Password protection for PIC microcontrollers

[sana_akhtar]

Hello,

How do we apply password to PIC so the no one else can cheat it? And in case someone else has done this, is there a way to break into the password?

Thanks

 

[betwixt]

Cheat what?

If you mean a password to protect the program inside the PIC so it can't be read, No, the protection is done electrically when the program is 'burned' into it. There is no password, the only way to UNprotect it is to erase the protection bit and that erases the program at the same time.

Brian.

 

[sana_akhtar]

Cheat = copy the code.

no other way to retrieve the code without it being erased?

 

[betwixt]

All PIC processors have copy protection bits which you can program to make the device unreadable. All you do is set the bit while programming and from then on the internal memory cannot be read from outside the PIC. The erase command is the only way to unset the copy protection bit and it also erases the code memory as well so it still isn't copyable.

Brian.

 

[u7karsh]

Whatever you do, still there is a chance that with slight extertise, someone might replicate the exact memory of ur pic to his hardware and thus there will be no need to get ur code as it is just like creating mirrors of ur device. However decompiling this memory or hex code is a challenge for most people..

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However if you wish to protect ur system, you may apply for a patent so that even if anyone tries to use it, you can legally sue that person for using ur technology..

 

[shegzzyy]

To protect your code in the pic,you just set the configuration fuses in the code
__config ...... &_CP_ON.the cp_on means code protect ON.