License Activation Error

[wadeh]

I registered a new account on this site a little over a half hour ago and received a trial license key for BackyardEOS.  I have downloaded version 3.1.17.

I have copied the license key and identifier that I received in the confirmation email (and verified that it matches the information in the "My Purchases" page on this site).  When I attempt to validate the license, I get the following error:

License activation error!  Trial keys require Internet access and MUST use the latest release; make sure to download the latest release.

I have double and triple checked the information, and can find no error in my entries.  How can I troubleshoot this and get past it?  Also, I have a question about the phrase "Trial keys require Internet access".  Is this just for initial validation of the license key, or is it required for all use of the trial software.  I am at a dark sky site with limited internet.  I can get it to work for license validation and posting to forums, but it will not be possible to maintain access when I am using the software under dark skies.

Hopefully, the answer is that it's only needed for initial license validation, and you can help me get past this.  I have a bit over a week here at the site, and will be purchasing the software if it meets my needs.  I will not have a chance to work with it when I leave the site, so I will not be able to do a trail evaluation where I have robust internet access...

Thanks,
-Wade

[admin]

Hi Wade.

If you got to the above message your key was entered properly - this is good.

The message is self explanatory; Trial keys require Internet access.

You DO need internet access at EACH application startup with TRIAL keys; not just initial activation.

You DO NOT need internet access at EACH application startup with PURCHASE keys; not even for initial activation.

Regards,

[wadeh]

I will note that I was receiving the above error while I was connected to the internet (I was able to make the initial post to this thread with no problem).  So there is something else wrong.

In any case, it was always my intention to purchase BackyardEOS, so I went ahead and did so.  The retail license works fine.

I would just offer that my experience of trying to do a trial of this software in an environment suitable for serious astronomy (a remote, dark sky site) has been pretty unsatisfying.  The persistent internet access requirement is difficult to work with.  I have 4 different dark sky sites that I use regularly, and only one of them has reliable internet.  Two of them, like this one, have internet mainly suitable for just part time connectivity to do communication.  One of them has no internet access at all.

Beyond that, I still don't know why the trial key failed.  All of the requirements, including internet, were met and it failed over a dozen attempts.  It's academic at this point, though, since I went ahead and purchased the software despite the above.

I just wanted to give you some candid feedback to consider.

Thanks,
-Wade

[admin]

Hi Wade,

I understand your concerns but you can thank all those that were changing their PC date to gain infinite access to the trial edition. The date check is now exclusively done on the activation server.  This validation check is there to stay as a result.

Regards,

[wadeh]

I definitely understand the need for a validation and would never suggest removing it.

I was simply suggesting that you adopt a system that does not need internet access beyond the initial validation.  There are numerous schemes in use that are resilient to simple attacks, like date changes.  Some of them are quite robust.

[astroman133]

Wade,

The validation of the Trial license is not to validate the license key, but to get a date that is independent of the PC date to determine whether the 30-day trial has expired.

The trial is not really intended to be used at a dark sky site. It is meant to be used at your kitchen table to test that the software works with your camera and is a fit with your imaging workflow.