Keygen

For programs which generate cryptographic keys, see Key generator.

A license or product key generator (usually stylized as keygen) is either a computer program that generates a licensing key, serial number, or some other registration information necessary to activate for use a software application, or a program that generates public-key data for cryptographic application such as the ssh-keygen utility. Keygens are often accompanied by Chiptune-music.

Software licensing

A software license is a legal instrument that governs the usage and distribution of computer software. Often, such licenses are enforced by implementing in the software a product activation or digital rights management (DRM) mechanism seeking to prevent unauthorized use of the software by issuing a code sequence that must be entered into the application when prompted or stored in its configuration.

Availability

Keygens are available for download on various websites dedicated to bypassing of product registration and activation, or to software piracy in general.

Keygen software distributions may be infected with malware by third parties.

See also

• Hacker (programmer subculture)
• License manager
• Product activation
• Disassembly