|
CompuApps Product Activation FAQ's
See also:
Product Activation
Overview
General Questions
End-user
experience
End-user privacy
Activation policies
Technical activation
details
Product
Activation Overview
CompuApps, Inc. is committed to
the protection of intellectual property rights and to the reduction
of software piracy. Product Activation technology is being included
in CompuApps DriveWizard and CompuApps DriveBackup. This is our
first step to reduce software piracy. This technology is aimed at
reducing software piracy (the number of illegal copies of a product)
as well as ensuring that CompuApps customers are receiving the
product quality that they expect.
The goal of Product Activation is
to reduce a form of piracy known as "casual copying" or
"softlifting." Casual copying is the sharing of software between
people in a way that infringes on the software?s end user license
agreement (EULA). An example of casual copying is if someone were to
obtain a copy of DriveWizard and load it on his or her PC, then
share it with a second person who loaded it on his or her PC, then
share it with a third person who loaded it on his or her PC, and so
on. This form of piracy is prevalent and has been estimated by some
industry trade groups to account for a staggering 50 percent of the
economic losses due to piracy. Worldwide, the piracy rate is
estimated to be 37 percent; in other words, one out of every three
software products in the market is pirated.
There are other forms of piracy as
well such as counterfeiting, hard disk loading and Internet
pirating. Although product activation will have an impact on those
types of piracy, CompuApps has other initiatives to reduce piracy in
those areas.
Over time, reduced piracy means
that the CompuApps can invest more in product development, quality
and support. This ensures better products and more innovation for
customers. Ultimately, customers will benefit from the economic
impact of reduced piracy through increased job opportunities and
higher wages.
Customers will also receive the best value for their software
investment by being able to receive updates and
other product information.
CompuApps, Inc. is committed to make this Product
Activation Technology more easier and flexible for legal users. Send
your comments to
support@compuapps.com
General
Questions
What is Product Activation?
CompuApps Product Activation is an anti-piracy
technology designed to verify that the product has been legitimately
licensed.
Which CompuApps products will
include Product Activation?
CompuApps will be including
Product Activation in several upcoming versions of its software,
including CompuApps SwissKinfe, CompuApps DriveWizard and CompuApps
DriveBackup. Product activation will be required in retail packaged
products, software's downloaded from internet, softwares bundled with
hard drives, CD-RW/DVD drives and enclosures and in new PCs
purchased from a PC manufacturer. Product activation will not be
required for licenses acquired by a customer through one of
CompuApps volume licensing programs such as Open License or Select
License.
Can I Evaluate CompuApps
Product without activation?
Yes, you can evaluate CompuApps DriveBackup and
CompuApps DriveWizard then you can purchase license from our online
store if you are satisfied with our product.
Which customers will be
required to activate?
All customers who purchase retail
packaged products or softwares downloaded from internet or softwares
bundled with hard drives, CD-RW/DVD drives and enclosures or a new
PC from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) will be required to
activate the software. The software on a new PC from an OEM may be
activated in the factory. Product activation will not be required
for licenses acquired by a customer through one of CompuApps volume
licensing programs such as Open License or Select License. Volume
licensing programs can scale to even the smallest of businesses, as
customers can qualify for the CompuApps Open License program by
acquiring as few as five product licenses. More information is
available at CompuApps
business licensing
Web page.
How does CompuApps Product
Activation work?
Product Activation works by
validating that the software?s product key, required as part of
product installation, has not been used on more PCs than is allowed
by the software?s license. Product key information, in the form of
the user ID and Serial no, is sent along with a "software hash" (a
nonunique number generated from the PC?s software configuration) to
CompuApps activation system during activation. Activation is
completed either directly via the Internet email or by a telephone
call or by a Fax or by Mail to a customer service representative.
Activations on the same PC using the same product key are unlimited.
Product Activation discourages piracy by limiting the number of
times a product key can be activated on different PCs.
