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 Post subject: I received the registration keys but I can't seem to get the
PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 8:41 pm 
Hello

I received the registration keys but I can't seem to get them to register
correctly.
Here is the error message I recieved:

"Sorry, corrupt or missing license key. Please make sure your key file is in
the winstep\licenses folder and that it hasnt been added a .txt extension by
your email reader"

I could not find help for this either in my help file or on the winstep web
site (I couldnt find any site search or site map to help look for this
info).

I saved both keys you sent (winstep and workshelf) - in the winstep\licenses
folder (the old license keys from my previous versions are still in there) -

I changed the extensions of the keys to ".key" - I couldnt find any
instructions for what extension to change them to so I assumed they would
have the same as the old keys - my email editor had removed the extensions.

I tried taking the old licenses keys out and registering and I still get the
same error message.

the contents of my winstep\licenses folder are this:
Nsreg.key
Wsreg.key
Nexstart 3[1].x Registration.key
Workshelf 1[1].x Registration.key

Please advise - these winstep popups are driving me craaaazy!

Thanks

Tanya


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PostPosted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 1:45 am 
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Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2004 12:11 am
Posts: 416
Location: Pollock Pines, CA
Tanya,
The short answer is it looks like you have incorrect file names. But questions like this are actually best handled by sending an email to support at winstep.net (replace the " at " with an @). I have removed most of the contents of your post because this is a public forum, and I'm not sure Jorge wants some of the details in your message freely available to anybody just by reading the forum. I also forwarded the contents to him so he can reply here if he is okay with doing so. I would have replied to you with an email, but since you were logged on as a guest, I don't have any email address to reply to.

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http://www.vectornut.com


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:16 pm 
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Hehe. Paul, you did well, but I actually asked Tanya to post this question in here. I added what she wrote back, so it can be used as future reference by anyone who might have the same trouble registering as she does.

Registering is usually pretty straightforward: you are sent an email containing an attachment (the key) and instructions on what to do with it. The attachment is a key file that must be saved in the \licenses folder, which usually is at 'c:\program files\winstep\licenses\' unless the user changed the default installation path.

Sometimes we get asked why don't we just send a serial number that the user can type in like 'everybody else' does. The answer is that the first versions of NextSTART did in fact use this method. Unfortunately it proved too easy to crack and soon there were a number of warez key generators available. Key generators are a catastrophe, because unlike a 'stray' serial which you can simply blacklist in the next version, a keygen invalidates the whole algorithm. The only way to defeat a keygen is to change the algorithm in the next release, which is a mess because the program must still accept the old, legit, serials... soon after the new release another keygen pops up for the new algorithm and things get messier and messier...

To end this cycle we had to sit down and come up with a serious, 64-bit strong, RAS encryption algorithm - this did put a stop to the keygens, but it also meant that the key was now too long to be typed in. The solution was to put the key in a file, send this to the customer and let the program do the work of parsing and unencrypting it.

At first we didn't have many problems with this approach, but slowly things started getting complicated for the user. The following is a list of potential problems and their solutions:

1) Our key files end with a .key extension (e.g. ns3reg.key). Microsoft at some point decided that the .key extension should also be used for exported Windows Registry files (which usually end in .reg :roll: ). The result is that our key files get assigned a Windows Registry icon - because of this, some of the users who don't read the instructions assume that the way to register the programs is to double click on the key files. Since they aren't Registry export files at all, Windows throws up an error and they get confused.

2) Because a 'malware' registry key file can break your Windows Registry, some email/webmail clients automatically block the key attachments and prevent them from being saved into the user's hard disk. Some email clients do this for all attachments.

The solution in Outlook Express, for instance, when the attachment is grayed out, is to go to the Tools menu, click on Options, navigate to the Security tab and *uncheck* the 'Do not allow attachments to be saved or open...' option.

Other times the only solution is for us to re-send the keys inside a zip file.

Ironically, email clients block attachments these days to save the users from themselves, since a lot still insist in opening up every attachment that gets sent to them regardless of the origin - thus infecting their system with a virus or trojan (and, with email spoofing, even if an email seems to come from your closest friend it must still be treated with a high degree of suspicion).

