Software management method and system

Abstract

The present application is a software management method and system, which includes a decoder receiving a key and decoding the key by a de-obfuscation method to obtain a product code, a time code and a control code. A processor accesses product standard parameters, time standard parameters and control standard parameters in a memory, and provides software information to a user when the product code, the time code and the control code respectively conform to the product standard parameters, the time standard parameters and the control standard parameters. The user can download and use the software according to the software information. The present application can solve the problem that software is abused without restriction, and software vendors cannot effectively control and protect the software.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of computer technology, and more particularly to a software management method and system for preventing software misuse. Background Technology

[0002] Linux Containers (LXC) are an operating system-level virtualization technology widely used for resource partitioning and management. Without security safeguards, anyone could run their own LXC on the system, posing a risk and security problem.

[0003] Therefore, a software management method and system are needed to solve the problem of uncontrolled software abuse, which leads to the inability to provide controllable protection for software vendors. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The main objective of this invention is to provide a software management method and system that uses a special technique to generate and control keys, thereby addressing the problem of uncontrolled software abuse that prevents software vendors from effectively managing and protecting their software.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a software management method for use in a software management system, comprising the following steps: receiving a key, which is generated by obfuscating a product code, a time code, and a control code using an obfuscation method; decoding the key using a deobfuscation method to obtain the product code, time code, and control code; and providing software information when the product code, time code, and control code respectively conform to the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters.

[0006] The product code is characterized by either a product number or a software name. The control code is a Media Access Control (MAC) code. The time code also includes the year, month, date, and hour.

[0007] Its characteristic is that the time code is the time point at which the key is generated through the obfuscation method.

[0008] The feature is that the software information also includes the software installation file or the address of the software installation file.

[0009] The present invention also provides a software management system, comprising: a decoder receiving a key, the decoder decoding the key using a de-obfuscation method to obtain a product code, a time code, and a control code; a memory storing product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters, as well as software information; and a processor connected to the decoder and the memory, the processor comparing the product code, time code, and control code received by the decoder with the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters stored in the memory; if they are identical, the processor stores the software information in the memory and provides the software information.

[0010] The software management system is characterized by including an encoder connected to the processor, wherein the encoder performs obfuscation processing on the product code, time code, and control code to generate a key.

[0011] This invention provides a software management method for use in a software management system, comprising the following steps: receiving a key, which is generated by obfuscating a product code, a time code, and a control code using an obfuscation method; obtaining the product code, time code, and control code by decoding the key using a deobfuscation method; and granting software execution permissions when the product code, time code, and control code respectively conform to the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of the software management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the software management method steps according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 3 This is a block diagram of the user terminal connecting to the software management system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of the software management method steps according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of the software management method steps according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Explanation of main component symbols Software Management System 1 Encoder 10 Decoder 12 Memory 14 Processor 16 User terminal 2 Steps S10~S14 Steps S20~S29 Steps S30~S39.

[0018] The following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, will further illustrate the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0019] To facilitate understanding and implementation of the present invention by those skilled in the art, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the embodiments described herein are for illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0020] This invention relates to a software management method and system. By generating a key through a special method, it can solve the problem of uncontrolled software abuse leading to an inability to provide controllable protection for software vendors. This embodiment illustrates that the software management method and system can be applied to the management of Linux software containers (LXC).

[0021] Please refer to Figure 1 This is to illustrate the software management system 1 of this embodiment. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the software management system 1 can be a computer device. The software management system 1 includes an encoder 10, a decoder 12, a memory 14, and a processor 16. The processor 16 is connected to the encoder 10, decoder 12, and memory 14. In this embodiment, the encoder 10 can be an integrated circuit (IC), unit, or chip with encoding function. The encoder 10 can generate a key by obfuscating the product code, time code, and control code using an obfuscation method. The decoder 12 can also be an integrated circuit (IC), unit, or chip with decoding function. The decoder 12 can decode the key using a deobfuscation method to release the encrypted product code, time code, and control code. The memory 14 can be a memory, hard disk, or other device, unit, or chip capable of storing data. The memory 14 stores software information, as well as product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters corresponding to the encrypted product code, time code, and control code. The processor 16 can be a central processing unit or other integrated circuit (IC), computing unit, or chip capable of computation. The processor 16 compares the product code, time code, and control code to see if they conform to the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters, respectively. If they all conform, it will provide software information.

