Working with licenses

ASTER creates an automatic backup copy of the information on active licenses activated on the computer to our license server. This backup allows you to restore all of your activated codes with just a few mouse clicks. This can be very useful if your computer crashes, reinstalled your OS, or forgot your license code when you need to restore the purchased licenses to activate the ASTER.

A backup of your licenses is created and sent to the server when you activate a license. In order to identify the computer, ASTER creates and assigns a unique identifier number to it. When you start ASTER for the first time, you will see the following information message:

After you click the “OK” button, a unique identifier is created and it is displayed in the window as below:

Please make a note of it and keep it in a safe place, for example, in your notebook or some cloud storage like Google Drive or one drive. This ID allows you to restore (See. Restoring a license from a backup) your ASTER license data in case you need to reinstall Windows. We recommend you do not store the identifier data on the same computer as it may be lost when your system crashes.

If you need to check the identifier, you can find it in the lower-left corner of the “ASTER Control Panel” window.

After ASTER is installed on your computer and run for the first time (or again after a windows re-installation), you will see “ASTER Activation Dialog”

You need an internet connection to activate the trial or license. If the computer is connected to the internet through a proxy server, then click the first option to configure ASTER to connect through the proxy. (See. Configure ASTER to use Proxy Server). Enter Activation ID to activate the license you purchased for ASTER. If you just want to try ASTER in trial, then click the last option to activate the trial for 14 days.

ASTER has a 14-day trial, during which you can test the full capabilities of the program and make your decision about purchasing a license. The ASTER program will work without any functional limitations in the trial.

When a few days are left in the trial period, and you open the ASTER Control, you will see “License Expiration Reminder” dialog box will be displayed with the information about the remaining days for the trial and date of the next reminder *.

*You can change the “Date of the next reminder”

After the trial expires, when you run the program, it will show you the window to activate the license - to continue using ASTER. We hope that the 14-day trial was sufficient for the test and you will purchase a license afterward. You can choose to uninstall the program if you do now wish to purchase a license currently.

When you buy an ASTER license, you will receive product activation code. To activate the license, you must have an internet connection on the computer. To activate the license click on the “Register” button in the General Settings tab in ASTER Control. Then, in the “ASTER Activation Dialog” enter the Activation ID (activation code) in the “Enter Activation ID here” field and then click the “Activate” button.

You will see a “Activation Success” dialog box, after successful activation. Clicking the “OK” button will restart the ASTER to apply the license details and open ASTER again.

Acquisition and activation of any licenses give you an opportunity for an additional 14 Days trial. This trial period will allow you to test ASTER with many workplaces and possibly decide on the purchase of additional licenses. Multiple licenses can be activated on one computer to get additional workplaces. But remember ASTER has a limit of 12 workplaces from one computer.

The additional workplaces trial period begins only after activation of trial workplaces. This allows you to make a decision to test the feasibility of purchasing additional licenses later.

To do this, make sure your computer system allows you to add additional workplaces with current hardware. You can also check how many additional workplaces you can create in the computer and its performance.

Once you are sure, you can activate the additional workplaces in trial from the “ASTER Activation Dialog” by clicking the “Activate ASTER trial workplaces” button

Unlike the usual activation code designed in most cases to activate the ASTER program on a single computer, the activation code (Batch activation code) can activate ASTER on several computers. Batch activation code is useful for the mass installation of ASTER, for example, in organizations or when distributing computers with pre-installed software, which includes ASTER. It is enough to remember and use only one batch activation code instead of many activation codes and its installation ID.

Batch activation code is, in fact, an identifier (list) to several common activation codes of the same type. When purchasing a batch activation code, you must specify the type of license (Home or Pro). For a pro license, you must specify the total number of ASTER workplaces that will be licensed on all computers and the number of computers on which the batch activation code will be used. Once again, please keep in mind the fact that the licenses in the package will be identical, i.e the same time (home or pro) and the same number of workplaces on each computer. When creating a batch activation code, the specified number (equal to the number of computers from your order) of the usual activation codes are created and for this package, one unique batch activation code is created, which is the serial you will receive (together with the usual activation codes included in this package).

