change the license-code the code will not match the domain
So either way: a piracy-checker can see if it's a valid license or not!
Ofcourse this isn't a routine which automaticly will detect every pirated version, but it enables everyone to check the validity of that board/license. As long as I've not overlooked one flaw I think this is a 100% solid way of checking if a board is pirated...
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