Hi, well, this is a rather odd question in a way. But I have always been a rather techy kind of person, and since I've learned to use computers and have grown in knowledge of them, I've been curious of this. When software manufacturers put out a 'demo' version of software (the kind of software that is already contained in itself and doesn't need to download anything further to make it a full version) and the time on it expires, what keeps track of that? I mean, I know it embeds itself in the computer registry. But of course, when something is uninstalled and re-installed, it "knows" that the program was previously installed and the trial is still over. I'm not asking this to get some answer in order to 'get around' a program illegally. But I sell computers and software every day at work...and I've never been able to presonally find the answer to this, as to where the information is stored for the programs to "remember" trials and such have expired. Anyone willing to share that with me?
2007-06-01 07:12:51 · 6 answers · asked by confused6107 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Software
If I ever wanted to create out with my own program of some type...I'd surely want to be able to do that with it.
2007-06-01 07:16:29 · update #1
Depends on the software, usually it's stored IN the registry, but in an encoded form to "hide it"
SO searching for "programname" will usually not find it.
You know all those lines of entries Micro$oft puts in the registry with seemingly random characters as titles, it's in one of those style entries.
2007-06-01 07:18:54 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The reason you can not (easily) find this information is because it is different for every program. If it was always done the same way, then as soon as one person cracked one program and revealed the secret, they would ALL be cracked. So each company (and each program) hids the information somewhere else.
How can the protection survive an uninstall and a reinstall? Simple. They write the uninstall so that it does not uninstall everything. It leaves the original install date somewhere in the registry. One way to try to "crack" a program is to back up the registry, install and uninstall a trial, and then compare the current registry with the backup. With luck, you might spot what was left behind.
Sometimes the information is not in the registry, but is a hidden file somewhere in a directory that appears to have nothing to do with the original program.
There are as many ways to hide as the information as there are programs wanting to hide it. The more creative, the better.
2007-06-01 14:21:16 · answer #2 · answered by dewcoons 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Different software will use different methods, but the stored information can be in the registry or in a hidden file or both. It will be stored in an unrecognizable form, the program will check each time it starts. When uninstalled the uninstaller does not remove this information, or may even add further markers to the system.
2007-06-01 14:20:54 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When a demo is uninstalled it doesn't remove the registry entry. So, when it is re-installed it just attaches itself to the old registry entry and shows that it is expired.
I hope that helps.
2007-06-01 14:18:20 · answer #4 · answered by Nafarious E 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
i played with this also
i deleted program from add and remove
the defrag -delete history - did search etc
shut down
then reinstall trial again it worked again
i did nothing to registry
2007-06-01 14:19:18 · answer #5 · answered by Q&A Answer Mans Retired 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There is a clock in the demo that keeps track that is encrypted and I believe it also syncs with your computer clock.
2007-06-01 14:16:25 · answer #6 · answered by blondie0016 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