Manual activation by batch activation code is carried out in the same way as activation by usual activation code, i.e. the number is entered in the corresponding file in the activation dialog box. The batch activation code is sent to the ASTER license server, where the server will select a free (not yet activated) normal activation code from the corresponding package and activates it. It also binds the activation code to the computer that sent the activation request. When you re-request activation from the saved computer, the server will find the license corresponding to this computer and send the registration information that is already in the database. In case of accidental (or intentional) re-activation, a new activation code will not be used.

One of the most popular methods for installing the ASTER program is the mass distribution of ASTER in the hardware and software complex, for example, a computer class for the school, based on cloning the disk with the pre-installed ASTER master license, here is steps to do it:

• The operating system is installed on the computer (hereinafter referred to as the master computer), then a predefined set of software, including ASTER;

• After installing ASTER on the computer, ASTER master license is created, which specifies the batch activation identifier;

• From the hard disk of the master computer (hereinafter referred to as the master disk) copies (clones) for the required number of disks of the same type are made;

• Master disk clones are installed on other computers that have the same hardware set.

The first time you start ASTER on a clone computer if the program finds a master license on the disk. Then, with little or no intervention from the operator, it will activate the batch activation code found in the master license. If the master license was created without password protection, only the windows to activate the ASTER will open. Otherwise, you will need to enter the password after the user clicks the “Activate” button. You only need one more click of the mouse to confirm to run the program in administrator mode. Then the activation will proceed automatically.

This greatly helps in the process of activating ASTER on a variety of computers when distributing many computers.

To create a *master license*:

1. Purchase the batch activation code ASTER for the required number of computers - Pro or Home as required.

2. Install the ASTER on the master computer and check the functioning of all programs installed in the computer (including ASTER)

3. Start the ASTER with the make-master option on the master computer. To do this, you need to run the following command (after closing the “ASTER Control Panel”, if it is running):

asterctl --make-master

4. In the window that appears, enter the batch activation code in the “License package” field and, if you want to protect yourself from the batch activation code being used by unauthorized personnel, enter a password in the “Password” field that will be requested when the ASTER is activated on the clone computers.

5. After entering the specified data, click the button “Create ASTER master license”. Since creating a master license involves removing existing ASTER licenses, you need to confirm this operation.

Note: To create a master license, you will be requested administrative access. After it's completed, you can start cloning the master disk to the required number of clone disks.

6. After cloning is done delete the master license from the master computer. Otherwise, ASTER will not start on it.

To remove the master license from the master computer (and from the clone computer, if necessary), you need to execute the command specified in the screenshot below, i.e.

asterctl --clean-license

After executing the command on the computer, the master license ASTER will be deleted. Now, you can use the PC to create the next batch of clone computers for another contract/purchase order for your hardware and software distribution.

Sometimes there is a need to find out the list of ASTER keys activated on the computer and information about them. You can get the list by clicking on the “Check activation IDs on this PC” button . Check activation history on the “General settings” tab.

In this list, both active and inactive licenses, as well as deactivated keys, are displayed.

The 'Seats' column indicates the number of workstation seats the license provides.

The 'Type' column indicates whether the license is an expansion or a primary one.

The 'Expiration Date' column shows the expiration date of the license.

In the last 3 columns, you can also see how many times this license has been transferred and how many transfers are remaining. You are allowed 4 transfers of a license per year.

You can save the data provided in this window in a text file using the 'Save' button.

There is also the possibility to obtain information on all your licenses, not just on this PC. To do this, you need to go to the 'About' tab and click on 'Get Activation Status' in the lower right corner. You will be redirected to a website where you can check the status and history of activation keys by entering your email address in the 'Verify ActivationID (by email)' tab, to which the licenses were registered, or by entering the activation key itself on another tab 'Verify ActivationID (Online)'. Additionally, on the 'Verify Packet Key Info (online)' tab, you can check the status and history of your ASTER bundle key.

