> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.abbyy.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Copy Protection

> Copy protection for remote ABBYY Scanning Stations: hardware USB dongles and software license files, activation methods, and license deactivation.

The Scanning Station requires a valid protection key to operate. The ABBYY Scanning Station shipped with ABBYY FlexiCapture uses the ABBYY FlexiCapture protection key. Remote Scanning Stations use their own protection keys.

ABBYY Scanning Station supports two types of protection key: a hardware key or a software key.

## Hardware protection key

A hardware protection key is a dongle that plugs into a USB port (a USB dongle). To use the Scanning Station, the key must be plugged in at all times. The key stores your license parameters.

You can activate an empty hardware key remotely using only your license serial number. Do this in the License Manager utility, which contacts the activation server over the internet, requests the serial number's parameters, and saves them in the key.

<Info>
  To use a hardware protection key, you must be able to run the standard SmartCard service.
</Info>

## Software protection key

A software protection key is a license file. To run ABBYY Scanning Station with a software key, activate the license file on the ABBYY activation server.

To activate the license file, open the **Licenses** dialog box: select **Help → About**, then click **License Manager...** in the **About ABBYY Scanning Station** dialog box.

The information required to activate your license file is sent to ABBYY as a code (Product ID) generated from information about the computer where ABBYY Scanning Station is installed. No personal information is used, and the code cannot identify the user.

### Activation methods

* **Over the internet** – Activation is automatic and takes seconds. An active internet connection is required; no other steps are needed.
* **By email** – The Scanning Station generates an email activation request automatically. Send the message to the address shown. Do not change the body or subject, or activation fails. You receive an activation file in response; select **Load activation file** to load it into the protection system.
* **By email from another computer** – If the activation computer cannot send email, send the request from another computer. Selecting **By email from another computer** generates a request you can copy to another computer. Send it to the address shown, copy the activation file you receive back to the activation computer, and select **Load activation file** to load it.
* **Load activation file** – Loads the activation file you received from the ABBYY activation server.

### Repeat activation

You can reinstall ABBYY Scanning Station any number of times on the computer where it was activated. However, substantial upgrades, formatting the hard drive, or reinstalling the operating system may require you to activate the product again.

The activation server logs how many times each serial number has been activated. Once a serial number exceeds a threshold, it is blocked and can no longer be activated.

You can deactivate an activated license to use it on another computer. When you deactivate a license, the activation server reduces the activation counter for that serial number by one.

<Warning>
  You can use the activated Scanning Station only on the computer where the Product ID was generated. To move it to another computer, deactivate your license first.
</Warning>