Answers to the questions we hear most

This is a fair question, and it's why RTC Time Dongles exist as a separate delivery method. A Software Key has no clock of its own, so time-bound terms on a Software Key are validated against the customer's system clock. For deployments where clock manipulation is a real concern — offline, air-gapped, or high-trust-sensitivity environments — an RTC Time Dongle carries its own independent, battery-backed clock, so resetting the customer's system clock has no effect on license validity. See License Delivery Methods for the full comparison.

AuthGuru uses AES-256 encryption by default to protect application binaries and sensitive logic. This can be configured or adjusted to match specific customer security requirements where needed.

Protection in AuthGuru combines encryption, machine-locking (also known as node-locking), and hardware-based enforcement where applicable, working against reverse engineering and unauthorized use. See Protection for the full breakdown.

Integration effort depends on which languages and platforms your application already uses. AuthGuru provides APIs for C, C++, C#, VB, VB.NET, Java, and Delphi across popular OS platforms, which typically reduces the integration effort required. See Developer APIs & SDKs.

AuthGuru licensing solution can be implemented with SDK and APIs with consistent licensing behavior. If your application targets an embedded or non-standard OS not covered here, that's a good starting point for a Custom Licensing Solutions conversation.

Yes. Rather than tying entitlement purely to a single hardware fingerprint, AuthGuru's tracking recognizes provisioning and cloning patterns common to virtualized environments, so license counts stay accurate even as VMs are cloned, refreshed, or auto-scaled. See Virtual Machines.

Migration specifics depend heavily on your current setup — this is exactly the kind of question our team works through with you directly rather than answering generically. Talk to us about your current system and we'll map out what migration looks like.

Yes — offline deployment is a fully supported deployment model, not a fallback or workaround. Licensing terms and entitlements are provisioned onto the license delivery method (hardware dongle or RTC time dongle) at issuance, and the application validates locally with no server call required. See Deployment Models for more detail.

These are three independent decisions in AuthGuru, and understanding the difference helps clarify how flexible the platform is: Licensing Model is the commercial term — perpetual, subscription, trial, floating, time-bound, or usage-based. Deployment Model is the infrastructure — cloud, on-premise, offline, or hybrid. License Delivery Method is how the license physically or digitally reaches the customer — software key, hardware dongle, RTC time dongle, or cloud-based. Because these are separate, changing one doesn't require changing the others. See the full breakdown on the Products page.

Yes — license delivery methods can be mixed across product lines or customer segments without requiring separate platforms or infrastructure. A publisher might use Software Key for cloud-connected customers and RTC Time Dongles for industrial or air-gapped customers, all managed through the same AuthGuru system.

Yes — a publisher can run perpetual, subscription, trial, and usage-based models simultaneously across different products or customer segments, without re-platforming or maintaining separate systems for each. See Licensing Models.

No — AuthGuru is sold through a consultative process rather than self-serve pricing. Licensing decisions affect how your business generates revenue and protects its IP, so we start by understanding your setup and recommend what actually fits rather than quoting a price before that conversation happens. See Contact Us for what to expect when you reach out.

That's what Custom Licensing Solutions is for. If your infrastructure, deployment model, or licensing logic is specific enough that no packaged platform — including AuthGuru — fits cleanly, Bastion designs and builds a licensing system engineered around your actual environment. See Custom Licensing Solutions for an example of a past engagement.

Some teams do, and for a very simple check, that can work. Where it usually breaks down is maintenance — a hand-rolled license check tends to stay unowned as the team moves on to other priorities, and it typically doesn't cover protection, multiple delivery methods, or audit-ready reporting without significant extra engineering. See Build vs. Buy for a fuller comparison.

Yes — license and entitlement records are managed through a central console, so support and account teams can look up status, renewals, and entitlements directly rather than routing every request through engineering. See License & Entitlement Management.

Yes — license deployment and usage records are maintained in a clean, auditable format as part of standard entitlement management, so a compliance review or audit request doesn't require manually reconstructing history from scattered records.

For the standard AuthGuru platform, rollout generally follows integrating the SDK, defining your entitlements and licensing model, and choosing your delivery method — most teams move from signup to their first issued license without a lengthy implementation phase. A custom build follows a separate, longer process (see 'How an Engagement Actually Happens' on Custom Licensing Solution. ). Exact timelines depend on your specific setup.

Timeline depends on whether you're implementing AuthGuru's standard platform or need a custom build — we'll give you a realistic timeline once we understand your requirements.