Although the dot-com boom and bust has dented many people's enthusiasm in the Internet as a reliable source of income, the majority of industry observers believe that this is nothing more than a long-needed settling down period: e-commerce will return, and could even become the transaction method of choice. However, although many transactions need a physical method of delivery, there is one commodity for which the Internet is a natural medium for delivery as well as purchase: software.

Downloading shareware has been around for years. While this is fine for software for which the vendors are either not seeking payment, or are offering cut-down or time-restricted code, it becomes a little more problematic for high-value packages where 'real money' is involved. It isn't the payment that's the problem, but the licensing. Once the software has been downloaded, its distribution and usage fall outside the control of the vendor, leading to unlicensed copies and an obvious loss of revenue. This is where Aladdin's Privilege application comes into play. The product manages both the distribution and licensing of your software - even through third parties.

Privilege may be broken down into three main components; these cover the distribution and licensing of software from vendor to purchaser to end-user. The Privilege License Generator is the key to the entire product. We are all familiar with software license agreements; Privilege converts the terms and conditions of a license into a set of digital signatures that may be enforced on an end-user's machine. Using the License Generator, you define every aspect of the specific terms and conditions that apply to each instance of your software. For example, you can set metering criteria: how often a user uses the product; how many different users are allowed to use it at any given time or within a given time period. You can even lock the software to a specific end user machine without the need for a dongle, although Aladdin recommends its own dongle solution, MemoHASP, for 'the ultimate in security and license enforcement.' What if your software comprises multiple modules? You can configure the license accordingly, ensuring that each module has its own set of terms and conditions - this even applies to individual software features. With Privilege, virtually every conceivable combination of users, time periods, modules and machines may be defined. But only defined.

For enforcement, the second and third components of Privilege come into play. The Shell Wizard and the Client API build the restrictions of the license into your software. The Shell Wizard is the quick and easy method: it wraps your software in an encrypted shell to prevent prying eyes from decompiling it, without the need for inserting API calls into the software and recompiling it for distribution. It also allows for 'try before you buy' distribution, expiring the software at the end of the trial period without the need to recode it.

To implement the full functionality of Privilege, though, you need to use the Client API. Although it requires more effort than the Shell Wizard - your software will have to be amended and recompiled - it allows for all of the metering options mentioned above.

So, you've defined the license and married its terms and conditions to your software. Now, it's time to enforce it. The final component of Privilege is the policeman of the application: the Privilege Server. Once your software is installed, it will check with the Server every time it is run. Unless the Server can validate that the software is running according to all of the terms and conditions assigned to the software, it simply won't work. This Server may be run locally, over a network, or even over the Internet.

With the three components of Privilege in place, you can be sure that your software will not be used unless it complies with the licensing agreement. But what about payment? Although Privilege is configured to work with electronic clearing-house CyberSource, you can easy change it to integrate with the clearing system or payment application of your choice.

Privilege can also be used for third party sales: the license database used by the License Generator tracks all licenses created for your software by resellers, ensuring that you always have complete control over the distribution of your software.

For such a complex product, installation is easy: it runs on all flavors of Windows from 95 to 2000 (although Aladdin promises support for other platforms in the near future), and can communicate over virtually every type of network. It also offers UNIX connectivity.

Obviously, there are many companies who still want to distribute their software physically, on CD-ROM or DVD. In case you thought that Privilege was purely for Internet distribution, you can still encode the licensing agreement onto physical media as well, thanks to the licensing interface - although you will need a Privilege security unit (PSU) - either a token or a dongle. But these too are completely configurable: each PSU may be assigned to multiple licenses.

Documentation is both comprehensive and diverse: a handy tutorial card and a step-by-step administrator's guide allow you to get an instant feel for the product, while the heavyweight developer's guide gets right into the guts of the product. Online help is just as comprehensive, and Aladdin offers considerable support if necessary.

When people's faith in the Internet as a B2C sales opportunity returns, software companies that want to make sure that they can capitalize on its proven effectiveness as a delivery channel should have Aladdin's Privilege up and running. Even if you still want to distribute your software physically, Privilege can help you there as well. It provides all that you could need for the secure distribution and licensing of software, and, just as importantly, is easy to use. A real winner.
  

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