Program works only when certain usb is plugged in

Question

I have an inventory software which works only when certain USB(given by vendor) is plugged in

I am very interested to know how does this work and how to create such usb.

Is there any way to make software work without that usb...?

Answer 1

I think you are referring to a protection dongle. To create yourself such a protection, you should have knowledge in electronics and USB protocol, and if you are a complete beginner getting something useful further than a working prototype would be very difficult to achieve.

However there are several vendors that are making such protections ready to integrate with third-party software. And they are prone to send you SDK tools as demos on request. For example Aladdin (that is now Safenet) is one vendor that once sent me for free such a demo kit for their HASP protection dongle. The deal is that you have their SDK with a working dongle to play with, integrate with your software and once it is working you can order actual dongles to distribute with your software.

For the reversing part of your question: as any software, if it was once programmed, it can be modified / reversed. It is just a matter or time and motivation. Some hardawre protection can be emulated (to let the protected software work without the dongle), or the software driver to the dongle can be cracked in a way or another.

Protection makers always show their products as the solution to software piracy but experience shows that a 100% secure and unbreakable solution just does not exist.