Virtual Machine Detection

Node-locking's essence lies in associating a distinct, often hardware-based, identifier with each device. This unique marker, frequently derived from hardware IDs, serves to correlate licenses to devices. However, complexities arise in virtualized and containerized setups.

In these scenarios, the apparent hardware isn't the physical device's, but that of the generating virtual machine.

Fortunately, LicenseSpring tackles this challenge adeptly through methods tailored for containers and virtualization. These methods effectively discern various virtual contexts, ensuring precise environment identification and steadfast license-to-device locking.

This tutorial will introduce you to LicenseSpring's sophisticated techniques for distinguishing virtual machine instances and how they can reinforce your software security.

Completed the Getting Started Tutorial, specifically:
- Initialized LicenseManager (or LicenseHandler) with your configuration using the appropriate settings.
- Created a LicenseID using either LicenseID::fromKey or LicenseID::fromUser function, depending on the activation method you prefer.
- Implemented basic license management, including license activations, deactivations, and both online and local license checks.

This functionality, designed to enhance software security, can be activated manually within your program through the SDK as shown below.

C++

ExtendedOptions options;

options->enableVMDetection( true );

std::shared_ptr<Configuration> configuration = Configuration::Create(
     EncryptStr( "XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX" ), 
     EncryptStr( "XXXXXXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXXX_XXXXXX_XXXXXX" ), 
     EncryptStr( "XXXXXX" ), 
     appName, appVersion, options );

ExtendedOptions options;

options->enableVMDetection( true );

std::shared_ptr<Configuration> configuration = Configuration::Create(
     EncryptStr( "XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX" ), 
     EncryptStr( "XXXXXXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXXX_XXXXXX_XXXXXX" ), 
     EncryptStr( "XXXXXX" ), 
     appName, appVersion, options );

Note: Virtual machine detection is disabled by default. This feature must be enabled to make use of any features mentioned throughout this tutorial.

We provide a separate DLL for VM detection in the C++ SDK package. Make sure you put this library with the LicenseSpring DLL. If it is not found, a VMDNotAvailableException will occur.

After the configuration has been initialized, developers are able to detect whether virtual machine detection is currently activated with:

C++

if ( configuration.IsVMDetectionEnabled ) {
    //VM detection is enabled.
}

if ( configuration.IsVMDetectionEnabled ) {
    //VM detection is enabled.
}

C++

if ( options->isVMDetectionEnabled ) {
    //VM detection is enabled.
}

if ( options->isVMDetectionEnabled ) {
    //VM detection is enabled.
}

The SDKs can also check for whether a specific user currently using the application is on a virtual machine by using:

C++

if ( configuration->isVM() ) {
  //the user is currently running on a VM
}

if ( configuration->isVM() ) {
  //the user is currently running on a VM
}

VMDNotAvailableException (Windows only): Thrown in the C++ and .NET SDK in the case that VM detection dll is not found, tempered or detection failed.

You can also prevent users from activating their licenses on virtual machines by adjusting the license settings. Simply access the license and select the "prevent virtual machine" option. This straightforward step ensures that your product remains exclusively operational on the intended devices, aligning with your software's specifications.

When this feature is checked off, any actions involving our license, will result in an error/exception, making the license unusable on a VM.

Within the SDK, developers can check for whether a license is allowed to work under virtual machine or not with:

C++

if ( license->isVMAllowed ) {
    //VM detection is enabled.
}

if ( license->isVMAllowed ) {
    //VM detection is enabled.
}

VMIsNotAllowedException: Thrown on virtual machine when VM detection is enabled but product policy prohibits running on VM.

VM name	C++SDK	.Net SDK
Parallels Desktop
QEMU
VirtualBox
Windows Virtual PC
VMware
Wine
Xen Project
Docker
Microsoft Hyper-V
Microsoft Azure

Prerequisites

Working With Virtual Machines

Supported VMs

Enabling Virtual Machine Detection

Detecting Whether Virtual Machine Detection is Enabled

Detecting Whether a User is on a Virtual Machine

Retrieving Detected Virtual Machine Name

Preventing Virtual Machine Access