[0022] Next, please refer to Figure 2 This section describes the process of software management, which can be applied to software management system 1. The software management process is carried out through software management system 1. The software management method is mainly used to control software security. It uses keys generated by obfuscation to safeguard the software and prevent it from being downloaded repeatedly without restraint.

[0023] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The software management method first proceeds to step S10, where the decoder 12 receives the key. This key is generated by the encoder 10 through a scrambling process that obfuscates the product code, time code, and control code.

[0024] Next, in step S12, after receiving the key, decoder 12 decodes the key using a deobfuscation method to obtain the product code, time code, and control code. Since the deobfuscation method of decoder 12 is the reverse algorithm corresponding to the obfuscation method used by encoder 10 for encryption, it can decode the key of encoder 10. After decoding, decoder 12 transmits the product code, time code, and control code to processor 16 for further processing.

[0025] As in step S14, after receiving the product code, time code, and control code, the processor 16 retrieves the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters from the memory 14 to compare the product code with the product standard parameters, the time code with the time standard parameters, and the control code with the control standard parameters, respectively. When the product code, time code, and control code respectively match the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters, the processor 16 retrieves the software information from the memory and provides the software information.

[0026] Next, we will describe an example of a user downloading software. Figure 3 This is a block diagram illustrating the connection between the user terminal 2 and the software management system 1 in the second embodiment. The software management system 1 is the same as in the first embodiment and will not be described again. This embodiment only adds a processor 16 for the user terminal 2 to connect to the software management system 1.

[0027] Please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 When a user wishes to purchase software, the user's terminal 2 sends a software purchase message to the processor 16 of the software management system 1. As shown in step S20, after receiving the software purchase message, the processor 16 proceeds to step S22, whereby the processor 16 issues an instruction to the encoder 10 to obfuscate the product code, time code, and control code using an obfuscation method to generate a key. The product code is either the product number or the software name; in this embodiment, the software name can be represented as TEST400. The control code can be a Media Access Control (MAC) code; in this embodiment, the control code can be represented as AABBCC112233. The time code includes the year, month, date, and hour; in this embodiment, the time code can be represented as 202412131200. In this embodiment, the time code can represent the time the software purchase message was received or the time the key was generated using the obfuscation method.

[0028] In step S24, encoder 10 generates a key and transmits it to processor 16, which then sends the key to user terminal 2. When the user wants to download or purchase software, step S26 is executed, where the user enters the key on user terminal 2, which then sends the key to processor 16. Upon receiving the key, processor 16 transmits it to decoder 12 for decoding.

[0029] As shown in step S28, after decoding the key using the de-obfuscation method, the decoder 12 generates a product code, a time code, and a control code, which are then transmitted to the processor 16. Finally, in step S29, after receiving the product code, time code, and control code, the processor 16 retrieves the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters from the memory 14 to compare the product code with the product standard parameters, the time code with the time standard parameters, and the control code with the control standard parameters, respectively. When the product code, time code, and control code respectively match the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters, the processor 16 retrieves the software information from the memory 14, provides the software information, and sends the software information to the user terminal 2. The software information includes the software installation file or the software installation file address. Upon receiving the software installation file, the user terminal 2 can begin installing the software or link to the file storage address to download and install the software.

[0030] If the processor 16 compares the product code, time code, and control code with the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters, and if they do not match the standard parameters, it will send an error notification to the user terminal 2, preventing the user from downloading the software. In addition, in this embodiment, the memory 14 can also store a usage period code. After receiving the time code, the processor 16 can compare the time code with the usage period code. When the time code exceeds the usage period code, the processor 16 will also send an error notification to the user terminal 2, preventing the user from downloading the software.

