There are two types of encryption that you may use for your scripts, and one type for your ASP pages. The first type uses encoding that Microsoft developed and was made available for use with their older, original script technologies - VBScript and JavaScript. This type of encoding is by no means secure - it is not recommended that you use it; in fact, it is so old, that "good luck" in trying to find the encoding program at the Microsoft web sites. It should also be noted that scripts encoded using Microsoft's encoding cannot be called with parameters.
HomeSeer's encryption is stronger and uses a key known to HomeSeer so that the scripts can be opened and interpreted by HomeSeer (naturally). You can encrypt your script or ASP page by running it through the HomeSeer Script Encoder utility, which will read the source file and produce a destination (encrypted) file as a result. When you use the utility, you will use a different extension on the encrypted file so that HomeSeer knows how to process it. Here is a list of the file types and their file extensions.
|
File Type |
Normal (Unencrypted) Extension |
Encrypted Extension |
|
Visual Basic Script |
.TXT, .VBS |
.VBH (HomeSeer Encryption) .VBE (Microsoft Encoding) |
|
.NET Visual Basic Script |
.VB |
.VBEN (HomeSeer Encryption) |
|
Java Script |
.JS |
.JSH (HomeSeer Encryption) .JSE (Microsoft Encoding) |
|
Active Server Pages |
.ASP |
.ASH (HomeSeer Encryption) |
|
.NET Active Server Pages |
.ASPX |
Unsupported! ASPX pages are directly interpreted by .NET and therefore cannot be encrypted. |
Since ASPX technology does not allow the encryption of these pages, they should instead use .NET "code behind" technology which produces a .NET software (DLL) module which accompanies the ASPX page. As much of the application's code that can be put in the code behind page, the more secure it will be, and this is also where you will need to put the license check call discussed in the licensing topic of this section. Note that .NET DLLs are not encrypted and can be reverse engineered, and so therefore your best protection in this case is to dotfuscate the code making it more difficult to understand when it is reviewed by a .NET code interpreter.
The HomeSeer script encoder utility is included with this SDK. To use the utility, follow these simple instructions:
Run the utility
Select your source file - you may do this using one of two ways:
Enter the full path and filename in the "File Selection" text box on the form, then press the "Source" button at the bottom of the form.
Select the drive where your source file is located using the drop down list of drives in your system, then choose the path to the file location by clicking on the folders in the folder browser, and then click on the filename of your file in the file list window on the right-hand side of the window. After you click the filename, the full path and filename should appear in the "File Selection" box, then click the "Source" button at the bottom of the form.
Select your destination file - you may do this using one of two ways:
Enter the full path and filename in the "File Selection" text box on the form, then press the "Destination" button at the bottom of the form.
Select the drive where your destination file is to be located using the drop down list of drives in your system, then choose the path to the file location by clicking on the folders in the folder browser, and then click on the filename of your source file in the file list window on the right-hand side of the window if it is located in this directory, and then change the file extension in the "File Selection" box - alternatively you can click on any file in the destination path so that the full path and filename appears in the "File Selection" box, then replace the filename with the one you wish to use, making sure to use the proper file extension from the above table. The full path and filename should appear in the "File Selection" box, then click the "Destination" button at the bottom of the form.
If your destination file already exists, you will be warned at the top of the form that your destination file will be overwritten if you complete the process.
Press the "GO" button at the bottom of the form - the encrypted file will be produced, and the utility will then prompt you to do another file, and if you do not desire to do another file, the utility will end.
Click here to access the HomeSeer Script Encoder Utility
Right-Click and use "Save As" to store a copy of the utility on your PC in a folder of your choosing.