SafeNet, Inc., a global leader in software monetization, today announced an enhanced version of the Sentinel® Envelope file-wrapper technology within its Sentinel License Development Kit (LDK), the company's award-winning software protection, licensing, and entitlement management system. With the new AppOnChip functionality within Sentinel Envelope, software developers bind protected software to hardware keys, requiring the physical presence of the key to not only validate usage authorization but to execute the code itself, further strengthening the protection SafeNet provides to its software monetization customers.
AppOnChip is a fully automated process for binding a Sentinel hardware key to protected software by forcing selected pieces of code to execute on the key. In the absence of the key, the application fails to execute. All this is done without storing any of the application code on the key itself. AppOnChip strengthens Sentinel LDK's robust intellectual property protection, adding to Sentinel Envelope's strong file encryption, code obfuscation, and anti-debugging features. AppOnChip evolves software security to prevent the illegal use of commercial software by unauthorized users.
Like all of Sentinel Envelope's features, AppOnChip aligns with SafeNet's design principles by being easy to use and requiring no source code modification. This fully automated process examines applications and presents a list of functions with code blocks that are compatible with AppOnChip. The protected blocks, encrypted and signed, can then be dynamically loaded and executed on the hardware key.
The key benefits of SafeNet's AppOnChip software protection technology include:
Stronger security – Because AppOnChip forces a small piece of code to run on the token, and the results are necessary for the application to fully execute, the application will fail to execute without the hardware key. Software vendors can choose which specific code blocks should be protected via an easy-to-use graphical interface.
Easy implementation – The process of binding the software to the hardware key, analyzing which code can be executed on the token, and converting code into token-executable form is fully automated – no engineering effort is required.
Nothing is stored on the token – Unlike competitive solutions, all of the code resides on the hard drive of the machine running the protected application. Only at run time, a small piece of code is executed on the token. User memory on the key is not impacted.
Internal processes are unaffected – Protected applications do not require version tracking at the software vendor's end, and key updates in the field are not required for new versions of the protected software.
No headaches for legitimate end users – AppOnChip functionality is transparent to the end user.
Currently available at no extra cost – AppOnChip's introductory offer is available to all vendors at no extra cost with Sentinel LDK 7.0. In future releases, the use of AppOnChip may require the purchase of a separate license module.
"Many ISVs have avoided implementing software security to the level provided by AppOnChip because it was a cumbersome, manual process," said Michael Zunke, CTO of SafeNet's software monetization division. "Now, SafeNet customers can implement token-based software execution technology at the touch of a button. We believe that the additional security that AppOnChip delivers makes Sentinel LDK the most secure software licensing implementation available in the market."
To learn more about AppOnChip and SafeNet's software monetization solutions, join the largest concentration of software monetization experts under one roof at the premier industry event, LicensingLive! 2013, which is taking place October 9-10, 2013 at the Cypress Hotel in Cupertino, California. Join industry analysts, consultants and software industry peers, including IDC analyst Amy Konary and analyst/blogger R "Ray" Wang from Constellation Research and A Software Insider's Point of View to learn more about software purchasing, consumption and business model trends. To learn more and register for the event, visit: http://licensinglive.com/?event=licensinglive-2013.
Software Monetization Resources
Sentinel License Development Kit (LDK) white paper
Download: Full-featured trial version of Sentinel LDK
Sentinel HASP Envelope white paper
SafeNet Software Monetization Solutions
The company's family of Sentinel Software Monetization Solutions is designed to meet the unique license enablement, enforcement, and management requirements of any organization, regardless of size, technical requirements, or organizational structure. Only with SafeNet are software publishers able to address each and every aspect of the software monetization lifecycle – from software packaging, software delivery, and ongoing catalog management to copy and intellectual property protection, and end-user experience improvement.
SafeNet is believed to be the only vendor to offer cloud-based software licensing and entitlement management solutions in addition to traditional offerings for installation on premise. This, paired with the ability to enforce licenses and track entitlement and usage data via hardware tokens, software keys, or cloud services, makes SafeNet a premier software monetization partner for ISVs, regardless of how their software is being delivered – physically, electronically, embedded within a device, via the cloud, or as a mixed portfolio.