3) Some email clients, for some obscure reason, decide to automatically add a .txt extension to the key file when saving it to disk. This in itself is bad enough, but it is made worse because Microsoft decided to *hide known file type extensions* (like .txt which stands for a text file) by default. So, when the user looks in his licenses folder he sees ns3reg.key - what he is not aware is that Windows is hidding the .txt extension added to it by the email client. Messy, isn't it?

The only way to make sure what the real extension is to either turn this option off once and for all (by opening an Explorer window, going to the Tools menu, selecting Folder Options, navigating to the View tab and unchecking 'Hide extensions for known file types') or by right clicking on the key file and selecting Properties from the context menu.

Ironically, this option made by Microsoft back in the Windows 95 days, is probably one of the worst culprits in people getting infected with virus attachments. You see, only executables can infect a machine (i.e. programs that end in a .exe, .com, .pif or .scr extension) but if I send you a virus with the name 'passwords.txt.exe', Windows will automatically hide the '.exe' bit since it is a known file type. The result is that what you see is 'passwords.txt' - apparently a harmless text file.

4) Although warned not to do it, some people open the key files in a text editor (either by mistake or just to look at it). The problem is that if they save then save it, not only can it be automatically added a .txt extension (see above) as it can also become corrupted because the text editor decides to add a couple of hard carriage returns to the text. The solution is NOT to open the file, and, if you did already, retrieve the original registration email and save the key(s) again.

5) Sometimes users make a mess with the installation paths: for instance, they install NextSTART in the default folder and later on decide to install WorkShelf, but they put it in a different folder. The result is that we now have two \licenses folders, each in a different place. When they receive their keys, they put both in one of the licenses folders, where the other application can't see them.

The solution is to uninstall one of the programs (you won't lose your settings unless you specifically tell the uninstaller to remove them) and re-install it in the same folder as the other application.

6) Somewhat related to the problem above, is *how* the user runs the application. Sometimes they make their own shortcuts pointing to the program, but, for some reason, the working folder of the shortcut (the folder that shows in the 'Start In' field of the shortcut properties panel) is not the same as the folder where the executable actually resides. Because of this the application looks in the wrong place for the key file and doesn't find it, of course. Confusing because everything seems to be in the right place (e.g. the .key file is indeed in the ...\winstep\licenses\ folder).

To test for this situation, instead of running the application through the shortcut, open an Explorer window and navigate to the c:\program files\winstep folder (assuming you used the default setup path, of course). Now run the program by double-clicking on the executable file itself - if the program magically self-registers you now know what was causing the problem in the first place.

7) If anything (e.g. a virus) messes with or changes anything in the application files themselves (eg. nextstart3.exe or workshelf.exe), the programs will NOT self-register. Period. Winstep applications perform a self check on code integrity every time they start, and if something has been changed they refuse to register. The purpose of this is to prevent a crack from changing the executables and bypass the registration checks (yes, it happened in the past, that is why we were forced to implement this measure).

This, of course, is the last thing we check for, as it is indeed a very rare occurance (if the applications sense the code has been changed, they will flag this in the Registry - we ask the user for the value of a specific Registry entry and this will tell us if the executable has been tampered with or not).

The solution to this is to perform a virus check in your system to make sure you are virus free and then re-install the applications.

Tanya, as Paul pointed out, it seems to be a problem with the key filenames (for instance, I have no idea how you got a 'Nexstart 3[1].x Registration.key' in there, but it looks like you saved the actual emails instead of opening them and then saving the attachments). The correct filenames for the keys are 'ns3reg.key' and 'wsreg.key'.

I suggest you delete the four files you have in your \winstep\licenses\ folder and then *unzip* the contents of the zip file I am going to send you into the \licenses folder. Let me know how it went. :)

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Jorge Coelho
Winstep Xtreme - Xtreme Power!
http://www.winstep.net - Winstep Software Technologies


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 11:19 pm 
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Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2004 9:51 pm
Posts: 7
As someone who works in IT myself, have to say I found the above fascinating reading! :shock: Not sure whther that qualifies me as a nerd :?

Anyway, thanks for the info Jorge


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