Important questions about IsGenuineEx and IsGenuine

Hi there. I've a few questions about IsGenuine and IsGenuineEx methods (C#).

My IsGenuineEx Options are : - FLAG = TA_SKIP_OFFLINE,- DAYSBETWEENCHECKS = 14,- GRACEDAYSONINETERR = 7.

Here is the scenario that i ve tried. Before that, i'd like to say that I've very stable and flawless internet connection. (1GBit Fibre Internet.)

1-) 10 minutes ago i've activated (licensed) my app. 2-) IsActivated() and IsGenuineEx() works fine.3-) 10 minutes later, i REVOKED the key,4-) IsActivated() returns OK because app is activated.5-) IsGenuineEx() returns OK! (Why IsGenuineEx() returns OK even the key is REVOKED?)6-) I un-revoked the key and DEACTIVATED the activation (from your website)7-) IsGenuineEx() returns OK! (Why isGenuineEx() returns OK even the license is DEACTIVATED?)😎 I activated and licensed the app again, 9-) IsActivated(), IsGenuine() returns OK. (Which is fine. )10-) I REVOKED the key, IsGenuine() returns fail. (Which is what i wanted.)

Questions = 1-) Why IsGenuineEX() returns OK even if the key is REVOKED or DEACTIVATED?2-) I activated app 10 minutes ago and i've internet connection. Why IsGenuineEx() returns OK?3-) Am I in grace period? If YES, Why? I allways have an iternet connection ALL THE TIME that IsGenuineEx method runs?4-) What I want is; If user has an internet connection, i want to check the license online. If they dont, then I'd like to give them a few days to use app without checking license online. How can I achieve this?

===== CORRECTION =========4-) What I want is; If user has an internet connection, i want to check the license online. If they dont, then I'd like to give them a few days to use app without checking license online. But if the user has an internet connection (even if the user is in the grace perid) i'd like to check it online. How can I achieve this?

1-) Why IsGenuineEX() returns OK even if the key is REVOKED or DEACTIVATED?2-) I activated app 10 minutes ago and i've internet connection. Why IsGenuineEx() returns OK?

This question is already answered in every Using TurboActivate article, as well as in the documentation for the code. So, since you're using C#, here's where you look: Using TurboActivate with C#

Scroll down a bit and you'll see a header "IsActivated(), IsGenuine(), IsGenuineEx()" where it explains how they work (and specifically why you're seeing what you're seeing).

There are 3 separate TurboActivate functions for checking whether a customer is activated or not:

  • IsActivated() checks if the user is activated without contacting any servers (no internet connection needed ever). It does this by verifying the cryptographically signed "computer fingerprint".
  • IsGenuine() contacts the LimeLM servers to see if the user is still activated (checks for revoked product keys, etc.) and whether features have changed. This function requires an active internet connection to succeed (or else you get IsGenuineResult.InternetError returned).
  • IsGenuineEx() is a mix of the best parts of IsActivated() and IsGenuine(). In IsGenuineEx() you can specify how often to check with the LimeLM servers and all other times it verifies the activation locally. (Note: in C# IsGenuineEx() is the IsGenuine() function with the 4 parameters.)

Make sense?

DAYSBETWEENCHECKS = 14

OK, so then you know that IsGenuineEx() checks the servers every 14 days. It doesn't matter that you clicked "revoke" today if it already checked less than 14 days ago.

3-) Am I in grace period?

No, you're not. You said yourself: "I activated app 10 minutes ago and i've internet connection." 10 minutes is less than 14 days, thus IsGenuineEx() is doing what it was designed to do -- check the local activation without touching the internet.

4-) What I want is; If user has an internet connection, i want to check the license online. If they dont, then I'd like to give them a few days to use app without checking license online. But if the user has an internet connection (even if the user is in the grace perid) i'd like to check it online. How can I achieve this?

You can't and if you could, you shouldn't. That's bad design and punishes customers with active and open internet connections.

The way you're using IsGenuineEx() right now is the best way to do things. So, worst case scenario, let's say a fraudulent user uses a stolen credit card to buy your product. You revoke the key, and at the very best the fraudster gets to use your app for DaysBetweenChecks + GracePeriod days.

Why do you say "That's bad design and punishes customers with active and open internet connections."

For starters there's absolutely no reasons to reverify with the servers every time your app starts. Or anywhere near that frequency. Why? Because TurboActivate uses cryptographic signing on the activations (meaning they can't be forged).

Any user that wants to reverify with the activation servers every 30 seconds (or every day, or any other ludicrous time frame) is just doing it so they can "immediately ban" end-users that use fraudulent credit cards. But if you make that check conditional (i.e. a lack of internet won't cause an error), then the customer that are already stealing from you will already be blocking the internet checks. The legit customers won't be (they have no reason to be), but their networks will be hammered & CPU taxed (and thus they're punished) with the unnecessary frequency of the online verification.

Hence setting the value to a sane number. Like checking every 30 days or 90 days.

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