SafeNet Sentinel Developer's Manual

1.2.0

Copyright © 2007, SafeNet, Inc.

All rights reserved.

All attempts have been made to make the information in this document complete and accurate. SafeNet, Inc. is
not responsible for any direct or indirect damages or loss of business resulting from inaccuracies or omissions.
The specifications contained in this document are subject to change without notice.

SafeNet, Sentinel, Sentinel V-Clock, and the Business Layer APIs are either registered trademarks or trademarks
of SafeNet, Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Win
dows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and Internet Explorer are either trademarks or registered trade­marks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Java is a trademark of Sun
Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds, in the United
States and other countries. Mac and the Mac logo are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S.
and other
countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

The Sentinel Keys SDK makes use of certain third-party software. Please refer to Acknowledgments.pdf under
the Manuals directory for details.

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

The Sentinel Keys SDK is designed to protect your software applications from unauthorized use. It is in your best
interest to protect the information herein from access by unauthorized individuals.

Part Number 002266-001, Revision F

Software versions 1.2.0

-

Revision Action/Change Date

A 1.0.0 release for Windows 32-bit platforms November 2005

B 1.0.2 release for Linux platforms May 2006

C 1.0.2 release for Windows 32-bit and x64 platforms August 2006

D 1.0.2 release for Macintosh platforms September 2006

E 1.0.3 release for Windows Vista 32-bit and x64 platforms March 2007

F 1.2.0 release for Windows 32-bit and x64 platforms December 2007

ii Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

Certifications

European Community Directive Conformance Statement

Sentinel Hardware Keys are in conformity with the protection requirements of EC
Council Directive 89/336/EEC. Conformity is declared to the following applicable stan
dards for electro-magnetic compatibility immunity and susceptibility; CISPR22 and
IEC801. This product satisfies the CLASS B limits of EN 55022.

ISO 9001:2000 Certification

SafeNet Irvine, California, U.S.A and Rotterdam, The Netherlands facilities are
certified to the latest, globally-recognized ISO 9001:2000 standard. The
certificate number is: CERT-02982-2003-AQ-HOU-RAB Rev 3.

WEEE and RoHS Compliance

Sentinel Hardware Keys are environment-friendly and com­ply to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and
Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) standards.

The WEEE symbol indicates that the electronic devices
included with this product package must not be disposed of
with other non-electrical waste. It is the responsibility of
your organization to dispose of your electronic waste by
handing it over to a designated collection point for the recy
cling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

-

-

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide iii

Mac OS X Universal Logo Compliance

The Sentinel Hardware Keys SDK is designed for the Macintosh operating
system (Mac OS X) and runs natively on both PowerPC- and Intel-based
computers from Apple.

USB 2.0 Compliance

Sentinel Hardware Keys comply to the USB 2.0 standards.

WHQL Certification

The Sentinel System Driver (for Windows) is certi­fied by Windows Hardware Quality Lab (WHQL) for
Windows 2000, Windows XP (32-bit and x64), Win
dows Server 2003 (32-bit and x64), and Windows
Vista (32-bit and x64).

-

Ready for Red Hat Linux

The Sentinel Hardware Keys SDK is supported on Red Hat Linux.

This logo is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc.

iv Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

FCC Compliance

Sentinel Hardware Keys have passed the FCC Self-authorization process of Computers and Computer
Peripherals. FCC Part 15 Class B Specifications.

C

F

C

FCC Notice to Users

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class B digital device, pursuant to part
15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a
residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not
installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment
does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equip
ment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following mea­sures:

■ Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

■ Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

■ Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

■ Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

In order to maintain compliance with FCC regulations, shielded cables must be used with this equipment. Opera­tion with non-approved equipment or unshielded cables is likely to result in interference to radio and TV
reception. The user is cautioned that changes and modifications made to the equipment without the approval
of manufacturer could void the user's authority to operate this equipment.

