USB Disk Serial Number

The Ebooks compiled with HyperMaker can be protected against unauthorized copying using different methods that are selected in the Protection Tab.

USB Disk Serial Number is the only protection method, besides using a dongle, that avoids unauthorized copies without restricting the use of the Ebook to only one computer.

This protection method allows users to use the Ebooks in any computer, but also effectively stops them from making illegal working copies, since the Ebook will not be accessible unless it is located in the proper USB disk. If the files are copied to other USB disk or if the USB disk is cloned, the serial hardware number of the second USB disk will be different from the original one, and the Ebook will not work anymore.

As its name implies, when selecting this protection method the ebook should always be located in a USB disk, which can be either a Flash USB memory stick or Removable USB Hard Disk.

Each USB Flash disk has a different hardware serial number, which cannot be changed in any way, but a few low quality disks (may be 1% of all USB Flash disks), do not have a serial number and therefore they cannot be used with this protection system.

Note: If the Ebook is activated on a USB hard disk, and afterwards the hard disk is taken from USB enclosure and put inside the computer, the Ebook will be deactivated at once.

To get a valid password to enable access to the Ebook the user should supply the I.D. number that the Ebook displays plus his name and the Ebook title.

This process can be automatized. See Registering HyperMaker Ebooks Online

The I.D. number is a number that is based on the unique serial number of the USB Disk, which cannot be modified nor copied to other disk in any way.

With this three pieces of data (ID, user name and Ebook title), using HyperMaker, you can generate a password that will fully enable the Ebook to run, but only when located on the original USB disk for which was issued the password.

The Ebook title is needed, in case a user has many different books in the same USB disk, so each one can be registered on its own. The user name is asked to personalize each book, which will display such name in the About window.

After the password to activate the Ebook on an specific USB disk is applied, the user will have access to all pages in the Ebook.

The passwords, either for one single Ebook or for many of them, will be saved in an encrypted file when the Ebook is activated, named keys.bin, which always will be automatically saved in the same folder than the executable Ebook.
The file keys.bin should not be deleted, because that would deactivate the Ebook.

If the Ebook or Ebooks are compiled as files with .htz5 file extension, instead as executable files, you will need to use the freely distributable HyperMaker viewer.
The viewer should be located on the USB disk, and, in this case, the keys.bin will be always generated in the same folder where HyperMaker viewer is located.

Until the Ebook is registered, instead showing the Home page, it will show the warning page; the only other accessible page (in case it is used), is the registration page.
If the Ebook is not activated, the user will not be able to read any other page.

If the Ebook is located on a removable USB disk, the Ebook will show the I.D. number for that disk in the warning page as a 8 digits hexadecimal number (using numbers and the A .. F letters). Example.

4FA2-9C72