Prevent running Electron app by copying/zipping installed folder to another PC #570
Description
I have built a desktop application using Electron and generated a Windows installer (setup.exe) using an installer tool (NSIS via electron-builder).
After installing the application on one PC, I noticed that:
- The installed application folder (e.g. under Program Files)
- Can be zipped/copied
- And then run successfully on another Windows PC without running the installer
This behavior is not desired for my use case. I want:
- The application to only work on the machine where it is properly installed
- Prevent execution if the app is copied or moved to another PC
- Ideally enforce installation-based or machine-based validation
Questions:
- Is this expected behavior for Electron/NSIS installers?
- What is the recommended way to prevent running an Electron app after copying the installed directory?
Are there best practices for:
- Machine binding (hardware ID, OS-specific identifiers)?
- Registry-based validation?
- License or install integrity checks?
- Is there any built-in Electron or electron-builder feature to handle this?
Any guidance or recommended approach would be appreciated.