info

If i purchase vbseo do i get access to source?

nope

Dan,

vBSEO is provided in ionCube and Zend formats only. Code cannot be viewed or modified.

However, we do support extensibility:

vBSEO Functions for Extensibility

why no source?

Dan,

Closed source code has been a company policy since release.

well you lost a potentional customer there for that reason. vbulletin is open why can't this be. Makes it seem like you have stuff to hide

Ok Dan. Thank-you for considering vBSEO. Hopefully we can get you vBSEO-enabled in the future. Now that you are a forum member you will receive email announcements in the event that updates to vBSEO or its distribution formats change. Stay tuned.

I can only guess as to why the code is encrypted. I imagine it's because they don't want the code to be copied and used in other programs. I also suspect it's because the company is unable or unwilling to go after anyone who hijacks parts of the code.

There's many disadvantages in encrypting the code. For instance they keep the programming community from examining the code and offering any improvements. It also suggests they have something to hide, perhaps the code is doing something not worthy of public scrutiny. At any rate it's unlikely we'll never find out.

Originally Posted by danbriant

well you lost a potentional customer there for that reason. vbulletin is open why can't this be. Makes it seem like you have stuff to hide

ok if i do decide to purchase is the licence for life or for a year?

Hello Dan,

your purchase includes lifetime usage license + 1 year of free upgrades. Further upgrades cost $35 per year.

If they didn't encrypt it, someone could take the source and copy it quite easily to their own versions, thus decreasing the value of this software.

I'm a big proponent of open source software, however, I think in certain instances it's unrealistic to assume that you can release the source and it wont be widely stolen.

I believe vbSEO is one of those instances.

Does vbseo do any type of call home function? Unfortunately encryption only keeps the honest people honest. I have already seen cracked versions of vbseo on the warez circuit. :(

vBSEO automatically retrieves your license key at the time of installation. Once set, this is not done again unless you upgrade to a new version and need to retrieve your new license key.