02-05-2023, 09:55 PM
One thing to note -- this isn't any sort of super secure encryption or anything going on here. All we're doing is appending a timestamp and verification code to the end of your program. Any "hacker" who learns this simple trick and just go in and change the last 2 byte of your EXE for "TS" (for "Time Stamped") to "VC" (for "Verified Copy"), and then they'll be good to go. Hacking this would take very little effort for anyone who really wants to do so, but let's all take a moment and be honest with ourselves: Who's making and distributing such awesome programs with QB64 that somebody will actually go through the effort to hack them??
A simple system works just fine for the type of simple programs which are generally generated and shared via QB64. If you're good enough to make something fancy that requires better security for trial versions, then you're more than likely skilled enough to sort out this type of issue for yourself and you'll skip this type of simplex utility security.
This won't stop Hacker Bob from hacking your program, but it'll probably be all that's needed for your Aunt Suzie and her 27 kidlings.
A simple system works just fine for the type of simple programs which are generally generated and shared via QB64. If you're good enough to make something fancy that requires better security for trial versions, then you're more than likely skilled enough to sort out this type of issue for yourself and you'll skip this type of simplex utility security.
This won't stop Hacker Bob from hacking your program, but it'll probably be all that's needed for your Aunt Suzie and her 27 kidlings.