Software protection with a binding at option

StarForce Universal is recommended to protect software distributed on optical media, flash cards and over the Internet against such threats as illegal copying, piracy, unauthorized use, hacking, analysis and reverse engineering.

StarForce Universal comprises all the features that are available in StarForce Disc and StarForce ProActive products.

How StarForce Universal works

After an application has been protected on StarForce Server, its code has some modification that prevents the software from running, unless two tests have been passed:

	Check for Licensing Compliance
	Authentication of the license. This includes the verification of the binding object: an object that is hard to imitate. The license is bound to this object at activation

The variant of authentication method depends on the chosen binding object.

StarForce Universal binding objects

Binding Object	Hot It Works	Use
Personal computer	The application can run only on one specific computer. The protected application binds to the computer when you install or run the application for the first time. During the activation process, StarForce License Management Server collects the info on the computer parameters and associates it with the serial number to establish a binding. For subsequent runs the connection to StarForce License Management Server is not required.	This binding object is perfect for products that are planned to distribute over the Internet or on flash cards.
Optical media	The method of binding to a disс is based on the uniqueness of the geometric arrangement of sectors and the length of tracks within the same batch of discs. Depending on a chosen protection type, at first time you start the disc, it may become necessary to enter a disc key (protection CD-ROM / DVD-ROM) or the entering of a key is not required (CD-ROM / DVD-ROM Keyless protection and CD-R / DVD-R protection). The customer can choose needed type of disc check - constant or periodic. It means that the original disc should be inserted into the PC’s drive all the time or from time to time when an end user runs the application.	This binding object is perfect for products that are planned to distribute on optical discs.

The customer protects software once and then distributes it with one of two types of installer inside that provides binding to a disc or to a personal computer. Therefore, when an end user runs a protected application, it does not check the disc and the computer settings at the same time.

StarForce Universal benefits and features include all the benefits and features of the StarForce Disc and StarForce ProActive Pro products. The main StarForce Universal feature is protection of a single distributive that includes two distribution methods at the same time (on optical media and over the Internet).

StarForce Universal provides protection with two binding options: to optical discs and computer hardware. Even when a publisher plans to distribute software using a single media (e.g. on optical discs) there is a possibility that other distribution opportunities may come in handy (e.g. over the Internet). There are many examples of this kind. And every time it requires additional costs to prepare a distributive for new kind of distribution: search for original files and copyright changing, creation of a distributive with a new binding option and so on.

StarForce Universal simplifies this tedious process by enabling a publisher to create a new application installer that changes a type of binding in the operating system registry, or create and distribute a REG file for the same purpose.

Case Study: France

Micro Application

Micro Application is a French developer of multifunctional software. The company is engaged in production of applications for various purposes, including multimedia, educational, entertainment, and professional software.

Most of the company's products are distributed both on optical media (the customer replicates the discs on a certified plant in France) and via the Internet. Therefore, StarForce Universal has become an ideal solution for Micro Application because it provides protection for different distribution channels under one license. It helps to decrease OPEX for the French company.

Case Study: Russia

The Draughts Federation of Russia

The Draughts Federation of Russia each year updates the software, which contains a unique database with information about all the regional draughts federations, their members, as well as information about all the past tournaments with convenient search engine through the whole database. This application is distributed only among the members of the Draughts Federation of Russia.

Collection and structuring of such data is a labor-intensive activity, so in order to protect their work and to keep valuable info inside the community the Draughts Federation of Russia decided to use StarForce Universal. In this case, people who prefer physical media or do not have a continuous access to the Internet can use discs, and the rest can download the database from the site of the Federation. Serial number for them will be sent by e-mail.

Protection via StarForce Cloud

Protection by StarForce staff

StarForce offers the following chargeable services

Protection is performed by StarForce employees and may include:

	Protection with functions selection
	Protection without functions selection
	Protection with functions to be selected by the customer

Analysis of the protection performed by the customer.

Supported technologies

StarForce Universal supports the protection of the following file formats

	Applications compiled in a PE-file containing executable machine code (native code) for processors x8632 and x8664. These files usually have exe or dll extension
	Applications compiled into an .NET executable file (managed code). These files also usually have exe or dll extension
	Immutable data files of any format. During protection StarForce ProActive encrypts the content of data files and hides the files in containers

Please contact us if you need a consultation from our specialist.

General protection features of the product

	Protection of the application code against analysis		Ability to protect the internal variables and product functions against reverse engineering
	Protection of unlimited number of files		Data file protection
	Beta version and promotional copy protection		Patch and add-on protection
	Functionality restriction based on licensing mode		GUI customization
	Support of extended protection features available through the API using StarForce SDK		Ability to change binding type when building distribution package

Protection features with PC binding

Licensing options and settings

	Serial number expiration date		License start date
	License activation date (activate no later than…)		Periodic license confirmation
	Serial number regional settings		Maximum number of runs setting
	Continuous run setting		Serial number blacklisting

Serial number activation/generation statistics

	By date		By title
	By distribution channel		By serial number or batch
	Overall statistics		By countries
	Diagrams, tables and graphics of activations

Protection features with disc binding

Specific protection settings

	Disc emulation protection
	Application run time control by configured parameters (expiration date, total run time, number of runs)
	The use of different types of disc protection depending on such parameters as circulation, the manual disc key entering, replication methods: CD/DVD Protection It is best suited for software distributed in large batches on CD-ROM/DVD-ROM discs. Protected application requires a disc key (usually printed on a disc) for the first running. When a user starts a protected product, StarForce protection system checks the compliance of the inserted disk key to the physical parameters of the license disc. A customer can choose any plant where batches of protected discs will be produced CD/DVD Keyless Protection It is best suited for software distributed in large batches on CD-ROM/DVD-ROM discs. The main difference from StarForce Disc CD/DVD is that there is no need to enter a disk key. You just start a protected application by inserting a disc into the PC's drive. Authentication validation is performed automatically. It's very easy for an end-user. In this case only plants certified by StarForce can produce protected discs (certification procedure can be carried out specifically for a plant chosen by client) CD-R/DVD-R Protection It is best suited for software distributed in small batches on CD-R/DVD-R discs. In this case you can use special CD-R/DVD-R discs designed by StarForce. Such discs do not require any key, and authentication validation occurs automatically at the first start of a protected application. It is an ideal choice for short runs that can be burned at home or at the office

Supported optical storage media

	StarForce CD-Recordable (680 MB capability)		StarForce DVD-Recordable (4490 MB capability)
	CD-ROM (700 MB capability)		DVD-ROM-5 (4.7 GB capability) и DVD-ROM-9 (8.5 GB capability)

Supported operating systems

	Windows Vista 32/64-bit		Windows 7 32/64-bit
	Windows 8 32/64-bit		Windows 10 32/64-bit
	Windows Server 32/64-bit