Document Copy Protection

[AG]

My client has a Word 2007 doc and an Excel 2007 workbook with highly
specialized content that he has developed.

Each is copied to his clients' machines for their use under a license
agreement.

He would like to invoke some type of protection to prevent the files from
being copied/used elsewhere.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don't there is any way to do that.

My thought was to embed each file into an exe and set up some type of
'activation'.

Can anyone tell me if this can be done?

Any other thoughts?

Thanks for any assisstance.

 

[Cor Ligthert[MVP]]

A normal way to do this is put them in a Rar or Zip file with a password.
Both WinRar and WinZip have those possibilities.

Be aware however that very many crack programs to decode the password in
this area.

There was once a company which for their own licenses had bounded anything
to the hard disk.
They used the hard disk information from the 10Mb IBM disk, it did not work
on any other disk.

They went bankrupt years ago.

Cor

 

[AG]

Cor,

Thanks for the quick reply.

Password protecting a zip or rar would only stop someone from extracting the
files without the password. It would not stop them from using the extracted
files on multiple machines or passing to someone else.

I was rushed earlier so, forgot to mention, that the license agreement must
be renewed every year. So, I also need something that will not allow the
files to be viewed after one year if the license is not renewed.
--

AG
Email: npATadhdataDOTcom

 

[Cor Ligthert[MVP]]

AG,

I don't think that there is any solution for your problem.

Everything can be copied all was it simple with the copy, cut or the
snipping tool.

Many have tried things what you ask, I never have heard or seen any
solution.

Cor

 

[AG]

Thanks for the reply Cor.
What about embedding the doc into an exe as a resource?
Is there a way to do that and therefore only display it within the exe?
I haven't done much with Windows apps, but I am thinking that there might be
a control that would 'host' a Word doc and another for Excel workbook.
I could then set up some kind of activation process.

--

AG
Email: npATadhdataDOTcom

 

[Jie Wang [MSFT]]

Hi AG,

Since I don't have much information about detailed requirements & user
scenarios, I'm not sure whether or not the IRM (Information Rights
Management) can fit in here.

The IRM can use not only just the domain credential to control the document
rights (read, write, copy, print, expiration, etc.), it can also use
Windows Live ID (formerly .NET Passport) to decide whether the owner of
that ID have specific rights to the document. This might be very useful to
target audiences who are out there without a domain network restriction.

If you're interested in this solution, you may want to learn more from this
page:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA011801361033.aspx

Regards,

Jie Wang ([email protected], remove 'online.')

Microsoft Online Community Support

Delighting our customers is our #1 priority. We welcome your comments and
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[Cor Ligthert[MVP]]

Hi Wang,

Looks nice, I did not know this, maybe I should not have answered this in
developers newsgroup.

But seems me very interesting for the client, I was writing earlier about
making something like this, when I realized myself that this does not
prevent stealing using the Snipping Tool and therefore I did not sent that
message, but even that seems to protected using this solution.

Cor

 

[AG]

Jie,

Thanks for the reply.

That looks like a great tool. I had never heard of it either.
One big problem for this application (sorry I failed to mention), though.
Many of the 'users' would not have internet access.

What about embedding the doc into an exe as a resource?
Is there a way to do that and therefore only display it within the exe?
I haven't done much with Windows apps, but I am thinking that there might be
a control that would 'host' a Word doc and another for Excel workbook.
I could then set up some kind of activation process, which could also be
completed via phone.

--

AG
Email: npATadhdataDOTcom

Hi AG,

Since I don't have much information about detailed requirements & user
scenarios, I'm not sure whether or not the IRM (Information Rights
Management) can fit in here.

The IRM can use not only just the domain credential to control the
document
rights (read, write, copy, print, expiration, etc.), it can also use
Windows Live ID (formerly .NET Passport) to decide whether the owner of
that ID have specific rights to the document. This might be very useful to
target audiences who are out there without a domain network restriction.

If you're interested in this solution, you may want to learn more from
this
page:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA011801361033.aspx

Regards,

Jie Wang ([email protected], remove 'online.')

Microsoft Online Community Support

Delighting our customers is our #1 priority. We welcome your comments and
suggestions about how we can improve the support we provide to you. Please
feel free to let my manager know what you think of the level of service
provided. You can send feedback directly to my manager at:
(e-mail address removed).

==================================================
Get notification to my posts through email? Please refer to
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/aa948868.aspx#notifications.

Note: MSDN Managed Newsgroup support offering is for non-urgent issues
where an initial response from the community or a Microsoft Support
Engineer within 2 business days is acceptable. Please note that each
follow
up response may take approximately 2 business days as the support
professional working with you may need further investigation to reach the
most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
that require urgent, real-time or phone-based interactions. Issues of this
nature are best handled working with a dedicated Microsoft Support
Engineer
by contacting Microsoft Customer Support Services (CSS) at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/aa948874.aspx
==================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.

 

[Jie Wang [MSFT]]

Hi AG,

About embedding the doc into an EXE:

I'm not aware of any methods to make Word/Excel to open a document without
a file on the file system. So it looks like we'll have to write a copy of
the file onto the file system before displaying it.

For control that can 'host' Office documents, you may want to take a look
at this one:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311765

Regards,

Jie Wang ([email protected], remove 'online.')

Microsoft Online Community Support

Delighting our customers is our #1 priority. We welcome your comments and
suggestions about how we can improve the support we provide to you. Please
feel free to let my manager know what you think of the level of service
provided. You can send feedback directly to my manager at:
(e-mail address removed).

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most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
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[Jie Wang [MSFT]]

Hi Cor,

Actually you're right, we cannot prevent a determined person from stealing
the contents.

Once the content is finally displayed on the screen, the content is no
longer protected. Snipping tool, Print Screen, a camera, pen & paper, good
memory with a big brain, all will do it. Not to mention memory dump or even
rip it out of the page file.

It just a matter of how long we can hold him/her off.

Regards,

Jie Wang ([email protected], remove 'online.')

Microsoft Online Community Support

Delighting our customers is our #1 priority. We welcome your comments and
suggestions about how we can improve the support we provide to you. Please
feel free to let my manager know what you think of the level of service
provided. You can send feedback directly to my manager at:
(e-mail address removed).

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Note: MSDN Managed Newsgroup support offering is for non-urgent issues
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Engineer within 2 business days is acceptable. Please note that each follow
up response may take approximately 2 business days as the support
professional working with you may need further investigation to reach the
most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
that require urgent, real-time or phone-based interactions. Issues of this
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==================================================
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[AG]

Thanks Jie,

I will check that out.