PrestaShop Will Enforce Encrypted Modules Soon

[dprophitjr]

Just one more reason to convert to thirty bees. PrestaShop will be enforcing digital rights management via blockchain technology very soon. All module source code. The core remains 'freemium' in their own words.

I tweeted the news story and I ask that everyone like and retweet it to your followers. https://twitter.com/DenverProphitJr/status/892748402324328449

[Guest]

I've read stuff from him before, I like his 'sarcastic' edge he puts on his blogs. He's very blunt and to the point. The important thing though is he sees it from the merchant point of view and not the developers.

[lesley]

I think that is an important point of view for seeing things. Its really a chicken or an egg with platforms. Does having more developers bring in more users? Or having more users bring in more developers? I think it all centers around the users. Developers are not going to develop if there is no upside for them.

[vzex]

They should rename it RestAShop RIP :)

[dprophitjr]

Be sure to retweet the tweet. The more retweets and mentions, the higher it will rank on twitter.

[dprophitjr]

@mdekker https://medium.com/@prestashoppoweruser/prestashop-freemium-software-d33d9fd8d508

[Nemo]

The fact that PrestaShop keeps its suicidal strategy is not bad for us :D

[Occam]

Encryption? DRM? J'en suis desolé, messieurs! I guess you're really barking up the wrong tree. Those people behind PrestaTrust don't want to encrypt their modules and themes, and they don't want the developers neither. They try to imitate the Bitcoin technology and use a blockchain server. This is what it's all about, gathering hash points and timestamps and transaction data. Absolutely nothing will be encrypted, it's just he other way round. These recorded blocks itself are cryptographically secure linked, secure by design. This seems to have inspired the PrestaShop CEO Lejbowicz to make PrestaShop get again.

How come I recall the PrestaShop cloud shipwreck? ... because it failed spectacularly not long ago? This is kind of a déjà vu!

[lesley]

I am failing to see the point then I guess. How can it work without encryption? What are the hashpoints made from? Just the transaction data? There would be no way to verify the module that way. They would have to hash off the files then, right? But then the hash would fail if I modified the module wouldn't it? Like say fixed a typo in it, then it should fail, no?

[Occam]

Follow the link I provided, or ask some expert of the bitcoin technology. This certainly isn't my forte, because I'm not interested in those things. But I can assure you after reading the French contribution to this official competition: this is no kind of DRM.

[lesley]

I do no speak french, I failed out of it school. So I have to rely on Google Translate. This is what I get from Google translate:

The PrestaTrust marketplace therefore has two main purposes linked to this objective of confidence : • Ensure the registration of the modules made available via PrestaShop and manage the Rights attached to each module as defined by the developer;

I see rights and managed in the same sentence, it makes me think DRM. I know Google Translate is not the best sometimes. Is there a better translation for this to clear it up?

[marci123]

I too don't speak french. I found this pdf about Prestatrust and their goals. Maybe somebody can translate it better than google does? link text According to google translate it says something like "ambition to automate and industrialize the Management of software licenses at the very heart of computer code"

This is the google translation: Thanks to this traceability, to this decentralized and low-cost security, the Of PrestaShop and of all the contributors will be largely increases. As for eCommerceers, they will also be reassured about the modules acquired on Market, since they will also have the means to check in real time via the Site PrestaTrust, the origin and integrity of their modules. PrestaTrust is a reusable product with the ambition to automate and industrialize the Management of software licenses at the very heart of computer code, for the entire World Open

[Occam]

We're all dealing with the same text. This is not about the Google translation, it's about pidgeonholing. One more link: Blockchain for Dummies :) Software license management using blockchain technology creates a data structure that enables the creation of a kind of digital ledger of transactions, a trail of license inventory and installations. This trail is shared or distributed internet-wide among the network of computers, with each node having the same exact copy of this ledger. You get real-time data for each time a license is utilized, shared or credited, all these transactions are appended in the ledger in the form of a block (therefor blockchain). Not the software itself, but these chains are based on a consensus algorithm, the ledger is using digital signature and cryptographic algorithmic programming, so each block can be secured and referenced to the previous block. In this way you can check the validity of every new software license purchase or installation. Thus you do not need any encryption of the software product you sell because it becomes virtually impossible for anyone to manipulate this block since each transaction has a unique cryptographic 'serial number' and there's always the reference to the previous block.

[dprophitjr]

Some part of the module software has to phone home to create the tracking. They'll have to encrypt some or part of the module and cripple it if the license is invalid. That is not open source. It's crippleware.

