Choose appropriate protection method
There are four protection methods (PLAIN, REMOTE, NETWORK and USB) which can be combined with different protection features in order to accomplish almost any protection scenario. Example protection scenarios are listed here.
Importance of application signature
Application signature is probably the most important option in project settings. It enables many valuable features but improper usage of this option could raise different problems. Application signature uniquely identifies project files. Applications protected with same application signature will share the same license information on remote computers. Application signature enables installation of application updates without entering new (or original) activation code again (both original application and update should share the same application signature). It also enables sharing of license information between a group of applications. For example, a group of applications can be activated with just single activation code and in this case all applications should share the same application signature. Detailed information about application signature is available here.
Always save project files and protection reports.
You will need project files for generation of activation codes and protection of program updates. Be sure to make regular backups of these files.
Enable support for restricted users
By default, restricted users are allowed to access protected application. Windows users access control option in windows users settings is set to "All users".
Administrator access is not always available for end users. This is why protected application could be often run from restricted user accounts. Protected application will usually display error code 00000005 or 00000000 error messages in such cases. In order to prevent these problems be sure to enable support for restricted users for your application.
First time activation should be done by user with administrator rights to prevent problems in case application is accessed by multiple restricted users on same computer.
Change default name of interface dll
Default name of interface .dll can be changed in Customization settings. Don't forget to distribute renamed version of interface dll with protected application. If Auto copy required modules option is enabled in system settings PC Guard will automatically copy renamed version of interface dll after protection process.
Use customized interface dialogs
Use custom dialogs to change default user interface for protected applications.
If possible, use protection interface
Protection interface is the interface between protected application (your code) and protection code (our code) embedded into it during protection process. In this way, license status and many other valuable information may be obtained. Application can even interact with protection code by calling advanced protection interface functions. Our protection code will gain control on startup, check license status, demo limitations, application integrity, initialize required data (import functions, relocation tables), decrypt application and pass control to it. Protection interface offers additional license management tasks, displaying your own activation dialog and improving general security of your application.
Use RTE (run time encryption) blocks in your code for improved security
RTE encrypted code always stays encrypted in memory. Encrypted blocks are managed (decrypted and then encrypted again) as required by our special protection code.
Use command line interface to automate protection process for your applications
Always test protected application on your site before distributing it to end users
In order to test different protection strategies you need to use different application signature for each strategy in order to avoid possible conflicts when experimenting with different project settings. You can use special application signature values for each test build like TEST0001, TEST0002, TEST0003 and so on.
Automate activation process
If you are thinking about automating activation process for your clients you should consider using Activation center (ACEN). PC Guard 06.00.0300 and later versions include out of the box support for web licensing model.
Digitally sign protected applications
It is highly recommended to digitally sign protected application with your valid code signing certificate. Signature should be applied after protection and Prevent file modifications option should be disabled in security settings. More info...
Our knowledge base will help you in solving common issues
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