Most products available through $7 Tools are protected by a tool called SourceGuardian, which I use to encode my PHP scripts. Every once in a while I'll get a refund request from someone whose hosting company won't install the SourceGuardian extension and, as a result, the purchased Expansion won't run. I think it's a poor provider that won't install this common software (particularly since they usually have Zend Optimizer and ionCube installed -- two extensions that have a similar purpose), but I'm stuck giving the refund.
To prevent these requests in the future, I've put a link on each Expansion's sales page indicating there are some system requirements. There's also a reminder after the user clicks the order link. The requirements are simple:
- You need to be running 7DSS
- You need to be running SourceGuardian
Buyers are encouraged to download a test script to make sure their server supports SourceGuardian. If the loaders aren't already installed, the user is given a link to download them or, if the server doesn't support user-installed loaders, instructions are provided to pass to the hosting company.
I've been working with Inovica (the publishers of SG) the past couple weeks to make the test script more user-friendly, by clarifying various messages and adding additional logic. I hope you find it useful; please let me know if you have any issues as you use it.
Additional reading:
Installing the SourceGuardian Loaders
System Compatibility