[0031] After a user downloads the software, when the user attempts to run the software, the software management system 1 will also check whether the user has permission to use the software. The following example illustrates this. Please refer to... Figure 5 And in conjunction with reference Figure 3 First, in step S30, the user terminal 2 sends a software execution message to the processor 16 of the software management system 1. Then, in step S32, the processor 16 issues an instruction to the encoder 10 to confuse the product code, time code, and control code using an obfuscation method to generate a key. The key generation process is the same as in the second embodiment described above, and therefore will not be repeated.

[0032] In step S34, encoder 10 generates a key and transmits it to processor 16, which then sends the key to user terminal 2. When the user wants to execute software, step S36 is entered, and the user enters the key on user terminal 2, causing user terminal 2 to send the key to processor 16. After receiving the key, processor 16 transmits it to decoder 12 for decoding.

[0033] As shown in step S38, after decoding the key, decoder 12 generates a product code, a time code, and a control code, which are then transmitted to processor 16. Finally, in step S39, processor 16 receives the product code, time code, and control code, and retrieves the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters from memory 14 to compare the product code with the product standard parameters, the time code with the time standard parameters, and the control code with the control standard parameters, respectively. When the product code, time code, and control code respectively match the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters, processor 16 grants software execution permissions, allowing the user to execute the software.

[0034] If the processor 16 compares the product code, time code, and control code with the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters, and if they do not match the standard parameters, it will send an error notification to the user terminal 2, preventing the user from executing the software. In addition, in this embodiment, the memory 14 can also store a usage period code. After receiving the time code, the processor 16 can compare the time code with the usage period code. When the time code exceeds the usage period code, the processor 16 also sends an error notification to the user terminal 2, preventing the user from executing the software.

[0035] As stated above, this invention uses a special method to control the key, which can solve the problem of uncontrolled software abuse, leading to software vendors being unable to effectively control and protect their software.

[0036] In summary, this invention meets the requirements for an invention patent, and therefore a patent application is filed in accordance with the law. However, the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the invention, and the scope of the invention is not limited to the described embodiments. All equivalent modifications or variations made by those skilled in the art in accordance with the spirit of the invention should be covered within the scope of the following patent application.

Claims

1. A software management method for use in a software management system, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: A receiving key is generated by obfuscating the product code, time code, and control code using an obfuscation method. The product code, the time code, and the control code are obtained by decoding the key using a deobfuscation method. as well as Software information is provided when the product code, the time code, and the control code respectively conform to the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters.

2. The software management method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The product code is the product number or software name; the control code is the Media Access Control (MAC) code; the time code also includes the year, month, date, and hour.

3. The software management method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The timecode is the time point at which the key is generated using the obfuscation method.

4. The software management method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The software information also includes the software installation file.

5. The software management method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The software information also includes the address of the software installation file.

6. A software management system, characterized in that, include: A decoder receives a key and decodes the key using a decongestant method to obtain the product code, the time code, and the control code. The memory stores product standard parameters, time standard parameters, control standard parameters, and software information; as well as A processor, connected to the decoder and the memory, compares the product code, the time code, and the control code received by the decoder with the product standard parameters, the time standard parameters, and the control standard parameters stored in the memory. If they are the same, the processor stores the software information in the memory and provides the software information.

7. The software management system as described in claim 6, characterized in that, It also includes an encoder connected to the processor, wherein the encoder performs obfuscation processing on the product code, the time code, and the control code using the obfuscation method to generate the key.

8. The software management system as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The product code is the product number or software name; the control code is the Media Access Control (MAC) code; the time code also includes the year, month, date, and hour.

9. The software management system as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The software information includes the software installation file; or the software information may also include the address of the software installation file.

10. A software management method, used in a software management system, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: A receiving key is generated by obfuscating the product code, time code, and control code using an obfuscation method. The product code, the time code, and the control code are obtained by decoding the key using a deobfuscation method; and When the product code, the time code, and the control code respectively meet the product standard parameters, time standard parameters, and control standard parameters, the software execution permission is granted.

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