How to Maintain Your License Key

Please take the following steps to register "key updater" as a scheduled task of your computer. It will take about 5 minuts to complete. Once it's done, the task will automatically maintain your license key thereafter.

It will also launch a graphical wizard to remind you the expiration date (if any) when it gets close, and ask you for getting a new license key.

We offer re-issue service of your license keys, in the case of any failed/misconfigured key updater.

Windows Users

  1. Open Microsoft "Task Scheduler". Usually, you can access it from the "start menu":
    Start Menu > Programs > Accessaries > System Tools > Task (or Task Scheduler)
    Its icon is like this:

    If you can't find it in the start menu, you may find it in the "control panel".

    *   If you're using Windows 95/NT4 and still can't find it, you'll have to install it:

       1) Go to the "control panel" and select "Add/Remove Programs".
       2) Double click "Microsoft Internet Explorer (...some version) " from the list, and a dialog will appear.
       3) Select "Add a component" and wait until a list of components are displayed.
       4) Find "Offline Browsing Pack" or "Task Scheduler" from the list, select it, and continue.
       5) Follow the wizard to complete the installation.


  2. Double-click the "Add Scheduled Task".
  3. Click the "Next" button.
  4. Click the "Browse" button.
  5. Find "keyupdater.bat" somewhere under the installation directory of this software, and select it.
  6. Follow the wizard and make the task run daily at a convinient time for you.
  7. When the wizard closes, the task is added to the "Sceduled Tasks" folder.
  8. (Optional) For finer tuning, right-click the added icon in the folder and select "Properties".
  9. (Optional) Edit the properties as you like.
  10. If your file system may change more rapidly than that of average computer (Do you create/remove many files or folders everyday?), edit the property of the task and make it run several times a day. This is to ensure that your key stays valid in a very variable environment. Each update will take no more than several seconds, so there's no need to worry about the load on your computer.
  11. Now everything is set up. Your license key will be automatically maintained everyday in the background.

Linux/Unix Users

  1. Ask your system administrator for a permission to create/edit your crontab file.
  2. Enter "crontab -e " to start editing the crontab file.
  3. Now, you can edit the crontab file with the vi interface.
  4. Add the next line to the crontab file to enable using X display. For example, you'll be reminded of the expiration date, if any, by a graphical dialog.

    DISPLAY=localhost:0.0

  5. Set the "PATH" environmental variable so that cron daemon can find the "java.exe" command. To do this, add the following line to the crontab file. You might have to replace the path after colon (":") with the directory where your java.exe is located. At least, you'll have to check the part of "j2sdk1.4.0_01".

    SET PATH=$PATH:/usr/java/j2sdk1.4.0_01/bin

  6. Set the "CLASSPATH" environmental variable so that cron daemon can find the "CkLicensee class" file. To do this, add the following line to the crontab file.You might have to replace the path after colon (":") with the directory where your CkLicensee.class is located. Ask us if you can't find it.

    SET CLASSPATH=$CLASSPATH:/home/myHome/thisProduct/ChainKey/JChainWeb_1.5:
    /home/myHome/thisProduct/ChainKey/JChainWeb_1.5/jc.jar

  7. Add the next line in the crontab file as follows:

    0 15 * * * java com.chainkey.jchain.CkLicensee "startupdater" 1.0 0.1

    The second parameter ("15" in the above case) specifies what time in a day to execute the key update. Edit it and specify most convinient time for you (0-23).
  8. If your file system may change more rapidly than that of average computer, add more lines with different second parameters. This is to ensure that your key stays valid in a very variable environment. Each update will take no more than several seconds, so there's no need to worry about the load on your computer. For example,

    0 0 * * * java com.chainkey.jchain.CkLicensee "startupdater" 1.0 0.1
    0 6 * * * java com.chainkey.jchain.CkLicensee "startupdater" 1.0 0.1
    0 12 * * * java com.chainkey.jchain.CkLicensee "startupdater" 1.0 0.1
    0 18 * * * java com.chainkey.jchain.CkLicensee "startupdater" 1.0 0.1

  9. Save and quit. Now everything is set up. Your license key will be automatically maintained everyday in the background. The cron daemon will send you mails to report on the key updates.


This software is licensed and protected using JChain. The licensing scheme of JChain enable us to reduce the software piracy that is 40% on average and over 90% in several countries. The reduced piracy helps us reduce the price of our software and invest more for the better products and services. For further informaion, please visit www.chainkey.com.