{fh21000ffSoftcrete
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First Impressions {fb1000000The first thing you notice about Softcrete, when you open the plastic wallet, is that it comes with a small, photocopied A5 instruction leaflet. The second thing you notice is that the disc is almost empty. It contains less than 33k of software. You immediately get the feeling that you've not got very much in exchange for your hard-earned 24.95. However, the leaflet does tell you all you need to know, and the software does its job.

{fb10000ffWhat does it do? {fb1000000Softcrete is a protection system for software. Someone can use the encrypted software on the specified machine, but if they take the software to another machine it will be completely unusable.

{fb10000ffHow does it work? {fb1000000Softcrete can take the encryption key from one of three places:-

(1) If you have a recent Archimedes, with an ID chip inside, you can tell Softcrete to use this value as the key.

(2) You can load a password into any four consecutive bytes of CMOS ROM. The suggested bytes are 224-227 which are reserved for Risc iX.

(3) You can load a "non resident" password tempo- rarily into main memory using the SCreteNRP application, which doesn't appear on the icon bar, so thieves won't know it's there.
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When you encrypt your software it adds a small piece of code to the front of the encrypted program. When invoked, it decrypts the software, passing forward any passed parameters. If you encrypted the program with the machine's identification number, the decryption code obtains the key by reading the ID chip so if this program is being run on the wrong machine, it will fail to decrypt correctly.

{fb10000ffRunning an encrypted program {fb1000000Except in the case of a "non resident" password, you don't have to do anything special to run your program. Double click on the icon in the normal way and it decrypts itself as it loads. The decryption code is tiny and fast, so you don't notice any difference.

{fb10000ffHow secure is it? {fb1000000It's hard to be certain. The code looks pretty opaque to me. One big advantage is that the existence of Softcrete encryption is transparent, when run on the correct machine, the thief will have no clue that there is any security in place until he gets the program home.

{fb10000ffPossible problems. {fb1000000If you drag an application directory onto Softcrete to encrypt it, Softcrete will search for its !RunImage file, and if it is a suitable type (BASIC, Abso- lute or untyped code) it en- crypts that file. If the author, for some reason, hasn't called his code file "!RunImage", then Softcrete will do nothing, and not warn you that it has done nothing. It will not be immediately obvious that nothing has happened.

Softcrete cannot be used to remove encryption once it's been applied, so you absolutely must keep an original copy somewhere else. I would have liked to have seen this warning in a rather more prominent position. It would have been nice to have a warning banner that pops up when you use the program.

{fb10000ffWho would want it? {fb1000000Home users are unlikely to have a need for Softcrete. It does not protect your hardware, or your data files, only programs. There might be some use for it in schools and businesses.

Softcrete is only suitable for users who are reasonably computer literate. If, for example, you don't know what a !RunImage file is, then I'd steer clear of this one.
 
On the whole, it's an extremely clever piece of code. If you ever happen to have a requirement for good security on the software (not data or hardware) that you own then you need look no further.

{fb10000ffProduct:{fb1000000 Softcrete
{fb10000ffPrice:{fb1000000 24.95
{fb10000ffAvailability:{fb1000000 All Acorn 32-bit machines with RISC OS 3+
{fb10000ffContact:{fb1000000 The Really Good Software Company (01582) 761395

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