Activation file never times out?

Hi there,

I just found a problem. If you activate using an activation file ("offline activation") and do not have a running internet connection, this activation never times out. You can always reactivate using the TurboActivation.exe wizard. While I understand there is a date limit you can put on the activation file, this does NOT seem to work if you change the date staying offline. Did I do something wrong?

And it appears that I can just turn back the system clock and re-use a timed out activation file?

Is there any way to allow offline activation using a subscription based payment model?

The "activation expires" date doesn't mean what you think it means. It simply means when the offline activation can no longer be applied to the system. (And this does work -- rolling back / forward the clock doesn't trick it).

What you're looking for -- limiting the customer to a certain period of using your software -- is feature values. Namely, a feature value like "subscription_expires" of date / time type. Then, use a combination of GetFeatureValue("subscription_expires") and IsDateValid() to tell whether the subscription has expired and the user needs to reactivate.

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