Anti-Piracy Tool Detects Businesses Using Illegal Applications

V.i. Laboratories has developed anti-piracy software that detects when a software product is being illegally used and reports that usage back to its developer, providing independent software vendors and their channel partners a way to recover lost revenue.

The product, CodeArmor Intelligence, gives software vendors another weapon in the on-going battle against software piracy. Twenty to 30 percent of installed software in the U.S. is believed to be pirated and that number is far higher in other parts of the world. Every $1 reduction in software piracy results in $4.37 in new revenue and $1.13 in lower costs for solution providers, according to a recent IDC study conducted for Microsoft and the International Association of Microsoft Certified Partners.

V.i. Labs will initially focus its sales efforts on software systems with big price tags such as computer-aided design (CAD), product lifecycle management (PLM) and electronic design automation (EDA) applications. Earlier V.i. Labs issued a report co-produced with Internet Crimes Group saying piracy groups such as The Bitter End, LineZero0, oDDity and Zero Waiting Time were exploiting security gaps in the common licensing mechanisms in CAD, PLM and EDA software to product counterfeit copies.

But CodeArmor Intelligence can be used by ISVs for products of all sizes, said Victor DeMarines, vice president of products at V.i. Labs.

CodeArmor Intelligence includes tampering detection and reporting tools that ISVs embed within their own software products. Using a configuration program, the tools detect when a software product has been tampered with for illegal resale and when it has been installed and used without proper licensing. CodeArmor Intelligence uses stealth-reporting technology and gateways to send an encrypted message back to the vendor alerting the ISV to the violation.

V.i. Labs has partnered with Salesforce.com whose App Exchange system and Web services APIs will be used to centrally collect the reports and display the data on a dashboard. The company has also partnered with the Software & Information Industry Association and Business Software Alliance, which provide anti-piracy legal services for software developers, to help pursue illegal users.

The company says CodeArmor Intelligence can collect "indisputable evidence" that a business is illegally using a vendor's software product. "This is going to provide real forensic data for [solution providers] to knock on their doors and recover lost revenue," DeMarines said.

Unlike other anti-piracy software that identifies software pirates for prosecution, CodeArmor Intelligence focuses on identifying companies that are knowingly or unwittingly using illegal software in order to recoup lost revenue, said DeMarines.

Pricing for CodeArmor Intelligence starts at $50,000 for an annual subscription.