-

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide v

vi Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

Table Of Contents

Table Of Contents ........................................................................... vii

Preface ............................................................................................ xiii

Where to Find Information?........................................................................................xiii

Conventions Used in This Guide..................................................................................xiv

Technical Support ........................................................................................................ xv

SafeNet Sales Offices...................................................................................................xvii

Export Considerations ...............................................................................................xviii

We Welcome Your Comments ..................................................................................xviii

Part 1: Sentinel Key Basics.................................... 1

Chapter 1 – Introduction .................................................................. 3

Software Piracy Hurts Your Business.............................................................................3

Sentinel Keys Protect Against Software Piracy..............................................................4

License Models to Increase Your Revenue .....................................................................6

Sentinel Keys Offer Sophisticated Protection..................................................................7

Frequently Asked Questions.........................................................................................14

Chapter 2 – Sentinel Keys SDK Components ................................ 17

Overview ......................................................................................................................17

Sentinel System Driver .................................................................................................19

Sentinel Keys Toolkit....................................................................................................21

Command-Line Shell Utility .........................................................................................24

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide vii

Contents

Key Programming APIs............................................................................................... 24

Developer Key.............................................................................................................. 25

Compiler Interfaces ..................................................................................................... 27

License Manager (Stand-alone)................................................................................... 28

Distributor Key ............................................................................................................ 29

Sentinel Keys ............................................................................................................... 29

Sentinel Keys Server.................................................................................................... 33

Sentinel Keys License Monitor..................................................................................... 35

Sentinel Protection Installer........................................................................................ 37

Configuration Files ...................................................................................................... 38

Remote Update Options............................................................................................... 38

Frequently Asked Questions........................................................................................ 38

Chapter 3 – Planning Application Protection and

Licensing Strategy......................................................................... 41

About Features, Templates, and Groups ..................................................................... 41

Planning Application Protection and Licensing Strategy........................................... 50

Frequently Asked Questions........................................................................................ 58

Part 2: Designing and

Implementing Protection ................................. 63

Chapter 4 – Protecting Applications Using Shell .......................... 65

Add Shell Feature Dialog Box...................................................................................... 66

Adding Files................................................................................................................. 66

Providing Licensing Settings....................................................................................... 67

Providing Networking Settings ................................................................................... 69

Providing Security Settings......................................................................................... 71

Customizing Error Messages........................................................................................ 73

Customizing Shell Error Message Title ........................................................................ 73

Changing File Encryption Settings.............................................................................. 74

Applying Shell Protection............................................................................................ 76

Shell Protection Using the Command-Line Utility....................................................... 78

What’s Next? ............................................................................................................... 81

viii Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

Contents

Frequently Asked Questions.........................................................................................83

Chapter 5 – Protecting Applications Using API............................. 91

Steps to Protect Applications Using API.......................................................................91

Adding API Features ....................................................................................................95

What’s Next? ............................................................................................................. 114

Frequently Asked Questions...................................................................................... 116

Chapter 6 – Secure Remote Updates............................................ 119

Secure Remote Update .............................................................................................. 119

Secure Remote Feature/License Update .................................................................... 120

Secure Remote New License Addition....................................................................... 127

Remote Update Codes................................................................................................ 131

Remote Update Methods............................................................................................ 132

About Remote Update Actions.................................................................................. 136

Generating Update Codes .......................................................................................... 140

Frequently Asked Questions...................................................................................... 142

Chapter 7 – Implementing Secure Licensing............................... 145

Vulnerability Assessment - Basic Types of Attacks ................................................... 146

Tips and Tricks .......................................................................................................... 149

Frequently Asked Questions...................................................................................... 159

Part 3: Grouping Licenses and

Programming Hardware Keys ......................... 161

Chapter 8 – License Grouping ...................................................... 163

Why Create Groups?.................................................................................................. 163

Creating New Groups ................................................................................................ 165

Loading Groups ......................................................................................................... 166

Duplicating Groups ................................................................................................... 166

Removing Groups...................................................................................................... 167

Sending Group Files to Distributors........................................................................... 167

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide ix

Contents

Viewing Group Layouts.............................................................................................168

Modifying Default Feature Instances.........................................................................169

