Team SoftwareKey has been busy working all winter long and now that spring is finally here, it is time to show you the fruits of all of the labor! We are excited to announce new versions of all of our licensing clients – Instant Protection PLUS 3 (formerly named Instant PLUS), Protection PLUS 5 SDK, and Protection PLUS 4 SDK.
Protection PLUS Unbundled into Two Products
For years, virtually all Protection PLUS users selected one of the two primary components for their licensing and copy protection solution. Now, users can buy the single product they need. You can read all about this exciting change in our blog post: Two Products are Better than One – A Case for Unbundling Protection PLUS.
To learn more about the differences between the two products and which would be the best choice for your needs, read our other blog post: THE DECISION: Instant Protection PLUS 3 or Protection PLUS 5 SDK.
Instant Protection PLUS 3.3.0.0 released!
Although re-branded and enhanced in a variety of ways, Instant Protection PLUS 3 will still be familiar to customers who have been using previous versions (Instant PLUS). In addition to many improvements to the wizard user interface, documentation and sample updates and miscellaneous fixes, there are several other notable improvements:
- For customers using the Instant Protection PLUS 3 DLL interface, a brand new utility called the Integration Assistant generates code for many programming languages, making it easier than ever to integrate!
- For customers programming in LabVIEW, we now include several LabVIEW VIs and a new sample for calling the Instant Protection PLUS 3 DLL. This allows you to use the tool on 64-bit LabVIEW as well as leverage all of the more advanced licensing features allowed by the Instant Protection PLUS API.
- There is a new Microsoft Excel sample for calling the Instant Protection PLUS 3 DLL. In addition to adding normal licensing calls, the Integration Assistant adds code to hide all worksheets until the license check is run to make it more difficult for customers to disable macros and still opening the spreadsheet to see the formulas.
You can read the full release notes here.
For years, Instant Protection PLUS 3 has made it quick and easy to license your Windows applications. Now when you log into our license portal and request to download any edition of Protection PLUS 4 or Protection PLUS 5 .NET Edition, you will be presented with an option to redeem a free license of Instant Protection PLUS 3 under our streamlined new license terms.
Protection PLUS 5 SDK 5.15.1.0 released!
Protection PLUS 5 SDK gives you the most control and flexibility over the licensing implementation, and we are continually improving the security and copy protection features. Some of the notable changes in this release include:
Protection PLUS 5 SDK .NET Edition:
- Instant PLUS is no longer bundled with Protection PLUS 5 SDK .NET Edition, and you can refer to the information in the above section for more details.
- NicIdentifierAlgorithm now ignores additional removable USB and Bluetooth devices. This update especially focused on adapters that may have previously affected this algorithm when a computer used a tethered connection via a mobile device.
- NicIdentifierAlgorithm now supports RedHat Enterprise Linux 7 (RHEL) network device naming conventions.
- Classes that inherit from SystemValidation can now set the LastError property.
- Updated the PLUSManaged samples to handle refreshing a deactivated installation/license more gracefully. (PLUSManagedGui samples already did this, and did not require this update.)
Protection PLUS 5 SDK Native Edition:
- We refreshed all of our library dependencies to address several security advisories, including libxml 2.9.2, libcurl 7.41.0, and OpenSSL 1.0.2a.
- Additional types of proxy authentication (all types that are supported by libcurl) are now supported. This includes Windows SSPI support to allow integrated authentication, which can authenticate without prompting your users for credentials!
- SK_SYSTEM_IDENTIFIER_ALGORITHM_NIC now ignores additional removable USB and Bluetooth devices. This update especially focused on adapters that may have previously affected this algorithm when a computer used a tethered connection via a mobile device.
- SK_SYSTEM_IDENTIFIER_ALGORITHM_NIC now supports RedHat Enterprise Linux 7 (RHEL) network device naming conventions.
You can read the full release notes here.
Protection PLUS 4 SDK 4.7.0.0 released!
Protection PLUS 4 SDK has been trusted for over two decades and is still serving our customers well. We will continue to support Protection PLUS 4 SDK in maintenance mode, and if interested, current customers can find out more about whether they should upgrade to Protection PLUS 5 SDK.
- Important! Updated OpenSSL to 1.0.2a, which contains updates that address various security advisories.
- The Enhanced Computer ID algorithm now ignores MAC addresses for additional removable USB and Bluetooth devices. This update especially focused on adapters that may have previously affected this algorithm when a computer used a tethered connection via a mobile device.
You can read the full release notes here.
Congratulations Softwarekey!