Software security: now and back then

             Software security has been a huge subject where companies always try to put their hand on the latest technology available in the market to protect their assets. In the 80's, life was much simpler for hackers to crack up a software and use it for free because the methods used to digital manage the copy right protection (DRM)was as simple as shipping the activation code along with purchased product (usually on Floppy disks of different sizes , and CD's), the only effort required from the hacker is to put the manual that contains the activation code to the Xerox machine and that is it.Another type of software security was the spinning wheel (usually used in games in computes rather than consoles) you have this rounded disk shaped object that contains many figures and images of different items and you are asked to dial the monkey figure(for example) and once you spin it a code appears and that is your activation code.

              Another method was to use hard locks or dongles in parallel ports, those dongle will contain a specific piece of code that integrates with the software you purchased, this method has proven it's reliability and now it's continued by some of the leading companies in all industries (Aspen tech,SLB,PETEX to name a few), although it's not hacker proofed(usually cracked with dongle emulation codes).

         Now days every thing is leaning to cloud based based even the most complicated Reservoir simulators and CAD software (to give a few examples).Cloud based application are more controllable by the website operators since you have to pay a fee to be able to use their services and your credentials are required to login and start working on what ever task you have been doing.Cloud was not possible back then because of the lack in  internet speed and mostly because of the cost of such a technology, although a simpler approaches was used in academic facilities but on LAN computers.

" If you think technology can solve your security problems, then you don't understand the problems and you don't understand the technology. "— Bruce Schneier

The above quote sums up our security technologies and it's valid most of the time.