Creating New Feature Instances ............................................................................... 169

Add Templates to Groups .......................................................................................... 170

Remove Templates From Groups .............................................................................. 170

Export-File Manager..................................................................................................171

Locking/Unlocking Groups .......................................................................................172

Frequently Asked Questions......................................................................................173

Chapter 9 – Programming Sentinel Hardware Keys................... 179

Programming Sentinel Keys using Sentinel Keys Toolkit .........................................179

Programming Sentinel Keys using the Key Programming APIs............................... 184

Frequently Asked Questions......................................................................................188

Part 4: Distributing Protected Applications .... 195

Chapter 10 – Redistributables for Customers and Distributors 197

Checklist for Customers And Distributors ................................................................. 197

Deploying Sentinel System Driver ............................................................................. 199

Deploying Sentinel Keys Server................................................................................. 201

Deploying (Client) Configuration File........................................................................ 201

Deploying Secure Update Utility................................................................................ 202

Deploying Secure Update Wizard (Windows Only)...................................................204

Deploying Sentinel Data Protection Driver (Windows Only) .................................... 209

Deploying Stand-alone License Manager.................................................................. 211

Deploying System Administrator’s Help.................................................................... 213

Frequently Asked Questions......................................................................................214

Appendix A – Troubleshooting .................................................... 219

Problems and Solutions............................................................................................. 219

x Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

Contents

Appendix B – Glossary .................................................................. 235

A................................................................................................................................ 235

B ................................................................................................................................ 236

C ................................................................................................................................ 237

D ................................................................................................................................ 238

E................................................................................................................................. 239

F................................................................................................................................. 241

G ................................................................................................................................ 242

H................................................................................................................................ 243

K ................................................................................................................................ 244

L................................................................................................................................. 244

M ............................................................................................................................... 246

N................................................................................................................................ 246

P ................................................................................................................................ 246

Q ................................................................................................................................ 247

R ................................................................................................................................ 247

S................................................................................................................................. 248

U ................................................................................................................................ 252

W............................................................................................................................... 253

Appendix C – Sentinel Keys Hardware Specifications ............... 255

Appendix D – Migration from SuperPro and UltraPro ............... 257

Stage 1 - Distribute Sentinel Dual Hardware Keys.................................................... 257

Stage 2 - Design New Protection Strategy................................................................. 259

Index .............................................................................................. 261

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide xi

Contents

xii Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

Preface

Thank you for choosing Sentinel Hardware Keys—the state-of-the-art USB
tokens with advanced cryptographic capabilities. Using Sentinel Keys, you
can:

■ Protect your intellectual property from piracy.

■ Implement different license models for different customers.

■ Secure your product revenue.

Where to Find Information?

The Sentinel Keys SDK documentation is for the following users:

You Could Be a... Recommended

Manager or New User

You want to understand the product
installation, features and benefits

Application Programmer

You want to plan, design, and implement the
application protection.

References

❑ Release notes
❑ Part I of this guide

❑ Sentinel Keys Toolkit Help
❑ Part I and Part II of this

guide

❑ Business Layer API Help

Sentinel Key Programmer

You want to program Sentinel Keys for your
customers.

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide xiii

❑ Sentinel Keys Toolkit Help
❑ Part III of this guide

Conventions Used in This Guide

You Could Be a... Recommended

Builder

You want to prepare the protected application
for release, including deploying the
redistributables.

References

❑ Part IV of the guide
❑ Sentinel Protection

Installer Help (for
Windows only)

Sales Distributors

You want to program Sentinel Keys for your
customers.

Customers and Helpdesk

For users who want to learn how to use the
hardware key and the redistributables, like the
Sentinel System Driver, Sentinel Keys Server,
configuration file.

Conventions Used in This Guide

Please note the following conventions used in this guide:

Convention Meaning

Courier Denotes syntax, prompts and code examples. Bold Courier

type represents characters that you type; for example:
logon.

Bold Lettering Words in boldface type represent keystrokes, menu items,

window names or fields.

