Activate Upon Scanning?

Question

I'm not sure if this is where I need to be asking this question, but here it is. My company is preparing to release a software program in the format of PIN cards (similar to phone cards). Each card will have a PIN on it under a scratch panel. The PIN can then be used to download the software program from our website.

I need to figure out what to do about theft prevention. I know with the phone cards, the PIN doesn't work until it is scanned at the register. How would I get this setup? Do I need to setup a "special" database or something?

How will I know if the card has been scanned at the register? Will the POS submit it to a database?

Answer 1

AFAIK the codes are submitted online to the phone company. The exact setup depends on the POS system; probably the POS terminals just submit it to their local POS Server, which then has to be configured to act accordingly (e.g. add new Entry to a license database, that has to be queried by your software to check the activation). There also needs to be a way to handle refunds (scratch panel intact).