keeping tabs on your software? registration

juschillinnow

If I created a free program and distributed it but I wanted to keep tabs on it as far as who has is and how many installs, how would you do this.

I would create a setup where a file could be created that could connect to a site during the install.

But how would I store this infor on another server. Let me explain better.

I have all the scripts and files on server A. Someone from computer B visits A and downloads this program. B downloads and installs this php program.

I want the B computer script to connect to server A and insert registration key on the database or text file or something that would make a note of the install so that the admin of A could look at it

Any ideas?

sgoku01

I think it's not recommended to connect to the database of server A, with a install script on server B, because you have to include your db-password then...

You could send the install script to a page on server A that inserts something in the database (like the IP of server B or something..) But when server B is offline, it has no use.

I think it's easier to log how many times your file is downloaded.

And if you have time: make an install script, that requires a 'product key', you can count how many product keys are requested. This is because you don't want to count the users that download your programm, but never install it.