Italic Lettering Words in italic type represent file names and directory

names; it is also used for emphasis.

Denotes a warning. This icon flags any potential pitfalls
that we think that you may need to be careful of.

❑ Help included with the

License Manager applica­tion

❑ System Administrator’s

Help

❑ FAQs included in the Sen-

tinel Keys Toolkit Help

<OS drive> The root drive on your system where your operating

system is installed.

xiv Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

Technical Support

Convention Meaning

<installdir> The path where the software, in context, is installed.

For example, the default <installdir> for Sentinel Keys SDK
is as follows:

❑ On Windows 32-bit: <OS Drive>:\Program Files\SafeNet

Sentinel\Sentinel Keys\<version>

❑ On Windows x64: <OS Drive>:\Program

Files(x86)\SafeNet Sentinel\Sentinel Keys\<version>

❑ On Linux: /opt/safenet_sentinel/sentinel_keys/

<version>

❑ On Macintosh: /Applications/safenet_sentinel/

sentinel_keys/<version>

<Personal folder> The default path for the Personal folder on Windows

2000/XP (32-bit and x64)/Server 2003 (32-bit and x64)
systems is: <OS Drive>:\Documents and Settings\user
name.

The default path for the Personal folder on Windows Vista
(32-bit and x64) systems is: <OS Drive>:\Users\user name.

<Home Directory> Refers to the default user's directory on Linux and

Macintosh.

Technical Support

If you have questions, need additional assistance, or encounter a problem,
please contact Technical Support using the information given below:

Technical Support Contact Information

Customer Connection Center (C3)

http://c3.safenet-inc.com

Online support system to get quick answers for your queries. It also provides you

direct access to SafeNet knowledge base.

Sentinel Integration Center (C3)

http://www.safenet-inc.com/support/ic/iclogin.asp

Provides the information you need to successfully integrate Sentinel products

with your solutions.

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide xv

Technical Support

Technical Support Contact Information (Continued)

Americas

Internet http://www.safenet-inc.com/support/index.asp

E-mail [e-mail]

United States

Telephone [phone]

Europe

E-mail [e-mail]

France

Telephone [phone]

Germany

Telephone [phone]

United Kingdom

Telephone [phone] (Intl)

Pacific Rim

E-mail [e-mail]

Australia and New Zealand

Telephone [phone] (Intl)

China

Telephone [phone]

India

Telephone [phone] (Intl)

Taiwan and Southeast Asia

Telephone [phone] (Intl)

xvi Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

SafeNet Sales Offices

For more information about SafeNet products and offerings, contact the
sales offices located in the following countries:

SafeNet Sales Offices

Australia
[phone]

Finland
[phone]

Hong Kong
[phone]

Korea
[phone]

Singapore
[phone]

U.S. (Massachusetts)
+1 978.539.4800

U.S. (Irvine, California)
+1 949.450.7300

Brazil
[phone]

France
[phone]

India
[phone] / 30980641

Mexico
[phone]

Tai wan
886-2-27353736

U.S. (New Jersey)
+1 201.333.3400

U.S. (San Jose, California)
+ [phone]

China
[phone]

Germany
[phone]

Japan (Tokyo)
+ 81 45 6405733

Netherlands
[phone]

UK (Camberley)
[phone]

U.S. (Virginia)
+1 703.279.4500

U.S. (Torrance, California)
+1 310.533.8100

Tip: Please visit http://www.safenet-inc.com/support/index.asp for the most up-

to-date information about Sentinel Keys, downloads, FAQs, and technical
notes.

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide xvii

We Welcome Your Comments

Export Considerations

We offer products that are based on encryption technology. The Bureau of
Industry and Security (BIS) in the U.S. Department of Commerce adminis
ters the export controls on our commercial encryption products.

Rules governing exports of encryption can be found in the Export Adminis­tration Regulations (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which implements the
Export Administration Act (“EAA” 50 U.S.C. App. 2401 et seq.).

