Preventing users from sharing serials?

[ratty]

I'm so close to having a project finished. It's marketed towards a very, very specific subset of computer users. I need a base level of copy protection that will prevent one person from buying the program, then sharing that single serial with everyone else. This thing won't be cracked and shared on a large scale, so I'm not worried about that. Users will be aware of one another and in close proximity, so disc sharing is likely. What options do I have? I've searched the forum and it all seems theoretical discussion rather than examples of implementation.

I was thinking of using BMT Micro for produc/serial distribution, if it makes a difference. Right now my only idea is to have the user input a serial / name / email at launch, and have that info accessible from the main menu, but due to the tiny market, that may not deter much.

[Popcorn]

I posted a solution on this yesterday, though I am not sure if that's what that OP actually needed. But it sounds like it could work in your situation..
http://community.clickteam.com/threads/81038-PC-game-with-Password-Verification

[ratty]

Sorry I hadn't seen it before. I haven't been able to check the forum well recently due to my recovering from an operation.

That is a great idea! I think I just may do that! I'll just create a massive list of codes/responses to avoid too many duplicates. I'll be sure the program runs in a timed trial mode by default so the user has limited access while they wait for the password response to be mailed to them. This can also keep my distribution entirely digital without my need for some sort of authentication server.

Thanks again popcorn! You always bail me out!!

[Popcorn]

Hehe, no problem! I actually used this method about 12 years ago for a beta app
Today I would probably go for an online signup approach using webserver and the GET object, but that's just because I know how to do it
In the approach I suggested, you might also use a formula instead of having lots of predefined words in a list. Just make sure that when the user sends you the code, you know the corresponding password

Have a healthy recovery!