How useful is installing a expiring date?

[Gerdi]

How useful is installing a expiring date in a slideshow? Does it really work or is it possible to change just the system clock (e.g. one year back) for watching a slideshow again, which should have been already expired? So, it is a good protection or does it not really work in practice?

Best

Gerdi

[Lin Evans]

There are always ways around protection for those who are cheats and who would rather compromise their programs which avail themselves of calandar/clock times for internal purposes such as appointment calanders for business purposes such as Microsoft Outlook, etc.

The point is that "most" users will not think of resetting their clocks to "get around" this protection and if they do, so be it. It will protect the majority of the time because few users know enough about computer systems to even try this. There is no perfect way to copy protect or time protect without distributing the program on rewritable media and assuming that the user has a write device and that the media is being used in such a device. If the program is installed as executable code on a hard disk it's always possible to erase code or "change" internal code at some given date which will destroy the program itself assuming the really astute users hasn't set the clock back before the date on which this is set to occur.

The bottom line is that there is no perfect way to achieve protection from either copying or from playing beyond a perscribed date. The system as-is works well in the "majority" of cases and that's about all that is to be expected from a practical stand point.

Lin

[Ronniebootwest]

This is such an old topic and it has been done to death! Lin is quite right, there is no real way of protecting images/shows but if you are really concerned about about people copting your stuff, then consider placing a copyright symbal on your images.

I have a free tutorial availabler if you would like to see how it is done. Email me!

Ron West

[jfa]

So, it is a good protection or does it not really work in practice?

G'day Gerdi

Locks, keys, copy protection, etc are only there to stop honest people.

Any protection scheme designed by one person can be beaten by another, all we can do is make it hard and painful for them. There is no security system that is 100% secure. This is the world we live in, unfortunately.

Ron's suggestion of a copyright symbol with the other settings in PTE, (timing, disarm keyboard, mouse etc), is about the best you can do.

[Ronniebootwest]

G'day Gerdi

Locks, keys, copy protection, etc are only there to stop honest people.

Hi John,

Is this statement really what you meant? Surely it should be "to stop dis-honest people"

Ron

[ronwil]

Ron

I think John's statement is correct. It is the dishonest people who will find there way around. Where I live the local authority closed off a through road and as a consequence diverted the "rat-run" via my road. The local authority overcame the problem by painting SLOW on the road. The dishonest or unthoughtful people ignore it.

Ron [uK]

[lathompson]

How useful is installing a expiring date in a slideshow? Does it really work or is it possible to change just the system clock (e.g. one year back) for watching a slideshow again, which should have been already expired? So, it is a good protection or does it not really work in practice?

Best

Gerdi

Gerdi, as others have said, there is no perfect way to foil all people.

That said, perhaps if you can't beat them you might try deverting their attention by a little sly wording. Instead of giving them a message that the disc has timed out, make the message appear to be a Windows error text box giving the impression that that there is a problem with the computer playing the executable. Something like this:

ERROR! This operation has ceased due to low memory.

Please see your administrator or perform disc maintenence

to rectify this condition. (Message: X00000422:MSR2)

A totally meaningless message that doesn't give them a clue that the disc has timed out due to dates. It will take a pretty good guesser to discover your ever so simple device. It works great for me as my customer will call me and be all worried that the disc is causing problems for him. At which point I suggest that "Since you called, why don't you come on in and get that order in. You won't have to use that disc again."

Man, does this ever work! Give it a try.

larry

[Ronniebootwest]

Gerdi, as others have said, there is no perfect way to foil all people.

That said, perhaps if you can't beat them you might try deverting their attention by a little sly wording. Instead of giving them a message that the disc has timed out, make the message appear to be a Windows error text box giving the impression that that there is a problem with the computer playing the executable. Something like this:

ERROR! This operation has ceased due to low memory.

Please see your administrator or perform disc maintenence

to rectify this condition. (Message: X00000422:MSR2)

A totally meaningless message that doesn't give them a clue that the disc has timed out due to dates. It will take a pretty good guesser to discover your ever so simple device. It works great for me as my customer will call me and be all worried that the disc is causing problems for him. At which point I suggest that "Since you called, why don't you come on in and get that order in. You won't have to use that disc again."

Man, does this ever work! Give it a try.

larry

Larry,

I am not sure that I agree with you on this one because it might well backfire and cause worried customers to tell their friends about the 'dodgy disc' and that could mean the loss of new (or exsiting) customers.

Ron

[lathompson]

Larry,

I am not sure that I agree with you on this one because it might well backfire and cause worried customers to tell their friends about the 'dodgy disc' and that could mean the loss of new (or exsiting) customers.

Ron

Ronnie, in the realm of possibilities, yes, this could backfire, since there is no end to what any given customer might do or think; however in my experience over the past 2 years, I haven't had a single person even begin to question the reason the disc didn't work. It got them to call, I got the conversation going about ordering while their thinking about it and then, I was able to get them back in for another viewing (in the studio) and close an order. Before I started doing this type message, I did have people hacked off that I put a limit on the disc. They'd ask "Why did you put a limit on the viewing" and what do you say to that? They get upset that I'm forcing them to make decisions, whereas the other scenario simply gives them a good reason to call me so they can see the pictures again.. They get a renewed sense of action as they talk to me about choices.

I find that this has no downside at all.. And I'm a stickler for good PR.

larry

[Ken Cox]

one does not have a problem if they get the money up front and deals with honest people

and

of course has a fair price:)

ken

[lathompson]

one does not have a problem if they get the money up front and deals with honest people

and

of course has a fair price:)

ken

Ken you're right too. The funny thing is, I don't think that any of my clients are dishonest. I use my little disc trick just to get them back in. Frankly, I'm not concerned about anyone ripping images from my slide shows... And that's because we have our profits built into the job and it's paid for before we begin.

The problem is more laziness and procastination. I just want the customers to get the order in so I and get the portraits delivered. That has been a really big problem for us. After awhile, all the shine goes off the apple and everyone forgets about ordering and the thrill of getting those beautiful enlargements in their hands. Oh, the hazards of the profession...

Anyway, Gerdi, I didn't mean to hijack your thread. I won't do it again, I promise.

larry

[jfa]

Is this statement really what you meant? Surely it should be "to stop dis-honest people"

G'day Ron, it should be as originally read.

Honest people see the lock, sign, etc and obey it and therefore are stopped. Dishonest people break the lock, ignore the sign and do what they want, not what the person who put the lock there wants.

In my neck of the woods this is a fairly common saying.

[Gerdi]

Thanks a lot for your nice responses. I think the expiring date is a good tool. I just tried to "cheat" by putting the clock and date back (on the right bottom of the desktop), but it was not possible to "reactivate" the slideshow by this. So I think this tool is OK. And I don´t know how it could be possible to cheat this tool :-))

Thanks a lot

Gerdi :-)

[Ken Cox]

Gerdi

see

What do you do when they nick your photos?

http://www.photocritic.org/2007/copyright-theft/

ken