An Important Note

BIS requires that each entity exporting products be familiar with and com­ply with their obligations described in the Export Administration
Regulations. Please note that the regulations are subject to change. We rec
ommend that you obtain your own legal advice when attempting to export
any product that uses encryption. In addition, some countries may restrict
certain levels of encryption imported into their country. We recommend
consulting legal counsel in the appropriate country or the applicable gov
ernmental agencies in the particular country.

-

-

-

We Welcome Your Comments

To help us improve future versions of the documentation, we want to know
about any corrections, clarifications or further information you would find
useful. When you contact us, please include the following information:

■ The title and version of the guide you are referring to.

■ The version of the software you are using.

■ Your name, company name, job title, phone number, and e-mail

address.

Send us e-mail at: [e-mail]

xviii Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

Part 1

Sentinel Key Basics

❑ Software piracy problem and its solution

❑ Sentinel Keys SDK components

❑ Planning application protection and licensing

strategy

Chapter 1
Introduction

In this chapter we will assess how software piracy threatens your profits and
understand how Sentinel Hardware Keys (also referred as “Sentinel Keys”)
can curb widespread piracy and add value to your software distribution.

Software Piracy Hurts Your Business

Software piracy hurts the bottom-line of your business. Every year a huge
share of revenue is lost due to piracy—affecting your profits and subse
quently the product research and development prospects.

Software piracy can occur in many forms, varying from malicious counter­feiting to unintended violations of the license agreement by users who may
be unaware they are doing so (for example, more than permissible number
of users using the application concurrently, unreported installations, and
exchange of software disks among peers).

-

Software licensing not only effectively secures against piracy but can also
enhances product versatility with flexible licensing models. You can use
new avenues to distribute your applications and ultimately improve your
return-on-investment. Moreover, software protection must be simple to
implement, so that your schedules are not burdened with lengthy training
and licensing implementation. Read on to know how Sentinel Keys can do
all this and much more!

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide 3

Chapter 1 – Introduction

Sentinel Keys Protect Against Software Piracy

Sentinel Keys provide hardware token-based licensing to your software
application(s). These also provide better market penetration through easy­to-implement licensing models, such as demos, lease, and network licenses.

This section briefly explains the process of protecting your application and
describes how the protected application will behave when your customers
run it.

In order to protect your application, you first need to design the protection
strategy in the Sentinel Keys Toolkit (referred as Toolkit hereafter). The
Toolkit is the main application using, which you will do everything from
preparing a protection strategy to programming hardware keys.

Note: You may also program your Sentinel Keys using the Key Programming APIs.

Please refer to the section
gramming APIs” .

The Toolkit provides two basic methods to protect your applications:

“Programming Sentinel Keys using the Key Pro-

■ Shell Protection: The method in which protective wrappers are put

1

around the application

quickly and easily. For more details, see

Chapter 4, “Protecting Applications Using Shell,” on page 65.

■ API Protection: The method in which you insert the Business Layer

API functions into your application's source code. For more details,

see

Chapter 5, “Protecting Applications Using API,” on page 91.

Whatever method you choose, the outcome will be a protected application,
different from the original application. The protected application is depen

­dent on the Sentinel Key for execution. It will check for the presence of the
Sentinel Key in order to run successfully. If the operation is successful, the
application is allowed to run. If it fails, such as when the correct Sentinel
Key is not attached or has been tampered with, access to the application is
denied. Since the application can be programmed to check for the Sentinel

1. Available only on Windows and can be used for protecting Windows 32-bit and 64-bit exe­cutables and DLLs.

4 Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

Sentinel Keys Protect Against Software Piracy

Key periodically, it is impossible to remove it while the application is run­ning. As a result, the protected application is allowed to run only when the
stipulated licensing conditions are met. For example, the users may be able
to freely copy your application, but will not be able to execute it beyond the
number of users allowed.

You can see the diagram below to understand the typical behavior on the
customer site when the correct Sentinel Key is attached or not.

Note: The Secure Communication Tunnel (term used in the diagram below) is

explained on page 15.