What minimum information user
should provide for activation?
User needs provide Name phone
number, email ID, place of purchase, UserID and serial number (which
is displayed in activation dialog) and purchase order number or bill
number as the proof purchase. Once you are verified activation key
will be provided.
Why is CompuApps asking
customers to activate their software?
CompuApps has designed Product
Activation as a simple way to verify the software license and thwart
the spread of software piracy. People who use illegal software not
only hurt themselves, they also contribute to a problem that
cumulatively can hurt job creation locally and regionally in the
software industry and related businesses. Software piracy is an
enormous drain on the global economy, according to the 2000 BSA
Software Piracy Report. The report estimates worldwide losses in
2000 due to software piracy at almost $12 billion. Software piracy
also has a significant impact on the high-tech industry, resulting
in lost jobs, decreased innovation and higher costs to consumers.
How will CompuApps Product
Activation help thwart piracy?
Product Activation will help
reduce casual copying by ensuring that the copy of the software
product being installed is legal and has been installed on a PC in
compliance with the End User License Agreement (EULA). Installations
beyond those allowed in the license agreement will fail to activate.
Haven?t companies tried to
implement anti-piracy technologies before and failed?
Anti-piracy technologies that have
been used in the past have not been easy for customers to use and
were generally viewed as unacceptable by customers and the industry.
For example, some early PC products required specialized hardware
components or boot diskettes that were cumbersome for the user.
Product Activation is a breakthrough technology in that it makes
activation a natural part of setting up the software and avoids the
pitfalls of anti-piracy methods used in the early days of the PC
industry.
How does the customer benefit
from this approach?
Over time, reduced piracy means
that the software industry can invest more in product development,
quality and support. This ensures better products and more
innovation for customers. Ultimately, customers will benefit from
the economic impact of reduced piracy through more jobs and higher
wages. Customers will also receive the best value for their software
investment by being able to receive product updates and other
product information. Product Activation also helps prevent
unsuspecting customers from purchasing counterfeit software.
Customers who purchase counterfeit products may find they are
missing key elements, such as user manuals, product keys,
certificates of authenticity and even software code.
Return to top
End-User Experience
Will Product Activation make it
more difficult for customers to install and use the software?
Product Activation is designed to
be simple and unobtrusive for customers who legitimately acquire the
software license. Customers will have the choice of activating via
the Internet email or by telephone. Customers will also be able to
delay activation for several uses of the product, until a time that
is convenient for them. For those who obtain a copy of the software
illegally, Product Activation will make their inappropriate use of
the product more difficult. Customers have used Product Activation
to date with little or no difficulty.
Will customers be notified that
they have to activate?
Yes. Customers will be notified of
the activation requirement on the outside of the box when they
acquire a retail version of the product. In addition, customers will
be reminded to activate each time they launch an application up
until the 30 days - the maximum number of days they can use the
product before they are required to activate. At the end of
activation grace period (30 days) before they are required to
activate. If they have not activated the product within the
specified time frame, they will need to do so to continue using the
product.
When users boot using the new hard drive which is created using
our software, after 20 days activation notification will be
displayed each time user login/boot into the computer.
Is there a grace period during
which the product will work without being activated?
Yes, a user may use a product for a certain amount
of time without activating it. The grace period is the first 30
days.
How do I know if my product
installation is activated?
When you launch the application, application will
not display the activation dialog if the application is activated.
What are the hours of operation
of the customer service/support center?
Customer service/support center will be open till
5 PM PST hours on business days.
What if I?m outside the United
States and need to activate my installation over the telephone?
You need to call CompuApps, Inc. USA to get the
activation key.
What will happen if user
Uninstall the software from the new hard drive which is
created/restored using DriveWizard/DriveBackup software? So Can the
user use new hard drive created using our software without buying?
