How the hell does somebody "accidentally" reset their bios? I mean, that''s a PITA for somebody who knows how to do it.

if your clients will have internet connections, have your program check the official US time and date... there are government-run servers that you can ask for the time, and they tell it to you in some format or another. check out this site for details.

Computers get screwed-up - you can''t rely on something as skanky as a BIOS and not expect to have some issues.
I hope to god that tech support would at least be able to tell what today''s date is, and verify the license is still valid.

Also, don''t forget about day-light savings time - the clock can change by an hour (or so, depending on where you are) two a year, and one of those times it will go backwards.

I was starting to research registration options just yesterday.
If connecting to an internet site is acceptable, perhaps you could do something similar to Microsoft''s Product activation.
This company supposedly provides this type of service (I haven''t looked into it deeply yet - it sounds like vapor-ware).

If you do find something like this, drop me line, our company is interested as well.

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quote:daerid
How the hell does somebody "accidentally" reset their bios? I mean, that''s a PITA for somebody who knows how to do it.

Can happen while upgrade hardware if you do something rather foolish like leave the power on while unplugging a sound card. ''course if all that happens is that BIOS clearing, you''re in damn good shape. I''m pretty sure one of the options in my BIOS config is to reset it.
Once I set the AGP aperture size to 4GB on one of my giga-byte motherboards, just to see what would happen. Let''s just say I''m very glad I buy giga-bytes, which have a dual (backup) bios.
Another time, several jobs ago, we had a computer with a password locked bios, didn''t know the password, and the mb had no reset jumper for it. I took it out, rubbed my foot across the floor a bunch, then touched it to a metal strip - ZAP, it was good & reset.
Old crappy laptops tend to reach a point where they lose their BIOS settings anytime they lose power.
I''ll grant you it''s not a frequent occurance - maybe once a year in a decent sized company - but it happens.

krez'' idea is good, if they are having 24/7 connections. I think it isn''t very nice to require that, and I also hate programs that invalidates license (trials etc.) just ''cus I changed my clock! I really hate that. You could go for the get-date-from-server-on-the-internet idea, and let the program run anyway, say, 15 times in a row macimum, if there is no connection. Then, on the 15th time the program is launched, pop up a window and say it needs to connect to the internet to verify the license. (Be sure to include this in the EULA or that an internet connection is an requirement, or they can get mad)

As others have stated, we''re dealing with corporations, which usually not (to my knowledge) hire professional crackers to hack their software. I say, throw in a few simple independent methods and traps, that do not annoy, and you and your boss will live happily ever after