Licensing Behavior on Application Run-time

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide 5

Chapter 1 – Introduction

License Models to Increase Your Revenue

Sentinel Keys provide the most advanced hardware-based protection
against software piracy. For software vendors and developers, it opens a new
world of opportunities by preventing illegal copying and distribution of their
proprietary applications. It also provides better market penetration by
increasing the product usage/trial rate among the potential customers. A
few examples are described below. Using Sentinel Keys, you can:

■ Lease the protected application for certain period. Later, your

customers may want to extend the lease or convert it to a perpetual
license.

To lease your applications, you can choose from RTC-based Sentinel

TM

Keys or non-RTC tokens with Sentinel V-Clock

RTC-based Sentinel Keys contain an internal real-time clock to track
the exact date and time of the leased applications. The real clock keeps
track of time independent of the system clock—providing the best
solution against time tampering attacks.

.

The non-RTC tokens with Sentinel V-Clock also allow reliable and
secure distribution of time-limited applications. These do not require
an on-board battery to detect time tampering.

■ Sell demo versions of the protected application. These can be

upgraded to full-versions whenever desired.

■ Provide stand-alone and network

2

licenses for individual customers

and enterprise-level set-ups.

■ Protect multiple applications with a single Sentinel Key.

■ Activate and renew applications/features, increase lease/demo limits,

add new licenses and convert to full versions remotely (such as, using
an e-mail).

2. Also known as concurrent or floating licenses.

6 Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

Sentinel Keys Offer Sophisticated Protection

Sentinel Keys Offer Sophisticated Protection

This section provides a summary of the main features of Sentinel Keys SDK,
which make it the most reliable and chosen solution to protect your intellec
tual property and copyrights.

Hardware Key with Cutting-edge Security Technology

Sentinel Keys use the cutting-edge technology for superior security. Here are
the major highlights of the hardware key:

■ Contains the ECC algorithm for digital signing and verification,

providing data authentication, confidentiality, integrity, and non­repudiation.

■ Contains the 128-bit AES algorithm for block encryption/decryption

and query-response protection.

■ Provides secure communication using the Secure Communication

Tunnel. The tunnel is an end-to-end secured session between the client
and the Sentinel Key. The communication packets are encrypted
using the AES algorithm, for which the session key is generated using
ECC-based key exchange (ECKAS-DH1).

-

■ Allows random generation of ECC and AES keys. Unlimited number of

keys can be generated.

■ Uses chip-on-board (COB) technology for better performance, high

reliability, and greater protection against reverse engineering.

■ Uses mirroring and self-correction for higher reliability against

memory corruption.

■ Has the in-built capability to write-once in the field. It means that

ignoring the access rights, the data can be modified at run-time only
once. Hence, it prevents unauthorized revisions of the data contained
in the Sentinel Key.

■ Supports universal binaries for compatibility with PowerPC and Intel-

based Macintosh systems.

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide 7

Chapter 1 – Introduction

End-to-End Secure Communication Tunnel

■ USB 2.0 compliant, full-speed for bulk transfer.

■ 16-bit RISC MCU for high performance.

■ WHQL certified Sentinel System Driver for Windows 2000, XP (32-bit

and x64), and Server 2003 (32-bit and x64) compatibility.

Role-enforcement Using Hardware Keys

The Toolkit application is used to prepare important and confidential license
policies. Hence, it is important to restrict the unauthorized access to the
Toolkit. To control this, you are provided with a developer key, a hardware
key to authenticate developers. Other users, who do not have the developer
key, might be able to access the Toolkit, but will not be able to do any produc
tive tasks (such as, prototyping the protection strategies). Also, once you
have programmed Sentinel Keys for your customers, other developers can
not program or update them using their developer keys.

8 Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

-

-

Sentinel Keys Offer Sophisticated Protection

Similarly, your sales distributors require a distributor key (the hardware key
you specifically program for each distributor) to program Sentinel Keys for
your customers

Innovative Licensing Models for Market Penetration

Sentinel Keys not only secure unauthorized usage of your software, but also
provide options to package your software differently to suit different price or
feature categories. Using Sentinel Keys, you can:

■ Easily create demos, time-limited, and executions-limited software

packages.

