X-Ways BYOD+

Certain license types that we offer may use BYOD+ copy protection to unlock the software, an extension of BYOD for the virtual machine/cloud computing/always online age. BYOD+ means you can either use the regular BYOD or get the software unlocked with an Internet connection. With BYOD+ you can select our web server as a means to unlock the software, like an online key device. That means the software requires Internet access while running to get and stay unlocked. Only program-specific data is sent to the web server: Program name, version, session identification, license identification, user identification (2 bytes), computer identification (2 bytes). On the way from the web server to you only data to unlock full functionality in the software is sent. The total amount of data transferred in and out is very small.

Advantages

• You can start using the software immediately, typically within minutes after placing your order online with credit card payment, and do not need to wait for a dongle to arrive by postal mail days or weeks later. (Courier service still takes a few days and costs extra.)

• No risk of additional delays in transit, problems at customs, or loss in the postal mail system.

• Different users can conveniently use the same license, at different times.

• Global access! If your company has multiple offices, perhaps in different countries, any of your colleagues can use the software, worldwide, whenever needed*, as no physical token is required that can only exist at one location at a time and takes some days to send around.

• If you share a license with colleagues, you can check online whether the license is currently in use.

• You can unlock and run the software in virtual machines, especially those to whose host machines you do not have physical access, i.e. into which you cannot insert any USB devices, in particular also virtual machines run by cloud services.

• You can unlock and run the software in an operating system where locally attached storage devices are not available as key devices for BYOD, for example under Linux in Wine (still testing), in a virtual machine in the cloud, or if simply no BYOD-compatible local storage devices are available.

• At regular intervals of your choice you can change your mind and switch from BYOD+ to regular BYOD and back. Possible intervals are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 12 months. (The first time 3 months at most.)

• No risk of a physical dongle loss or theft with our web server as the key device.  

Disadvantage

• The software requires a constant Internet connection if you choose our web server as the key device. Uptime of the web server that unlocks the software is not guaranteed to be 100%, but very close to it. If there is a connection problem on your side or our side, the application will keep trying to reach the web server. Users can abort these attempts and then will be given a chance to save their work.

How to check whether BYOD+ is technically available to you

1. Execute WinHex or X-Ways Forensics (for example just the evaluation version of WinHex, downloadable from here).

2. Hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard and click the version number in the upper right corner of the main window.

3. You will probably be shown a list of locally attached storage devices in the “BYOD” section (this will work only if you have run the program specifically as administrator) and the X-Ways web server in the “BYOD+” section. You select the web server and click OK. If and only if a device ID is shown, BYOD+ is available at that time with your current Internet connectivity! BYOD+ uses an HTTPS connection to x-ways.net.

No cheating allowed

*It goes without saying that although the software can be used at any location worldwide, still with 1 license only 1 user may unlock the software on 1 machine at a time (1 or more instances). Violations will be detected and may lead to a warning followed by license revocation. Leasing not permitted. The immediate effect of a license conflict is that the new user severs the previous user's link with the license file so that he or she has to discontinue work. There is an up-front warning when starting up the software if the license was actively used just a moment ago.