ok.....i have to take my computer down to my dealer cause i need to get something fixed cause my machine still has its warranty.... my problem is i got several software installed that display the Serial number/password when you run it....a good example is Poser 5....why do they do that anyway? I also got Adobe Photoshop 7 and it displays the serial number on startup.... i also got Cinema 4D and its good that dont display any passwords.... i also got Carrara 2.1 and that displays the password too... the thing is....next thing I know after i take my comp down to my dealer my passwords are floating around n st!! next thing i know its up for grabs.... is there a way to disable this password being displayed in Poser 5 at least? dont tell me i gotta uninstall ALL my software that does this and REINSTALL again!! i figured if theres a way to prevent Poser 5 from displaying the password on startup i can also use that technique for the other software. please advice......id repair my computer myself but i dont think i have the resources to pull this fix off....so i gotta take it down to the dealer....besides if i have em fix it itll be free..... i just have to figure out a way to disable the passwords from being displayed... NOW WHY DO THE SERIAL NUMBERS HAVE TO BE DISPLAYED IN THE FIRST PLACE??? then these companies talk about preventing piracy by letting us go through all that HOOPLA like what CL did with that internet registration thing! think about it......THE PASSWORD SHOWS UP WHEN YOU RUN THE PROGRAM!! what if someones happens to passby and sees it? some genius anti-piracy that is......didnt they think about that before trying out very inconvenient alternatives like what CL did with the internet registration....or if that failed you could mail in your registration info n st?

That saved my fanny when moving from one PC to another. I'd written down several serial numbers, then lost them (senility.) Most of them I could get from the old machine though.

I would just make a copy of all the exe files of your programs to a CD. Then delete them from your HD....can't open your programs without them. Then just copy them back in,when you get your computer back.

If a computer repair shop rips off your serial numbers and software, it's a crime. Report them. And don't bring them your future business. It's that simple.

Also check your registry to see if anything is sensitive. You can make a key, save, delete and re-register when your machine is back. Swamp- I like that exe trick, hadn't thought of that.

why not set up an additional user profile if you have Winxp or Win2k & password protect yours, they'll only be able to run the unprotected profile & poser won't be installed to run on it.

Even easier - just temporarily rename the exe files, just change the first letter even! Then the shortcuts etc won't open them.

not sure that'll work elgyfu, if you move or rename an exe when you hit the shortcut it'll almost always do a search, any pc savvy person will be able to find the original exe with just a few seconds searching.

If you don't trust your dealer, I recommend you look for a better one.

I notice that a lot of computer theives take up residence in computer shops and sales outlets. I know some people who are very repugnant who do that. I don't hang with them anymore, it's funny, they think they are so suave having every program and movie and game b4 it even comes out, but they are just mooching off the real hackers, and couldn't get a software on their own. It really hacks me off at times cuz I've spent "gobs" of money on software and am darn tired of it. I want to buy the new Z-Brush, and I'm all monied out, and I know it will take forever to save up 489.00 bones, these guys are messing this business up for everyone. Rant over. That is all.

You know, I've often seen in the ini files for programs a line that says "Disable Splash Screen at Startup" - sometimes it's even a selectable option inside the program - in the preferences. I think the idea there is you want to save time by not seeing the splash. Also, you can comb through your registry settings for those programs and look for the splash screen key, or even add a new DWORD, which you can then set to zero or one as the case may be. Another option would be to get the program available here: http://www.digitallis.co.uk/pc/SplashKiller/index.html It's called splashkiller, and it hides splash screens, without having to modify registries or hack the app. What I mean by hack the app is to modify the splash graphics kept inside certain .dll files for the application. This gets a little too technical for me, but if you want to know more there's quite a bit of info out there on web. Suffice it to say there's multiple ways of hiding this info from prying eyes, and I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. It reminds me of a time when I had my computer upgraded at a local shop. I came in on the day of delivery to pick it up, only to find one of the techs playing a hacked version of a game on my own computer, which he had apparently installed without my permission. Much yelling insued. Regards, Karl