In the email or in the browser (depending on your chosen method of retrieval), you will see a list displaying both active and inactive licenses, as well as deactivated keys.

In the 'Activation State' column, you will see the license status:

- Activated - the activation code is valid, meaning the license is active;
- Invalid - the activation code is invalid. This means that at some point this code was successfully activated on this computer, but the license has become invalid (e.g., the annual license period has ended);
- Deactivated - the license has been deactivated on this computer.

The 'License Type' column indicates what type of license it is.

The expiration date of the license is listed in the last column.

You can deactivate all licenses (see. ASTER terms of licensing and updating) or some of the ASTER licenses. This can be useful when you want to transfer licenses to another computer or to correct the errors that occurred when the product was activated. For example, if the license was activated not on the computer for which it was intended.

Deactivation is done in the 'ASTER Activation Dialog' window, which can be opened by clicking on the 'Registration' button on the 'General Settings' tab, and then selecting 'Deactivate Licenses'

In the dialogue box that appears, select the licenses you wish to deactivate. Enter the email address where notifications of the license deactivation will be sent. Choose the reason for deactivation from the list, and if necessary, provide a message describing the reason for deactivation. In the last column, you can see the number of available transfers. You are allowed a maximum of 4 transfers per year. Once everything is filled out, click the 'Transfer' button. A confirmation window for deactivation will appear.

In the open window, select the licenses to confirm deactivation and click 'Proceed with Transfer'. After successfully sending the request, you will receive a message on the specified email with a unique request number. It is recommended to save this number just in case (for example, to refer to the request in case of any issues).The deactivation request is processed almost immediately (sometimes within a few minutes). After the process is successfully completed, you will receive a second email confirming that your request has been processed, and a window with new activation keys will open. You can save these keys in a text file or copy them to the clipboard. Starting from version 2.51, the keys remain the same. Once you have saved the keys using one method provided, the 'I have saved Activation Keys in a safe place' button will activate. Click on it and, if you choose to restart ASTER, the 'ASTER Activation Dialog' window will open, where you will see the new licensing status on this PC. Now, with the new keys you have obtained, you can activate ASTER on a new PC or in case of hardware replacement.

If for some reason you cannot save new activation codes (for example, accidentally closed the last dialog), do not worry. Just do the last step of deactivation again (starting with clicking the “Deactivate licenses” button) and get a new list of activation codes again.

Some situations when there is a need to remove all ASTER license information from a computer are listed below:

• You want to clean the computer after deactivating the license (See. Deactivate ASTER licenses) and transfer the license to another computer. For this case, it is not necessary to clear the license information as the license is unusable.
• The computer has a long list of invalid licenses that were once activated on it. This list may be annoying to you, and you would like to get a “clean” list of the ASTER licenses. This can be done by removing all the license information, and then re-activate only the valid activation codes.
• In rare cases, the ASTER support service can recommend you to clean licenses to troubleshoot or get a clean list.

In previous versions, this cleaning could be done by the following command:

 'asterctl --clean-license'

This is executed in the Windows shell window, which is not convenient.

The action of clearing the license information requires user confirmation, and if the answer is yes, you will be prompted to save the activation codes (See. Viewing keys activated on the computer).

The second method is the 'Clear License' button in the context menu of the 'System' section in the 'Workplaces' tab, which can be accessed by clicking on:

When you deactivate and create backup copies of the license, some information is sent to the license server.

This information sent to the server contains the following data:

• The name of the buyer and the email address used to purchase the ASTER licenses.

• Activation codes are generated by the ASTER license server when purchasing licenses.

• Code for binding licenses to the hardware of the computer.

• Registration keys are generated by the ASTER license server in response to the activation of the activation code.

• ASTER installation ID.

• The system time of the user's computer at the time of the request.

• ASTER version number installed on the user's computer.

• Language of the ASTER User Interface.

• Activation code for deactivation.

The date to and from the license server is encrypted. We can make sure the above list doesn't contain any data, except for the data you provided during purchase, received from the license server after purchase of license and after activation of the license, and minimal data for the backup and deactivation process.