How do you hide secret keys in code?

Question

I\'ve wondered for some time how some software hides secret keys in such a way that they can\'t be trivially discovered. Just a few examples:

• DVD Player Softwa

Answer 1

Hiding secret keys in code is not going to be really secure. As you may have noticed DVDs and most software serial number registrations get hacked on a daily basis. If you really want to secure something you need to use public key encryption.

Answer 2

When we started developing our software, we've created a dated license file. Then, we realized, that not too many people are even interested in buying our software. Then, we decided to give it away for free. A lot more people started to care at least trying our masterpiece. Finally, we've open sourced our software. A lot more users started using it. Now we just hope that a small number of these users might turn into paying customers (i.e. buying prod. support or asking for customization).

The bottom line is, if someone wants to crack your software, he/she'll do it anyway. Is it really worth it to waste your time trying to protect it with this hidden secret key?

Answer 3

You don't always need a key to validate a license.

But ignoring that fact, your key can also be the result of another function. You don't actually store a specific key value, instead you have a function that generates the key on the fly (always the same result). Although not impossible, it's much harder to find since you're no longer looking for a value, but you have to figure out it's an equation.

Answer 4

I think this is one of the biggest reasons that DVD and BluRay were cracked so quickly. I think the only way that they could really stop the average person from being able to digitally copy home movies is if they created a medium that wasn't licensed for use on computers, and could only be used on certified players. Would cut out the part of the market that wanted to watch movies on their computers and laptops, but would probably stop from having perfect digital rips for a little longer, and would stop the average person from being able to do it.