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Originally Posted by Nonlinear
Thank you for the info.
Security is a real problem for sure. Two days after I release my plugins they are all over warez sites, etc.
After reading through the giant 21+ page post on KVR about the subject I concluded it was a waste of time to try and implement security means - so I basically have nothing which is also a huge mistake. I tried the "after the fact" services like Tracksaur/Linkbusters. They remove a lot of links but they can't remove ALL so I'm not sure it really helps (yet their service itself is an ongoing expense).
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nonlinear
I am using the required Pace signing on my AAX plugins - which I know for a fact stopped at least one hacker (he told me!) but their system is very expensive and a lot of users don't like it.
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That doesn't prevent people from stealing your plugin, it just prevents people from making changes to the plugin after it's compiled. It's just a way to confirm that the plugin you are installing is identical to the plugin that was compiled. It's virus security, not developer security.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nonlinear
So, what to do? I don't need "Fort Knox" but I do need SOMETHING that is both simple and economical. Or is even that a waste of time?
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It depends on what your goals are. I can only go off of my own experience and say that I have been able to support myself and my family (5 kids) just fine on the income I get from creating plugins. Even when I sold plugins that had zero form of protection, I sold enough to justify continuing. The serial number system I use now is purely for convenience on my end and has almost nothing to do with actual security.
Contrariwise, I have heard from other developers (soundtoys, slate) that when their security got broken into, they saw an immediate drop in sales. So maybe I'm missing out on millions of dollars because of my lack of security? I have no way of knowing without actually going through and putting real security on my plugins. But personally, I'd rather spend my time making new plugins than spending time on security, because I enjoy making plugins.
I think it really depends on what your goals are. My goals do not include growing some sort of plugin empire. My goals are basically to be able to make cool stuff and not worry too much about having the funds or time to do it. I've been doing this for 6 years now, and I've been able to meet my goals on that front. We'll see what happens in 3 years though.