Our software is used to data into
new hard drives using old hard drive data. This is the function of
our software. We provide trial versions so that user can create new
hard drive and test whether the new hard drive is working properly
or not. If the new hard drive is functions without any issues user
can continue to use for 30days.
If the user
is satisfied with the functional part hard drive or want to use the
new hard drive which is the end product of our software and
DriveWizard/DriveBackup software which the user has used to create
new hard drive as a fair business deal we like the user to buy our
software.
If the user is not interested to
buy our software, i.e.., user is not interested to use our software
and the new hard drive which is created using our software. The user
can uninstall the software from old system and user can format the
hard drive. So the user will get back the hard drive and use it for
any other use.
After 30 days of trial or
activation period, you system will boot, it will not allow to access
other applications until our software is activated.
During the trial period, if the
user has any issue with our software. User can contact our support
team.
Return to top
End-User
Privacy
If I decide to register my
product as well, what happens to the personal data I provide to
CompuApps?
CompuApps will store users?
personal data in the United States and possibly the country in which
they live. Personal information will be protected from unauthorized
distribution. Under no circumstances will personal data be sold to
third parties. Based on registration, users may receive information
on product updates, new products, product offers and other
information CompuApps may send from time to time. For more
information please read
CompuApps Privacy Policy
and
General policy
Return to top
Activation Policies
How many installations can be
made with one product license? Has this changed with the
introduction of Product Activation?
The underlying principles of
CompuApps software licenses have not changed. CompuApps End User
License Agreements (EULAs) have always stipulated the number of PCs
that software can be installed on. Product Activation does not
change that.To install on more than these two PCs, another license
of the product must be acquired. Licenses for acquired preinstalled
on a new PC are single-PC licenses that cannot be transferred or
installed a second time on another PC. The aforementioned licensing
terms have not been changed due to Product Activation.
If a reinstallation of the
software is needed, must I purchase a new license?
In general, no. If the same
version of the software is reinstalled on the same machine or is not
concurrently installed on any other machine, no new license is
required. Additional licenses are generally required for
installations above and beyond those allowed by the product?s EULA.
If a reinstallation of the
software is needed, is reactivation required?
Not always from next version of
software releases from Jan 2002. If the same version of the software
is reinstalled on the same machine and the hard disk is not
reformatted prior to reinstalling, the software will remain
activated. Reactivation will be required if the hard disk is
reformatted and the software is reinstalled. This is because the
software?s activation status is stored on the hard drive and
reformatting the hard drive erases that status.
For software's released before Jan 2002 will need
activation each time.
Is it possible to transfer a
license to another computer?
Consumers should refer to the
terms of their license agreement to determine whether or not it is
legal to transfer a license to another computer. But in those cases
where it is allowed, the product must first be removed from the
previous computer. Users may be required to complete the activation
on the new computer by placing a call to the CompuApps
Activation(Support) Center or by internet email.
I do not want to activate. What
can I do to turn this off?
Activation is required for
continued use of the product. Businesses and other customers that
need to acquire multiple licenses for an organization should contact
CompuApps regarding eligibility for purchasing licenses through one
of CompuApps volume licensing programs.
Return to top
Technical
Activation Details
If I reformat my hard disk, is
reactivation required?
If the hard disk is reformatted
and the software is reinstalled, reactivation will be required. The
same grace periods for activation apply in this situation.
Reactivation on the same PC can be completed as many times as
required. The activation can be completed via telephone or Internet
email.
Won?t hackers and pirates just
crack this like they did earlier copy-protection attempts? Will this
really help stop piracy?
Product Activation is not a single
"silver bullet" solution to global piracy. It is, however,
significantly more sophisticated than past methods and is not easy
for would-be pirates to circumvent. At the same time, it is a simple
and unobtrusive process for legal customers. It will help prevent
casual copying of software, which is by far the most prevalent and
damaging type of software piracy. It is not designed to target
sophisticated and organized criminal counterfeiters.
Return to top
|
