Steamed over DRM

[TheSleeper]

Originally Posted by Togainu

As for the statement where you are talking that it should only be done if your system is de-authorized. It is doing that, Windows saw a need to update the system ID this causes an ID change. Causing Hero Lab (among other software) to see your system as a "new" system and need for authorization.

Your totally misreading what I posted. What I said is that if HL de-authorized itself then it should automatically reset your licence. De-authorized is taking away your licence on that machine so there are no theft concerns.

Originally Posted by Togainu

This is actually a well designed and working DRM. The main reason you are encountering issues at the moment is because of the things you have decided to do and the order in which it was done.

A well designed and working DRM would not need someone to regularly undo things it does. Nor would it require me to turn off windows update on Tuesday so I can ensure I have the program up and running to review my character over the weekend for a game Tuesday of the next week.

In one of the links Liz posted this is #2:
Upgrading your current operating system will often change the identity. (This does NOT include automatic updates and service packs.)

So no this is NOT an action I have done that should effect HL.

[Exmortis]

All this hate to LWD, when who you should hate? is the (I will not enter the words they will get me banned) fellow gamer that actually uses pirated software. Myself I am not friends with thieves, nor will I game with them either.

Our game group has a running rule, legit or find another group. We had some issue with that in the past, but it was simple, all of us decided that we would not tolerate thieves, since we play in each others homes. How can we trust anyone to not steal from us if they steal from others? This has caused people to not join us, but I say it has enriched our gaming environment.

Don't hate LWD for doing what must be done in the face of so many dishonest people, hate those that cause the reality called "DRM".

If there were no thieves, there would not be a reason to protect against them.

[Farling]

Originally Posted by TheSleeper

Your totally misreading what I posted. What I said is that if HL de-authorized itself then it should automatically reset your licence. De-authorized is taking away your licence on that machine so there are no theft concerns.

The computer has to determine that "that machine" has not changed (e.g. moving/sharing the hard disk). Is there another way for the computer to determine this?

[TheSleeper]

Originally Posted by Farling

The computer has to determine that "that machine" has not changed (e.g. moving/sharing the hard disk). Is there another way for the computer to determine this?

I would guess there are a ton of ways to determine if it has I am talking about what the system does when it finds your system has changed.




Current system:

something changes>HL detects a change > HL de-authorized itself > good luck email a tech that can only work so fast and not Saturdays or Sundays or holidays



What I am suggesting:

something changes>HL detects a change > HL de-authorized itself > HL asks permission to send information about the de-authorized to LWD > You click yes the computer on your license is removed and you get to install right away.



No human intervention same net effect and can only be triggered when the system has removed HL from the system it was authorized on

[Togainu]

Originally Posted by TheSleeper

What I am suggesting:

something changes>HL detects a change > HL de-authorized itself > HL asks permission to send information about the de-authorized to LWD > You click yes the computer on your license is removed and you get to install right away.

This is only possible when assuming that the system can still identify itself as the old system. Seeing that system ID is gone it means that it can't ID itself anymore as that system. So there is no way to verify that the reset request is coming from a legitimate source.

[rob]

Originally Posted by TheSleeper

Current system:

something changes>HL detects a change > HL de-authorized itself > good luck email a tech that can only work so fast and not Saturdays or Sundays or holidays

That's not entirely true. In fact, it's frequently not true. The vast majority of the time, the user hasn't recently switched operating systems or moved the license number to a new computer. Ergo, the vast majority of the time, the transfer to a new computer happens silently and automatically.

The ONLY time users get inconvenienced is when they've done something significant with the license number in the previous few months. Given that the typical user actually performs an action every 18-24 months that would impact the association between computer and license number, the four-month window makes this situation an infrequent event that most users never encounter, while still taking a big bite out of piracy (via the simple sharing of license numbers).

Obviously, you've been using Hero Lab for two full years now and haven't run into any hiccups with the licensing mechanism until now. It's probable that you've encountered this silent reassignment of your license number at least once during that period.

Originally Posted by TheSleeper

What I am suggesting:

something changes>HL detects a change > HL de-authorized itself > HL asks permission to send information about the de-authorized to LWD > You click yes the computer on your license is removed and you get to install right away.

@Togainu pointed out, there is no way to reliably accomplish this on Windows that will work for the typical user. Yes, it would work for a subset of users who are very controlled and disciplined in how they manage their computer. But that subset is a minority, which renders the approach non-viable overall.

We developed this licensing technology over a decade ago, and it works extremely well. Every year, there are a couple of users who take exception to it vociferously because it becomes an issue at an inconvenient moment. However, there are TENS OF THOUSANDS of gamers actively using Hero Lab at their regular gaming sessions every week. So the overall incidence level of problems is comparatively TINY, and users are typically back up and running significantly faster than lots of large companies even provide a coherent (let alone competent) reply.

I'd love to hear a viable proposal for a licensing system that results in well upwards of 99% customer satisfaction while still providing excellent security against hackers. That's what we have today, so any proposal has to yield at least comparable results.

Then there's always that old adage of "If it ain't really broke" to consider...

[Dervish]

i had the exact same thing happen when i upgraded two of my machine s to windows 10 and i sent in my request cognizant that it was possibility that the approval could come up to two days after my gaming session.


poor planning,excecution and just plain bad luck on our parts does not constitute an emergency on LWD's part.

[TheSleeper]

I appreciate the response Rob.

[Farling]

It is really nice that the support is based in the USA. On a gaming evening in the UK, one of my players found that his license needed the manual reset thing. He sent an e-mail and got the reset done within an hour!

Yay for our evening being during USA office hours :-)

[ShadowChemosh]

Originally Posted by Farling

It is really nice that the support is based in the USA. On a gaming evening in the UK, one of my players found that his license needed the manual reset thing. He sent an e-mail and got the reset done within an hour!

Yay for our evening being during USA office hours :-)

LOL yeah I guess that would work out really well then!