[Occam]

@dprophitjr said in PrestaShop Will Enforce Encrypted Modules Soon:

Some part of the module software has to phone home to create the tracking. They'll have to encrypt some or part of the module and cripple it if the license is invalid.

This is what I called pidgeonholing. :)

[marci123]

I am wondering if it will be allowed / possible to make changes to the code then?

[Traumflug]

I'm a bit surprised seeing people surprised about this tracking thing. AFAIK, PrestaShop always did this and thirty bees does it, too. Installing either of them gets one subscribed to a mailing list, which is kind of tracking, too. Module pages automatically search for upgrades, so the module server nicely tracks activity in backoffice. And if I'm not mistaken, I've seen a tracking pixel somewhere in backoffice. I might be wrong on the latter. Anyways, having a PS/30bz shop installed can't be hidden (unless one removes this tracking deep in the code before doing so).

Now, if this PrestaTrust thing could offer a code encryption technology in the sense that module customers can no longer read the code, it'd be a useful technology. Similar to what IonCube does. To my knowledge, "borrowing" code from competitors happens among module creators, which isn't always helpful for the success of these modules. Can't say whether PrestaTrust offers this, because, well, I can't read French either.

[marci123]

Now, if this PrestaTrust thing could offer a code encryption technology in the sense that module customers can no longer read the code, it'd be a useful technology. Similar to what IonCube does. To my knowledge, "borrowing" code from competitors happens among module creators, which isn't always helpful for the success of these modules. Can't say whether PrestaTrust offers this, because, well, I can't read French either.

Personally I would like to see the code. Encryption may be useful to be protected from software piracy but where there is light there is shadow too ... I prefer the 'open' modell (be it free or commercial). I would like to see what I am installing. And I want to be able to make changes to the code if necessary. There was a lot of discussion when open source became popular but it was (and still is) a success, isn't it? I think it is a step back if encryption becomes the next business modell.

[Occam]

@Traumflug said in PrestaShop Will Enforce Encrypted Modules Soon:

Now, if this PrestaTrust thing could offer a code encryption technology in the sense that module customers can no longer read the code, it'd be a useful technology. Similar to what IonCube does. To my knowledge, "borrowing" code from competitors happens among module creators, which isn't always helpful for the success of these modules. Can't say whether PrestaTrust offers this, because, well, I can't read French either.

To my surprise I seem to be the only one here who can read French. I didn't find a hint that Prestatrust offers this. So I do not want to heat on long shots. And I guess it wouldn't be easy to encrypt simple interpreter languages like php. Or am I wrong about this?

[marci123]

I have found an article on block chain and reading this article I think block chain won't come in the near future. It seems to be difficult to be implemented, still not fully developed, expensive and it requires a lot of ressources and is slow with regard to performance. https://marmelab.com/blog/2016/06/14/blockchain-for-web-developers-the-truth.html

[Occam]

You seem to have missed Bitcoin. Without block chain technology no Bitcoin! ?

[marci123]

@Occam I know ... I meant block chain for prestashop. There seems to be a bit of a hype around block chain and the stock exchange. Will it be the next big thing or not ? I think this is the reason why it is in the focus nowadays. I don't think that this is already a final decision for prestashop at least not in the near future.

[Occam]

@marci123 There is no "blockchain for PrestaShop" afaik, all this is about is a complete new business model, a strategic reorientation of the Paris company. Prestashop's CEO seems to believe that you can make more money with this new business plan than with PrestaShop. That's all!

[marci123]

@Occam said in PrestaShop Will Enforce Encrypted Modules Soon:

@marci123 There is no "blockchain for PrestaShop" afaik, all this is about is a complete new business model, a strategic reorientation of the Paris company.

Isn't this what I posted above? I think they have registered the trademark Prestatrust and are thinking of a business model that includes block chain but I think such a business model is far from ready yet (based on the article posted above). Anyway we all are no experts on this and time will show and we all will see ...

[lesley]

@Traumflug I would not call it useful to encrypt modules to be honest. The platform we use for the dh42 site is encrypted with encrypted modules. It is the biggest pain changing something simple. I have to get the developer to change it, if I can get ahold of them. If not I have to suffer through with the broken functionality. At the same time it locks you into having just one developer ever being the one that modifies a module. That does not work for a lot of companies.If you run a multi-million dollar ecommerce shop and have a couple developers on staff, are you really going to want to let some other guy into your shop just to change a few lines of code that one of the in house guys could do if it was not encrypted? Most of my clients would not want that.