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Does the Windows operating system contains any unique computer/OS id?

This is for my own software. I want to create 30 day trial/demo version.

Here is what I want to do:

  1. When someone installs a trial I grab the unique ID, send it to server.
  2. After the 30 day trial, if software is reinstalled, the server blocks the trial version.

So the real question is: Does Windows contains any unique IDs I could rely on?

I think that IP address is not a reliable option.

Jeremy
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user775013
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  • At first, I thought you were talking about doing some kind of trial with Windows, but then, I realized you are probably talking about providing a trial version of your software. Your phrasing is misleading. – sawa Jun 12 '11 at 16:55
  • Unique ID of what? The computer? The install of Windows? The install of your stuff? – bmargulies Jun 12 '11 at 16:57
  • Yes, unique ID of operating system for my own software – user775013 Jun 12 '11 at 16:59

2 Answers2

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Windows has a DigitalProductId. You can access its value in registry at the following location:

LocalMachine\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\DigitalProductId
Peter
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I think widows key isn't enoungh: Windows 7 Family Pack - 3 licences for different computers at any one time; or any pirates, etc.

You could use NetworkAdapter's MAC instead. You can get MAC quite easy, here's an example in .NET: Read MAC Address from network adapter in .NET Sometimes computer can have 2 interfaces, so you could combine them into one key.

Community
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rideronthestorm
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