keep in mind, all of these quick and easy fixes (where you hide splashes and rename files) will not be much protection against someone who knows enough to get a job as a computer tech. If that person can reformat a disk and set a few jumpers, they will know enough to search ini files or even scan the registry for lingering stuff (well, one would hope they could:) Your safest option (probably too late this time, though) would have been to install a second hard disk and keep anything that you were afraid they might steal from on that disk. Then, in the event of a visit to the store, the disk could easily be removed prior to leaving the house. They can't steal what isn't there...of course, due to the whole stupid registry thing, those #s are still likely to be hidden there in an encoded fashion...with the right tools, that information could be translated into a usable number...but I think that would take a fair amount of time and would require them knowing specifics about the software that is on your machine...not really likely, I wouldn't think. Just my thoughts:) eric

While hiding the splash screen is an idea. You also need to remember that if they show the registration number in the splash screen they probably show it in the About (under help) screen. Any tech worth his salt (and a few that arent) would know this. Short of copying the exe off into a back up and deleting them off the system or uninstalling them, there really isnt a way to keep them secure. If they log the numbers to the registry or in their own ini files that may not even be enough. If youre concerned about your liability I would suggest contacting the makers of the software you are concerned with and asking them what they suggest. If you identify find your registrations numbers out on the net. I would report them to the individual software makers. They will be far better financed to pursue the shop/employee. Most all computer shops will also have privacy/security policies/contracts that state they will not share your data. This may not stop them, but it will at least give you a way to prosecute. If you are in the USA you might look up the shop with the Better Business Bureau (I dont know if other countries have an equivalent organization) to see if there are any complaints against them. Uninstalling and scouring your registry is probably the only real safe option.

thanks for all your advice. much appreciated! this occured to me just reading this.....the backup of EXE files is the easiest for me....all i have to do is borrow my brother's CD-RW and install it on my machine.....do a back up of EXE then delete the ones on my HD..... but see....heres another thing i forgot about....I GOT TONS OF POSER STUFF from Renderosity market place and DAZ3D.....what if this tech guy makes a copy of my stuff? then hed go home and PRESTO! hes got V3 and the WHOLE ENCHILADA! well....i guess there really aint any secure way around my problem EXCEPT to just uninstall my stuff and reinstall again....the programs will be easy....but the Poser content would take some time.....since many would have to be manualy moved to runtime dirs. i would go with the CD-RW.....but then i dont want to give this guy the benefit of just copying my Poser stuff......so the main solution is just to delete all. argh!!! oh....and thanks for the tip about killing the splash....ill try that.....it should save some bootup time. thanks again all!

Just curious, what's wrong with the computer? Could you simply remove the hard drive before you hand it over?

About your poser stuff: if it's unstalled and still in zip, password the zip. If it's installed it will take the person a week to get anything usefull. Obj here, cr2 there here a pp2 there a lt. Get the picture? Since you will have a cd-rw burn the runtime, then delete it. When you get your machine back, copy the runtime. I always rest the properties back to archive, not read only ( burning to cd changes them to read only). Final thought is to get Drive Crypt and encrypt the hard drive.

Well as the softwear makers keep a blacklist of warze serial numbers,you do want to protect your own. If you are really worried about the Daz content,just copy the obj's to disk,and delete those from your HD,as I said before. BTW,since you are borrowing a CD burner...use ONLY CD-R disk's. CD-RW disks burned on one machine may not play back on a different machine...(know fact). SWAMP

Backup your EXE files AND your Runtime Library then delete the originals! There you go! DAZ Content now safely out of harms way along with the EXE's and Serial numbers. All safely burned to CD-R. Simple. Effective and doesn't require a full reinstall. Hell, if you want to be really thorough, Backup all shortcut's to the programs from your start menus and delete those shortcuts as well so the tech's won't even see the programs listed in the menu systems.

Could you buy an encryption program and either encrypt a folder and install your programs in that, or partition your hard drive and encrypt part of it, then install the programs in the encrypted section?

.....Or you could just send in your machine for repair and get on with your Life :-) I just took my car in for a $673 new(Not rebuilt) alternator( parts&Labor) :-( trust me when I tell you that the spector of some technician burning and llegal copy of my "DJ vlad" Tupac Shakur Mix CD featuring 'Busta Rymes" and "Xibit", was the LEAST of My worries :-/