Android Game Keeps Getting Hacked
So we've been through this several times now, we release a game (for cheap) and someone hacks it and puts it up on a mirror. We setup Google Alerts for all our apps, so we get told daily who's doing the hacking. So far, we have implemented the licensing service as Google has suggested, our salt is randomly made each time the license is initiated with the unique device ID. We run the check service once, when the application is started for the first time. We then generate a 512 character hash for the key and the stored value that is compared against in SharedPreferences from there on out.
Now, I know that checking once is probably where the application is being blocked. Our bytecode has most likely been looked at and recompiled without the line that initiates the check.
From here, I don't want to obfuscate our code as I have seen it broken before. I want something a little more solid, and I also want to learn how to do this properly. I am more interested in learning than making money at this point since only 2% of people will ever look for a hacked version.
So far, on my own, I have come up with a random number generator that is placed in several startup areas of the game. When initiated (say, 1 out of 50 times) the license is checked. I know this would make it harder to hack because the cracker would have to eliminate each case, compile, eliminate, compile. This method however, is still crackable...so what do you guys suggest? Again, I am really interested in this process of security, so please educate, don't turn this into a discussion on obfuscation or checking periodically based on a timestamp.
Thanks
Answer
My idea isnt hacker proof, but might remove some of the interest for hacking the game.
Freemium model
1) Make the first 5-10 levels free so people can learn the game and have some fun without paying. Less will want to hack the first level and the game will spread even further by Freemium model.
Shareware/clustered levelpacks
2) Let part of the game levels or logic stay online. Eg. when reaching for level 5 or 10 or 15, then download small parts for the game, and every time submit the progress-log from the game and validate this against possible values + hashcodes. This could perhaps make it possible to automatically close down of hacked accounts.
Stealth cheater protection
3) You could also just count "small warning flags" that you place around in the game. Dont just check for the "validation" in the beginning, no build these flags into the game logic itself. Dont make it break the gameplay, because then noone will look for it. Then when the user reached the end of level monster, check if there were any logged warning flags. These will not show up inside the game, so the unknowing user with a hacked edition could be playing for hours/days and suddently realize that he/she couldnt finish the game or advance to next level, because the game had a "bug". What the user didnt know was that this bug only occures on hacked clients.
Conclusion
Be smarter than the crackers. Fool them into thinking the job was done. Make a copyprotection and know that the more advanced crackers will be able to remove it. But they probably dont want to play 50 levels to check if the crack also works all the way.
Once they realize this problem, they might start to crack it too. But if you break the game up into level-packs, you can still validate between each pack download. So once you receive hacked client hash data, then just execute an exeception and crash the game on the client. Whoops the game crashed. Dont tell its because its hacked. A program error can happend. :-)
Again, its not hacker proof. But it might annoy them enough to move on to the next game. Lastly, you could also put out regular updates for the game and only the latest version should be able to "post the records" etc. so the active users would have to update to keep in the loop.