Online Delivered USB License

This tutorial demonstrates how to implement USB License with the online delivery option. Specifically, you want to distribute your application online, and let the user make the USB License Key (dongle) by themselves using a USB flash drive.

 

Based on the settings used in this tutorial, the following describes how the user would experience the protected application.

 

·         The user must first start the provided Register utility for USB License and attach a USB flash drive to the computer.

·         The user selects the USB drive to make the USB License Key (dongle). The Registration and Activation dialog box appears.

·         If you license your application using the manual method, the user would need to contact you by email, phone, etc., and provide the Registration ID. Then, you can use LicenseKey Manager to generate the License Key to be returned to the user.

·         If you deploy the Activation Server and offer online activation for your application, the user can enter the received Activation Key to activate the license instantly.

·         The user can run the application on any computer with USB License Key attached to the computer. 

Protecting Applications

The following instructions use ElecKey Integrator (the shell protection method) to protect the application. The necessary settings are described below. However, you may change the options as you want.

 

Besides the shell protection method, you may also use the provided KeyCheck API (including the KeyCheck Class Library and the KeyCheck .NET Component) to protect your application, by specifying the same settings as described below.

To Protect an Application

1.       Run ElecKey Integrator. The wizard dialog box appears.

2.       In the Select Application License Type dialog, select USB License (Dongle).

3.       In the Select Integration Task dialog, select Protect Code and Enforce Licensing.

4.       In the Specify Protected Program dialog, specify your executable file name in the Original field. In the Target field, specify a different name for the protected executable file that will be created.

5.       In the Set Identification dialog, assign a Program ID in the Program ID field.

6.       In the Key Detection Method dialog, select Detect Stand-Alone Key.

7.       In the Set Options dialog, you can use the default settings.

8.       In the Customize Messages dialog, from the Dialog Box Style drop-down list, select the option with Auto-activation if you deploy the Activation Server and offer online activation to your application.

9.       Enable the Registration Dialog Box and click its Edit button.

10.    In the Registration Dialog Box Properties dialog box, click the USB Drive Selection Dialog tab, and enable the checkbox Enable USB Drive Selection Dialog Box.

11.    Click the Options tab, and enable the checkbox Enable the Register utility to make USB License Key (from a USB flash drive).

12.    In the Create End-User Utilities dialog, the needed end-user utilities for the implementation you have chosen are automatically checked.

13.    In the Summary dialog, review the action you have chosen. You may click the Save Template button to save your settings to a template file.

14.    Click the Integrate button. The protected version of your executable file and the end-user utility are created.

 

It is recommended that you save your unprotected executable file in a safe place. You can then rename the protected version to its original file name, and use it further to create a setup package and distribute your application to the user.

Distributing Protected Applications

To create a setup package and distribute your application, please ensure to include the protected version of your executable file and the ElecKey system files. For Win32/Win64/.NET applications, the following is the list of the needed system files:

 

·         Ekc3220.dll (in \Deploy\Win32App\KeyCheck\)

·         Ekc6420.dll (in \Deploy\Win64App\KeyCheck\)

·         Ekag20nt.exe (in \Deploy\Win32App\KeyCheck\)

·         Ekag6420.exe (in \Deploy\Win64App\KeyCheck\)

·         Register utility for USB License

 

The above system files must be placed in the same directory as the protected executable file. Depending on the features you have enabled, you may need additional system files. See the topic Protecting Windows Apps/Deployment for more details. 

Licensing Protected Applications

By implementing USB License with the online delivery option, before starting the application for the first time, the user must first start the Register utility for USB License to make the USB License Key (dongle). In addition, it is also possible to update license (e.g., upgrade features) to the USB License Key afterward using the Register utility.

To Make USB License Key

1.       Start the provided Register utility for USB License, and attach a USB flash drive to the computer

2.       Select the USB drive to make the USB License Key. The Registration and Activation dialog box appears.

3.       If you license your application using the manual method, the user would need to contact you by email, phone, etc., and provide the Registration ID. Then, you can use LicenseKey Manager to generate the License Key to be returned to the user.

4.       If you deploy the Activation Server and offer online activation to your application, the user can enter the received Activation Key to activate the license instantly.

To Update USB License Key

1.       Start the provided Register utility for USB License, and attach the USB License Key to the computer.

2.       Select the USB drive to update the USB License Key. Or, select Auto-detect. The Registration and Activation dialog box appears.

3.       If you license your application using the manual method, the user would need to contact you by email, phone, etc., and provide the Registration ID. Then, you can use LicenseKey Manager to generate the updated License Key to be returned to the user.

4.       If you deploy the Activation Server and offer online activation to your application, the user can enter the Activation Key to reactivate and update the license instantly.

To Generate License Key for Making/Updating USB License Key

1.       Run LicenseKey Manager.

2.       In the Main tab of the Key Properties pane, enter the Registration ID received from the user in the Registration ID field. Then, click the Check and get User License Status under the Check button.

3.       The Identification field shows the Key ID, Program ID, and flag decoded from the Registration ID.

4.       The message User License Status: shows the status. Not Registered means the USB License Key is new, which you can make the license remotely. Otherwise, the USB License Key is already made. The current license status is loaded in the Key Properties pane, which you can update the license.

5.       From the Implementation drop-down list:

·         Select Distribution if you want to generate the License Key that turns the application into the full version with no limit.

·         Select Evaluation if you want to generate the License Key that extends the trial period. You can then specify the Expired Date, Max-Day, and Max-Exec as you want.

6.       Click the Modules tab. In the Licensed Modules box, select the checkboxes of the modules you want to license to the full featured version.

7.       From the Note pane, you can enter notes about registration such as the user’s name, address, telephone, etc. in the Messages field.

8.       From the Email pane, you can enter the user’s email address in the Email Address field.

9.       Click the Key Properties pane. Then, click the Generate button. The License Key is shown in the License Key field. All registration information (including Registration ID, License Key, date, etc.) are automatically recorded in the Registration List pane.

10.    To send the License Key via email, click the Email pane. Then, click the Send button. LicenseKey Manager automatically launches your default email composer with both email address and License Key filled in.