It happens to all of us: doors falling shut behind us, car keys locked inside the car, or passwords used so rarely that they are long lost or forgotten. Software licenses are easy to lose, too, and it is good business practice for software developers to offer their users, already annoyed with themselves for losing the license, the least cumbersome means of regaining access to the software they rightfully own. At the same time, software publishers want to make sure that the licenses are indeed lost, and not being used to illicitly run multiple installations of their software. There is a fine line between giving your users the benefit of the doubt they deserve and opening your software-based business up to fraud and abuse. Wibu-Systems’ CodeMeter comes preloaded with a versatile repertoire of safeguards and mechanisms to ensure that lost licenses are just a brief inconvenience and neither a burden on users nor an open door to malicious actors for you. If you’re using CmCloudContainers, you can restore the users’ operations by providing a new credential file. If you have delivered your licenses in combination with CmDongles and a unit has gone missing, you are still protected: all devices come with a serial number and can be easily tracked and thus blacklisted. Similarly, broken and invalid licenses associated with CmActLicenses can be replaced in a new CmContainer while blacklisting the corrupted file. Trust is a precious asset in a world in which we are gaining in connectivity at the same rate as we are losing the reassuring certainty of face-to-face relations. With CodeMeter, you can install an infrastructure of trust that bridges that gap for the benefit of your business and your users.

1. The Fine Balance of Trust Ruediger Kuegler, VP Professional Services
ruediger.kuegler@wibu.com
Joerg Jans, Professional Services
joerg.jans@wibu.com
Lost Licenses
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2. Introduction
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3. CmContainers in Brief
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CmCloudContainer
License container
in the WIBU cloud
Bound to a user
CmDongle
License container
in a secure HW element
Bound to a smart card chip
License Server
License Server in LAN / WAN
CmActLicense
License container
in an encrypted file
Bound to an endpoint

4. User Stories – CmDongles
 CmDongles can be lost
 “My Dog has eaten the CmDongle”
 “The CmDongle was burned in the fires down in Australia”
 “The WibuKey was burned with the whole production facility”
 CmDongles can be stolen
 “It looks like a memory stick”
 CmDongles can get broken
 MTBF > 3.000.000 hours (this happens very rarely)
 A dishonest customer can complain the dongle was stolen, lost or broken
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5. User Stories – CmActLicense 1
 CmActLicenses can become broken
 Very unlikely with SmartBind®, because of the tolerance level
 CmActLicenses can become invalid
 The user or other processes wipe out the license file
 Also very unlikely, because of
 Redundant storage of hidden information
 Windows-conform storage of license files in “Program Data”
 The computer with the associated CmActLicense was stolen
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6. User Stories – CmActLicense 2
 The computer where the CmActLicense was located
 breaks up (and is repaired)
 Hard drive crash …
 was replaced with a new machine
 The user / admin didn’t uninstall/deactivate the software before replacing the PC
 was reset
 Using computers for training purposes
 Personal computer that had become too slow or after a malware infection
 A dishonest customer can complain the license was stolen, lost, broken,
become invalid, or …
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7. User Stories – CmCloudContainer
 The credential file was deleted from the computer
 Deleted by accident or removed on purpose
 The user wants to use a different computer with the same license
 Standard use case, not really a lost/broken scenario
 The user thinks that somebody else got hold of his credential file and uses
their license now
 CmCloudServer doesn’t allow an over usage of licenses. The legitimate user will
find out that their license is already in use and they cannot use it anymore.
 A dishonest customer can complain the license was stolen or lost.
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8. Reactivation
on the Same Device
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9. Reactivation on the Same Device 1
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10. Reactivation on the Same Device 2
 Possible for CmActLicenses
 Use cases:
 Training computers
 Resetting a computer
 Repairing a computer
 Invalid licenses
 The ISV defines the rules
 How often, how often per time, manual approval
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11. Reactivating a License
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12. Reactivating a License 1
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13. Reactivating a License 1
 Possible for all CmContainer types
 The ISV defines the rules
 How often, how often per time, manual approval
 The user can be independent
 License Portal / WebDepot
 Software Activation Wizard and Gateway
 Automatic blacklisting
 The old license is withdrawn or the complete CmContainer is blacklisted
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14. Using Blacklists
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15. Using Blacklists 1
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16. Using Blacklists 2
 Possible for all CmContainer types
 Automatic blacklisting when
 A license is reactivated (global settings)
 A CmContainer is restored
 The CmContainer is locked during the next activation
 A “Honey Pot” license is created automatically (global settings)
 Activated like an automatic container update
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17. Checkpoint Licenses
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18. Checkpoint Licenses 1
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19. Checkpoint Licenses 2
 Possible for all CmContainer types
 Business view: The license is perpetual
 Technical view: The license has an Expiration Time
 The license is renewed automatically in the background
 With Software Activation Wizard (an Internet connection is needed temporarily)
 Configuring each item
 Validity: days from activation
 Threshold: remaining days before the next renewal starts
 Licenses can be used offline
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20. Recovering
Login Credentials
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21. First Retrieval of the Login Credentials
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22. Recovering the Login Credentials
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23. Resetting the Login Credentials
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Reset
Authorized user
Users with stolen login credentials

24. Recovering Login Credentials for CmCloudContainers 2
 Lost login credentials
 Login to License Portal
 Retrieval of the original credential file
 All other installations with the same credential file stay valid
 Stolen login credentials
 User: Login to License Portal or ISV: Login to Cloud Dashboard
 Retrieval of new credential file for the same CmContainer
 Licenses in the CmContainer are still valid
 All other installations with the old credential file become invalid
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25. Summary
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26. Summary
 CodeMeter offers highly sophisticated options for recovering licenses
 The ISV can configure rules for self service recovery
 Increasing user satisfaction
 Decreasing support efforts
 Transparent methods to detect/revoke licenses that are used fraudulently
 Blacklisting “lost” CmContainers when the user is back online
 Time-bombed Checkpoint Licenses expire automatically offline
 Automatic lock or renewal via Software Activation Wizard
 CmCloudContainers cannot get lost at all, they are safe in the cloud
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27. https://www.wibu.com
info@wibu.com
Europe: +49-721-931720
USA: +1-425-7756900
China: +86-21-55661790
Japan: +81-3-43608205
Thank you very much for your attention
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