Can you recommend an install maker program that will accept registration keys and check a server for banned keys?
Install maker program?
Miscellaneous Forums/General Discussion/Install maker program? I believe advanced installer enterprise has this. It's a nifty, very customizable tool if you grab the enterprise version.
Time
Time
Jesus, for $500 I might as well take a couple days to write my own. :\
I agree, unless you need/want the rest of the features there.
It's still a great program. Unfortunately the free version just doesn't have what you're looking for.
I haven't found many good installers out there, and definitely didn't come into contact with any that provide that feature you're looking for, for free. You are probobly better off (even if your budget is insane) to create a custom installer.
It's still a great program. Unfortunately the free version just doesn't have what you're looking for.
I haven't found many good installers out there, and definitely didn't come into contact with any that provide that feature you're looking for, for free. You are probobly better off (even if your budget is insane) to create a custom installer.
NSIS is good and free, but I don't know about registration stuff.
I really suggest looking into NSIS as it's expandable with various plugins and has a powerful scripting language. It supports web-based installing/upgrading features with version check, so having a reg key server isn't too far-fetched.
Just as a side note:
License termination is only legal if copyright or pre-buy licenses are broken. If you do it due to EULA or other things, the user is entitled to a refund if you do it unless you are US residental and the user is US as well, please remember that.
Outside US nothing but those 2 things above have any legal influence and any user can take legal steps against you and your company for license infringement and depending on the country for a whole list of other things.
EDIT: Fixed a typo which surely gave some smiling reader faces :)
License termination is only legal if copyright or pre-buy licenses are broken. If you do it due to EULA or other things, the user is entitled to a refund if you do it unless you are US residental and the user is US as well, please remember that.
Outside US nothing but those 2 things above have any legal influence and any user can take legal steps against you and your company for license infringement and depending on the country for a whole list of other things.
EDIT: Fixed a typo which surely gave some smiling reader faces :)
i use a: iss
inno setup
very good
inno setup
very good
I don't think Inno Setup does what I want.
Use IStool with inno setup its a kind of wizardy frontend.
It does everything an install tool needs to do. Installs, adds shortcuts, allows reg entries etc...
It does everything an install tool needs to do. Installs, adds shortcuts, allows reg entries etc...
I did not ask about registry entries.
license infridgement
You certainly don't want to get infridged! Leadwerks: there does not exist such technology for free simply because the technology needs a secure protocol technology for communication, a stable and secure license server that not any noob can hack into and in the end an installer technology that works on different Windows Versions and differently right elevated user accounts.
Oh and above that it should naturally be able to talk to any software firewall to check for the license at all.
Unless you are using it for freeware, 500 USD at the current exchange rate should be peanut. Given you will use it for stuff you sell yourself at 50-1xx USD per license, that should definitely not be an issue. 4 users and the whole thing is back in.
But in the end I think you are going the wrong step. License based installer? for what reason? not allow users to install a demo?
You should know that any brickhead can circumvent that, thats why such technology did never start through and might never do so.
Think about system based application activation instead if you want to lock users in / out.
Oh and above that it should naturally be able to talk to any software firewall to check for the license at all.
Unless you are using it for freeware, 500 USD at the current exchange rate should be peanut. Given you will use it for stuff you sell yourself at 50-1xx USD per license, that should definitely not be an issue. 4 users and the whole thing is back in.
But in the end I think you are going the wrong step. License based installer? for what reason? not allow users to install a demo?
You should know that any brickhead can circumvent that, thats why such technology did never start through and might never do so.
Think about system based application activation instead if you want to lock users in / out.
Piss off, any order you place will be refused anyways.
Piss off, any order you place will be refused anyways.
Now what good was that? Shall I recite it then?
"You agree that you will uphold a standard of conduct that refrains you from personally attacking others, regardless of their beliefs and/or ideas. You may strongly disagree with anyone's ideas and/or beliefs, but personal attacks will not be tolerated and you agree to accept the judgement of the owner, admin, or appointed moderator of this site in handling the complaint or violation of this agreement. Also, the use of foul language will not be tolerated. Messages found with this language will be deleted, and multiple offenders will be removed from the system."
Most of them including the wix toolset by microsoft, wich is free and opensource, allows you to embed a dll with a validate function before proceeding to install. This dll can check in your website database and return true/false if the serial is correct and not banned.
True/false eh? sounds easy to hack.
Clickteams Install Creator Pro has a registration key feature and download setup from server thing.
http://www.clickteam.com/eng/installcreator.php
http://www.clickteam.com/eng/installcreator.php
True/false eh? sounds easy to hack.
unless the dll is embeded inside the install package and never extracted to be executed, it is extracted directly form the setup package to memory, and executed from there, so no easy to hack unless you hack the entire setup package, wich is not exactly a trivial and easy to do task. Evidently, the dll can do a lot more of things than just return true/false, it can download online part of the requiered files to be installed, once the activation key is validated online, and then return the true or false to value the windows installer. Lots of deployments do it this way. I was thinking of just a memory right, then let the real dll do the stuff it needs to.
@ziggy: so you hack the setup package then, fooling it into thinking it ran the .dll and that it returned as validated.
Anything can be hacked.
Anything can be hacked.
This will do nothing to prevent piracy, but will instead annoy customers and prevent me for buying anything from you atleast. Besides, installer should be a single program that you can use, not a different installer supplied for every program. Oh, I forgot that Windows lacks that. In Linux I just choose the program I want to install and select it, it's easier and faster.
This will do nothing to prevent piracy, but will instead annoy customers and prevent me for buying anything from you atleast.
Good.
In case you haven't spotted it already, according to the link Retimer gave in the second post, Advanced Installer Pro (slightly cheaper at $249) supports User Registration/Online Serial Code Validation...
Advanced Installer Pro (Features)
Advanced Installer Pro (Features)
@ashmantle:
If you hack the installed you don't even need to run the DLL, Obviously that can be done unless the dll does anything else than returning a value. Let's say, check the key online and download part of the package. Obvously this can also be hacked, as everything else can, but it is far more secure than a lot of solutions.
so you hack the setup package then, fooling it into thinking it ran the .dll and that it returned as validated.
If you hack the installed you don't even need to run the DLL, Obviously that can be done unless the dll does anything else than returning a value. Let's say, check the key online and download part of the package. Obvously this can also be hacked, as everything else can, but it is far more secure than a lot of solutions.
It seems wrong to pay $250 for an installer for a program that costs less than that.
A couple of companies have already asked me about releasing a commercial installer program. I guess I am not the only one who doesn't have a problem. XD
Anyways, the one I wrote is really cool. Thanks to Mike Heinoioninin for help witht he shortcuts stuff.
A couple of companies have already asked me about releasing a commercial installer program. I guess I am not the only one who doesn't have a problem. XD
Anyways, the one I wrote is really cool. Thanks to Mike Heinoioninin for help witht he shortcuts stuff.
I have a license with advanced installer; I don't even use it on my main project, but I enjoy having it for any future win32 apps I cough out. I wouldn't assume buying it only for one project, but for any others that arise.
I'm glad you were able to come up with your own alternative though.
I'm glad you were able to come up with your own alternative though.
@Leadwerks: Yeah thanks for trying so hard to spell my name right :) But yes, it was kinda challenging to find a way how to create Shortcuts programmatically, but I composed a nice haxx0r function for BlitzMax which works 100% reliably. I have added it to the Code Archives also, it can be found here: http://www.blitzmax.com/codearcs/codearcs.php?code=2254