POST-PRODUCTION PREPARATION OF AN UNPROTECTED INSTALLATION IMAGE FOR DOWNLOADING AS A PROTECTED SOFTWARE PRODUCT

• US 20120030668A1
• Filed: 10/07/2011
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uniloc 2017 LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Uniloc USA, Inc. (Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited)
• Inventors: Richardson, Ric B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,671,060 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/175
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]

Abstract

An installation image for installing an unprotected software product is used to install a protected version of the same product. A protected version of the executable file is embedded in a new installation image with the original installation image, in which the unprotected version of the executable file is damaged so as to be unusable and unreadable. The new installation image causes the original installation image to operate, installing the damaged installation file and other data files. The new installation image then replaces the damaged installation file with the protected installation file.

Claims

1. A method for altering an unprotected software installation image to install a protected software version of an unprotected executable file included in the installation image, instead of installing the unprotected executable file, the method involving assembling a master installation image at a server, the master installation image for download from the server to a target computer, wherein the master installation image is assembled by:

receiving a first installation image configured for installing a first executable file in the target computer;

receiving a second executable file that is identical in function to the first software executable file except for incorporating additional code configured to protect the second executable file from unauthorized use;

receiving a third executable file configured for replacing the first executable file with the second executable file in a computer-readable medium, in response to completion of installation of the first executable file in the computer-readable medium; and

integrating the first installation image, the second executable file, and the third executable file to produce the master installation image configured for installing the second executable file instead of the first executable file.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a fourth executable file configured for initiating operation of the first installation image on the target computer.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising integrating the fourth executable file into the second installation image.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising disabling the first executable file included in the second installation image so as to render the first executable file inoperable.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising irreversibly altering information in the first executable file to disable the first executable file.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising randomly altering information in the first executable file to disable the first executable file.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the second installation image to a target computer.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising writing the second installation image to a computer-readable medium.