■ Distribute stand-alone licenses, typically used by home users and

individuals.

■ Distribute floating licenses, typically used in enterprises.

■ Lease your software for certain time periods.

■ Allow license sharing for each seat

■ Allow terminal clients.

3

user.

Robust Protection Options

The Sentinel Keys SDK provides robust methods to protect applications. It
has options to quickly protect your applications (using the Shell and Quick
Shell) and ways to implement intensive and controlled protection strategies
(using API protection). Here are the quick highlights of these methods:

■ The Shell

executables and DLLs. It is capable of protecting against debugging,
disassembling, reverse-engineering, and memory dumping attacks.
The Quick Shell is a variant of the Shell and offers basic protection. It

3.A seat represents a user name and MAC address combination.

4.An automatic method of protecting Windows executables and DLLs. It does not require
source code of your application.

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide 9

4

provides automatic and faster protection for Windows

Chapter 1 – Introduction

is typically used for getting started with the Toolkit and protecting
applications.

Note: The Shell and Quick Shell options are available only on Windows and can

be used for protecting Windows 32-bit and 64-bit executables and DLLs.

❑ Sentinel Keys Command-Line Shelling - Shell protection using

■ Under the API protection, you call the Business Layer API functions

into your application source code. These functions let you implement
both basic and advanced protection, There are functions for
encrypting\decrypting data using 128-bit AES, digitally
signing\verifying data using ECC, reading and writing data into the
key memory (such as, integers, Boolean, string, and raw data).

command-line options not only saves your time but also enables
you to execute Sentinel Shell protection from batch files without
going through the Sentinel Keys Toolkit screens.
The Sentinel Keys Command-Line Shell Utility is also referred to as
CMDShell.exe. The utility is a console-based program that protects
executables and DLLs using the Shell method via command-line.
For more information, please refer to the section

“Command-Line

Shell Utility” .

For a quick look at the Business Layer API functions, see the diagram
below. The Business Layer API Help contains details on using each
API function. You can launch it from the Help menu of the Toolkit,
browse in the Help directory of the compiler interfaces.

10 Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide

Sentinel Keys Offer Sophisticated Protection

The Business Layer API Functions

Smart and Flexible (One-time) Implementations

The Toolkit5 is based on the architecture that divides the complete licensing
process as per the different roles seen in real-life. Typically, the license
designing and implementation part is done by the developers, while the
license management and hardware key programming is handled by market
ing and administration personnel, involved in license fulfillment.

5.The Toolkit is a Java application. It is used for preparing the application protection strategy
and programming hardware keys for your customers and distributors.

Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide 11

-

Chapter 1 – Introduction

The stand-alone License Manager application is also available for your dis­tributors using which they can program Sentinel Keys. The number of
licenses sold by them can be traced using the distributor key count. The
count can be updated remotely.

Note: If desired, your Sentinel Key vendors can program Sentinel Keys in bulk for

you. See the option described page 182.

Convenient Licensing for Your Customers

Sentinel Keys are ultimately deployed on your customer's site to allow
authorized access to your protected applications. The following features
ensure that the licensing process is enforced without being inconvenient:

■ Easy-to-carry, small, and durable tokens.

■ Hardware-based licenses unaffected by application crashes/

uninstallations.

■ Self-guided license installation/updates using the Secure Update

Wizard (for Windows only).

■ Remote license installation, addition and updates (via e-mail and file).

■ License tracking and client information using a Web browser-based

monitoring tool. The same tool provides an option to system
administrators for canceling licenses.

■ Multi-protocol support (TCP/IP, IPX, and NetBEUI for Windows and

TCP/IP for Linux and Macintosh).

■ XML-based configuration files for network application users and

Sentinel Keys Server.

Support for Different Types of Programming
Environments

Sentinel Hardware Keys offer different interfaces for programming that
enable a quick implementation of your protection strategy.

12 Sentinel Hardware Keys Developer’s Guide