[android-developers] Re: Another take on anti-piracy
I think apps which operate in a SAAS fashion stand the best chance against piracy. Unfortunately, the current terms of the Android Market make it difficult, if not impossible to do this sort of thing. Web- apps have the obvious benefit in these cases as they can house the bulk of their functionality on the server and use a stub app to access those features. As long as you can make this service worthwhile outside of the world of Android, you'd probably be OK from the current Android Market terms and conditions (please correct me if I am wrong). On Nov 16, 1:36 pm, admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com wrote: So looking at it a different way ... Are there any popular android apps that are not suffering from massive piracy? I had a quick hunt around and could see that MyBackup Pro asks for a Google Checkout number and Copilot also requires a code on starting up. Maybe there's something we can all learn by seeing how other app developers are dealing with this issue. Does anyone know how effective these measures are? Has anyone seen any other techniques that have worked. Its getting very tiring reading how pirates feel they have some right to steal apps from hard-working devs. Would love to teach those guys a lesson ... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Android Developers group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
[android-developers] Re: Another take on anti-piracy
One instance of application security I've seen was bluetooth file sharing application. I believe it read where it's location was, and if it's wasn't installed to /data/app-private then it called you a pirate and exited the program. Though this was easily circumvented by a simple push to / data/app-private, it was detailed somewhere on XDA. Also, while CoPilot and MyBackupPro seem to be defending well against piracy, it should be noted that they both have been cracked. On Nov 16, 4:10 pm, nEx.Software email.nex.softw...@gmail.com wrote: I think apps which operate in a SAAS fashion stand the best chance against piracy. Unfortunately, the current terms of the Android Market make it difficult, if not impossible to do this sort of thing. Web- apps have the obvious benefit in these cases as they can house the bulk of their functionality on the server and use a stub app to access those features. As long as you can make this service worthwhile outside of the world of Android, you'd probably be OK from the current Android Market terms and conditions (please correct me if I am wrong). On Nov 16, 1:36 pm, admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com wrote: So looking at it a different way ... Are there any popular android apps that are not suffering from massive piracy? I had a quick hunt around and could see that MyBackup Pro asks for a Google Checkout number and Copilot also requires a code on starting up. Maybe there's something we can all learn by seeing how other app developers are dealing with this issue. Does anyone know how effective these measures are? Has anyone seen any other techniques that have worked. Its getting very tiring reading how pirates feel they have some right to steal apps from hard-working devs. Would love to teach those guys a lesson ... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Android Developers group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
Re: [android-developers] Re: Another take on anti-piracy
As far as I know about, Android Market software is not yet pirated(Correct me if I am wrong). On Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 5:07 PM, strazzere str...@gmail.com wrote: One instance of application security I've seen was bluetooth file sharing application. I believe it read where it's location was, and if it's wasn't installed to /data/app-private then it called you a pirate and exited the program. Though this was easily circumvented by a simple push to / data/app-private, it was detailed somewhere on XDA. Also, while CoPilot and MyBackupPro seem to be defending well against piracy, it should be noted that they both have been cracked. On Nov 16, 4:10 pm, nEx.Software email.nex.softw...@gmail.com wrote: I think apps which operate in a SAAS fashion stand the best chance against piracy. Unfortunately, the current terms of the Android Market make it difficult, if not impossible to do this sort of thing. Web- apps have the obvious benefit in these cases as they can house the bulk of their functionality on the server and use a stub app to access those features. As long as you can make this service worthwhile outside of the world of Android, you'd probably be OK from the current Android Market terms and conditions (please correct me if I am wrong). On Nov 16, 1:36 pm, admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com wrote: So looking at it a different way ... Are there any popular android apps that are not suffering from massive piracy? I had a quick hunt around and could see that MyBackup Pro asks for a Google Checkout number and Copilot also requires a code on starting up. Maybe there's something we can all learn by seeing how other app developers are dealing with this issue. Does anyone know how effective these measures are? Has anyone seen any other techniques that have worked. Its getting very tiring reading how pirates feel they have some right to steal apps from hard-working devs. Would love to teach those guys a lesson ... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Android Developers group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comandroid-developers%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Android Developers group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
[android-developers] Re: Another take on anti-piracy
