Stardock Product Activation Information
Overview
Beginning in 2005, some Stardock products require activation over the Internet to use their enhanced versions. This information will not be used or shared with third parties (unless you purchased a license for a given product through someone other than Stardock), but may be used by Stardock to contact you about updates or other Stardock-related news.
Internet access is required for activation of appropriate products purchased through our online store. Your firewall may need to allow the activation program to contact the internet (most will prompt if this is the case).
Corporate customers interested in a quantity of licenses can contact us about alternative licenses.
Information logged
Depending on whether your order was directly through Stardock or through a third-party, we may ask for your first name, last name, email address, and the serial number/activation code for the product you have purchased. If this is the first registration under a given email address, you may also be prompted for a password for your account to enable downloading updates via Stardock Central.
Your IP address, non-personally identifiable machine information, and number of activation attempts will be logged.
Activation limits
There are reasonable limits on how often you can activate a given product to help deter piracy, but for most users, this limit will not be reached.
Bluntly: If we find 42 activation attempts from 29 different IP addresses and emails in the course of an evening, it's fraud. We are users of our own software too. We've added a level of protection that we, as users, are comfortable working with.
Backup and Restore
Backups of your PC should include your operating system installation and the SIG.BIN in the application directory that contains your activation information.
If you restore or reimage your PC frequently, be sure to include the OS and application as part of the backup. If you reinstall the OS from scratch (like from a bundled restore CD), you will need to reactivate.
If you install the application on another PC, you will need to reactivate.
What if my computer is stolen?
Bluntly: If we find 42 activation attempts from 29 different IP addresses and emails in the course of an evening, it's fraud.
Download links and serial numbers for your product purchases can be found at http://download.stardock.com
Can I activate over the phone?
No. You must have Internet access.
If your firewall is so locked down that the activation cannot reach the Internet, it'll offer to generate a code that you can email to Stardock to create a license file for that machine.
Alternatively, visit this page for additional info on how to activate without an Internet connection.
I want to sell my copy of X to my brother, because I don't need it anymore.
Reasonable requests can be handled through support.
I don't appreciate being treated like a crook and being forced to activate the product I paid for.
Activating is a very quick process and generally only involves entering your email and the serial number, then waiting a few seconds to update your product record.
If you have difficulties, please contact support@stardock.com.