Distributing a secure JAR -- for *compilation*

From: Hegemony Cricket (schnitzi_at_gmail.com)
Date: 06/15/04

  • Next message: Gordon Beaton: "Re: Socket returns EOF prematurely" 
    Date: 14 Jun 2004 22:02:25 -0700

    My company is hoping to distribute a JAR file containing a bunch
    of API classes for some low-level underlying computations.

    There seem to be a number of ways to distribute secure JAR files
    that can later be *executed* securely. But we want to distribute
    a JAR file that's as secure as possible but can still be used by end
    users in *compilation*.

    We've found yGuard, which will obfuscate a JAR file to make it at
    least hard to decypher. However, we would also like to be able
    to set a time limit on the JAR file's usability. At some point we might
    also want to limit the JAR to only run on one platform (by IP or MAC
    address).

    The only thing I can think to do is some sort of license key check
    that occurs in a base java class's static initializer, that halts the
    program if the license is expired or invalid. This sounds like it
    would be easy to hack out of though, even if the jar were obfuscated.

    I can't imagine we're the first to want to do something like this,
    but I can't seem to find any references to how to handle this
    situation. Suggestions?

    --Mark

  • Next message: Gordon Beaton: "Re: Socket returns EOF prematurely"

    Relevant Pages

    • Distributing a secure JAR -- for *compilation*
      ... My company is hoping to distribute a JAR file containing a bunch ... There seem to be a number of ways to distribute secure JAR files ... to set a time limit on the JAR file's usability. ... The only thing I can think to do is some sort of license key check ...
      (comp.security.misc)
    • Re: Distributing a secure JAR -- for *compilation*
      ... creating license keys as you have mentioned is not a bad idea. ... > a JAR file that's as secure as possible but can still be used by end ... which will obfuscate a JAR file to make it at ... > to set a time limit on the JAR file's usability. ...
      (comp.lang.java)
    • Re: Distributing a secure JAR -- for *compilation*
      ... creating license keys as you have mentioned is not a bad idea. ... > a JAR file that's as secure as possible but can still be used by end ... which will obfuscate a JAR file to make it at ... > to set a time limit on the JAR file's usability. ...
      (comp.security.misc)