Sorry, do you mean the actual Android Market itself? The applications Vending.apk? It's been put on plenty of ROMS... Remember the CD Cyanogen received... For just this thing? I'm not 100% sure if this qualified as piracy but it does fall under the incorrect distribution... Besides, the protection you may be talking about is it's dependency on Google-centric frameworks that are no available in the AOSP. Though that doesn't seem like a very good protection scheme to me :) On Nov 16, 5:12 pm, Abdul Mateen abmat...@gmail.com wrote: As far as I know about, Android Market software is not yet pirated(Correct me if I am wrong). On Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 5:07 PM, strazzere str...@gmail.com wrote: One instance of application security I've seen was bluetooth file sharing application. I believe it read where it's location was, and if it's wasn't installed to /data/app-private then it called you a pirate and exited the program. Though this was easily circumvented by a simple push to / data/app-private, it was detailed somewhere on XDA. Also, while CoPilot and MyBackupPro seem to be defending well against piracy, it should be noted that they both have been cracked. On Nov 16, 4:10 pm, nEx.Software email.nex.softw...@gmail.com wrote: I think apps which operate in a SAAS fashion stand the best chance against piracy. Unfortunately, the current terms of the Android Market make it difficult, if not impossible to do this sort of thing. Web- apps have the obvious benefit in these cases as they can house the bulk of their functionality on the server and use a stub app to access those features. As long as you can make this service worthwhile outside of the world of Android, you'd probably be OK from the current Android Market terms and conditions (please correct me if I am wrong). On Nov 16, 1:36 pm, admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com wrote: So looking at it a different way ... Are there any popular android apps that are not suffering from massive piracy? I had a quick hunt around and could see that MyBackup Pro asks for a Google Checkout number and Copilot also requires a code on starting up. Maybe there's something we can all learn by seeing how other app developers are dealing with this issue. Does anyone know how effective these measures are? Has anyone seen any other techniques that have worked. Its getting very tiring reading how pirates feel they have some right to steal apps from hard-working devs. Would love to teach those guys a lesson ... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Android Developers group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comandroid-developers%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Android Developers group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
Re: [android-developers] Re: Another take on anti-piracy
Yes, I am talking about the same!. Well! Google should be providing with some anti-piracy as Microsoft is! On Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 5:15 PM, strazzere str...@gmail.com wrote: Sorry, do you mean the actual Android Market itself? The applications Vending.apk? It's been put on plenty of ROMS... Remember the CD Cyanogen received... For just this thing? I'm not 100% sure if this qualified as piracy but it does fall under the incorrect distribution... Besides, the protection you may be talking about is it's dependency on Google-centric frameworks that are no available in the AOSP. Though that doesn't seem like a very good protection scheme to me :) On Nov 16, 5:12 pm, Abdul Mateen abmat...@gmail.com wrote: As far as I know about, Android Market software is not yet pirated(Correct me if I am wrong). On Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 5:07 PM, strazzere str...@gmail.com wrote: One instance of application security I've seen was bluetooth file sharing application. I believe it read where it's location was, and if it's wasn't installed to /data/app-private then it called you a pirate and exited the program. Though this was easily circumvented by a simple push to / data/app-private, it was detailed somewhere on XDA. Also, while CoPilot and MyBackupPro seem to be defending well against piracy, it should be noted that they both have been cracked. On Nov 16, 4:10 pm, nEx.Software email.nex.softw...@gmail.com wrote: I think apps which operate in a SAAS fashion stand the best chance against piracy. Unfortunately, the current terms of the Android Market make it difficult, if not impossible to do this sort of thing. Web- apps have the obvious benefit in these cases as they can house the bulk of their functionality on the server and use a stub app to access those features. As long as you can make this service worthwhile outside of the world of Android, you'd probably be OK from the current Android Market terms and conditions (please correct me if I am wrong). On Nov 16, 1:36 pm, admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com wrote: So looking at it a different way ... Are there any popular android apps that are not suffering from massive piracy? I had a quick hunt around and could see that MyBackup Pro asks for a Google Checkout number and Copilot also requires a code on starting up. Maybe there's something we can all learn by seeing how other app developers are dealing with this issue. Does anyone know how effective these measures are? Has anyone seen any other techniques that have worked. Its getting very tiring reading how pirates feel they have some right to steal apps from hard-working devs. Would love to teach those guys a lesson ... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Android Developers group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comandroid-developers%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com android-developers%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.comandroid-developers%252bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Android Developers group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comandroid-developers%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Android Developers group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
