Registration lost
in [Mac Systems]
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From: John McWilliams on 11 Jul 2008 12:53 In this case it's Cocktail: when launched there was an Apple message warning me this was downloaded from the internet, albeit six months ago. Then a Cocktail message saying I needed to register, which I had done a long time ago, and used it several dozens of times since without incident. It has lost touch with the registration info, and I wonder how this happens, what can I do to prevent? Is reg. info typically stored in one of several places that a user could wipe out accidentally? -- John McWilliams
From: Gregory Weston on 11 Jul 2008 13:32 In article <dcqdnTCSGti4DerVnZ2dnUVZ_srinZ2d(a)comcast.com>, John McWilliams <jpmcw(a)comcast.net> wrote: > In this case it's Cocktail: when launched there was an Apple message > warning me this was downloaded from the internet, albeit six months ago. > Then a Cocktail message saying I needed to register, which I had done a > long time ago, and used it several dozens of times since without incident. > > It has lost touch with the registration info, and I wonder how this > happens, what can I do to prevent? Is reg. info typically stored in one > of several places that a user could wipe out accidentally? The first-launch warning flag is, IIRC, stored in the file's metadata. I *think* I recall that it can be unintentionally reset by a legit but very rare user action, but can't remember the details. The registration code would be wherever the application developer decided to stick it, which could be anywhere they have or can temporarily get write access on your drive. But best odds are that it's somewhere in /Library/Preferences or ~/Library/Preferences. -- "Harry?" Ron's voice was a mere whisper. "Do you smell something ... burning?" - Harry Potter and the Odor of the Phoenix
From: John McWilliams on 11 Jul 2008 13:52 Gregory Weston wrote: > In article <dcqdnTCSGti4DerVnZ2dnUVZ_srinZ2d(a)comcast.com>, > John McWilliams <jpmcw(a)comcast.net> wrote: > >> In this case it's Cocktail: when launched there was an Apple message >> warning me this was downloaded from the internet, albeit six months ago. >> Then a Cocktail message saying I needed to register, which I had done a >> long time ago, and used it several dozens of times since without incident. >> >> It has lost touch with the registration info, and I wonder how this >> happens, what can I do to prevent? Is reg. info typically stored in one >> of several places that a user could wipe out accidentally? > > The first-launch warning flag is, IIRC, stored in the file's metadata. I > *think* I recall that it can be unintentionally reset by a legit but > very rare user action, but can't remember the details. > > The registration code would be wherever the application developer > decided to stick it, which could be anywhere they have or can > temporarily get write access on your drive. But best odds are that it's > somewhere in /Library/Preferences or ~/Library/Preferences. Thanks, it's happened maybe a dozen times over the last couple of years, possibly shortly after updates, but it seems pretty random. -- John McWilliams
From: nospamatall on 15 Jul 2008 11:03 John McWilliams wrote: > In this case it's Cocktail: when launched there was an Apple message > warning me this was downloaded from the internet, albeit six months ago. > Then a Cocktail message saying I needed to register, which I had done a > long time ago, and used it several dozens of times since without incident. > > It has lost touch with the registration info, and I wonder how this > happens, what can I do to prevent? Is reg. info typically stored in one > of several places that a user could wipe out accidentally? > Developers can put the reg stuff pretty much anywhere, and often try to obscure it. The best solution I have found is Uninstaller. http://macmagna.free.fr/ If you scan your drive before and after installing something, you can then save a list of all changes made to your HD. It isn't free, but it has a lot of useful functions, eg. generate an uninstall shell script that will delete everything the installer created. Andy
From: John McWilliams on 15 Jul 2008 11:09 nospamatall wrote: > John McWilliams wrote: >> In this case it's Cocktail: when launched there was an Apple message >> warning me this was downloaded from the internet, albeit six months >> ago. Then a Cocktail message saying I needed to register, which I had >> done a long time ago, and used it several dozens of times since >> without incident. >> >> It has lost touch with the registration info, and I wonder how this >> happens, what can I do to prevent? Is reg. info typically stored in >> one of several places that a user could wipe out accidentally? >> > Developers can put the reg stuff pretty much anywhere, and often try to > obscure it. The best solution I have found is Uninstaller. > http://macmagna.free.fr/ > > If you scan your drive before and after installing something, you can > then save a list of all changes made to your HD. It isn't free, but it > has a lot of useful functions, eg. generate an uninstall shell script > that will delete everything the installer created. Yes, I see that could be useful, (used something similar in OS 9) but I am wondering what happens to blow away such, as has happened at odd intervals to me over the past couple of years. -- John McWilliams
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