[android-developers] Re: Another take on anti-piracy
Our company has developed security layer for Android applications. We will publish it later as a separate library that other developers could include in their applications. Please visit http://www.artfulbits.com/Android/antipiracy.aspx for more info and subscribe if you're interested in updates. On Nov 16, 10:36 pm, admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com wrote: So looking at it a different way ... Are there any popular android apps that are not suffering from massive piracy? I had a quick hunt around and could see that MyBackup Pro asks for a Google Checkout number and Copilot also requires a code on starting up. Maybe there's something we can all learn by seeing how other app developers are dealing with this issue. Does anyone know how effective these measures are? Has anyone seen any other techniques that have worked. Its getting very tiring reading how pirates feel they have some right to steal apps from hard-working devs. Would love to teach those guys a lesson ... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Android Developers group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
[android-developers] Re: Another take on anti-piracy
The only form of anti-piracy that has any real chance of working for a popular app is SaaS (Software as a Service). If the app can run entirely on the phone then the app can be pirated. Now some may say, Well MyHelloWorld hasn't been pirated! but that's only because it hasn't reached the critical mass (in user base) to have the pirates care enough to pirate it. The critical mass required for a program to be pirated increases as you put in more security measures but every security measure will be cracked once critical mass is reached. This means that unless you don't intend for your app to be a top seller (which seems to be selling yourself short unless you are targeting a niche market purposefully) then why waste the development time coding in all sorts of crazy anti-piracy schemes that will get cracked if your software ends up actually being popular? You could instead devote that development time to adding features that will generate more sales instead. This doesn't even take into consideration the poor user experience and expensive support costs that anti-piracy measures entail. Some security measures require the user to do something extra to get the app working (like entering a CD-Key); if I ran into this on the Android Market I would uninstall the app, get a refund and find a competing product. Other security measures try to hide from the user but then you have to deal with support costs or sale losses to deal with problems they cause; if I *buy* an app and install it on my rooted phone (because I want to install more than 50MB of apps at a time) and then it calls me a pirate what do you think I am going to do? First thing, get a refund. Second thing, go pirate a cracked copy. On Nov 16, 12:36 pm, admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com wrote: So looking at it a different way ... Are there any popular android apps that are not suffering from massive piracy? I had a quick hunt around and could see that MyBackup Pro asks for a Google Checkout number and Copilot also requires a code on starting up. Maybe there's something we can all learn by seeing how other app developers are dealing with this issue. Does anyone know how effective these measures are? Has anyone seen any other techniques that have worked. Its getting very tiring reading how pirates feel they have some right to steal apps from hard-working devs. Would love to teach those guys a lesson ... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Android Developers group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
[android-developers] Re: Another take on anti-piracy
It's possible I don't fully understand your technique, but I think it will likely cost more sales then it will generate. If it gets a significant following of apps it will be cracked (a simple solution I can see would be to simply reroute web requests for the black list to a pirates site which will return an empty list). If it doesn't get cracked you are going to lose potential sales from: 1. People who bought a used black listed phone. 2. People who have a blacklisted phone (because they pirated one piece of software) but they wish to pay for another. 3. People who find the idea of buying an app that may break on them later (blacklist site outage, because their phone got blacklisted, etc.) to be repulsive. On Nov 16, 2:45 pm, Paul Turchenko paul.turche...@gmail.com wrote: Our company has developed security layer for Android applications. We will publish it later as a separate library that other developers could include in their applications. Please visithttp://www.artfulbits.com/Android/antipiracy.aspxfor more info and subscribe if you're interested in updates. On Nov 16, 10:36 pm, admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com admin.androidsl...@googlemail.com wrote: So looking at it a different way ... Are there any popular android apps that are not suffering from massive piracy? I had a quick hunt around and could see that MyBackup Pro asks for a Google Checkout number and Copilot also requires a code on starting up. Maybe there's something we can all learn by seeing how other app developers are dealing with this issue. Does anyone know how effective these measures are? Has anyone seen any other techniques that have worked. Its getting very tiring reading how pirates feel they have some right to steal apps from hard-working devs. Would love to teach those guys a lesson ... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Android Developers group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
