SiSoftware Sandra Q & A - Unique IDs/GUIDs








SiSoftware Sandra - The Diagnostic Tool, Q & A - UniqueIDs/GUIDs

This document provides some frequently asked questions about Sandra. Please read the Help File as well!




Q: Why are there unique IDs/GUIDs used by the program at all???
A: Firstly, the IDs are system IDs and not user IDs. All users on the system will have the same ID, so it is not a way to uniquely identify users but the actual system. If there is only one user using a system the number would identify the user as well simply because there is nobody else.


The IDs are needed to uniquely identify the system as the computer name may not be unique on large networks, especially if the workgroups/domains are different. This is very useful for our corporate customers that need a way to identify a particular system. While there are many other unique numbers (e.g. Windows ID, MAC ID, BIOS serial number, Hard Disk serial number, etc.) it is far easier to just generate one.


If you post a report/benchmark results to a website, there must also be a way to distinguish between reports and group reports by system, user, etc. Each website has their own system, so the features are dependent on the website - so please check their site for details.


Q: How is the GUID generated?
A: A Windows GUID is generated using COM. Nothing more.


Q: How is the GUID associated to a UserID/Name?
A: The program does not do anything like this, but various websites where you post reports/benchmark results must need a way to associate the GUID to the user login/name in order to group the reports with the user. This is dependent on each website - so please check their site for details.


Q: Is the number used for advertising/demographic data?
A: No. The Ad-sponsored version has been discontinued. Please uninstall.


Q: How do I know if this version is an Ad-sponsored version?
A: The Ad-sponsored version has been discontinued. Please uninstall.


Go to Help - About in the program. If it says Ad-Sponsored next to the program type (e.g. SiSoftware Sandra Ad-Sponsored) then you know. Otherwise it does not contain any advertising information. This only applies to the freeware versions, the commercial versions never use such data.


Q: Why is the GUID encrypted?
A: So that users don't mess with it and try to pass their results as another or other kinds of faking. It is not meant to be secret since the report has it in plaintext (although you can specify to have it encrypted).


Q: What are the GUIDs encrypted with (algorithm/key)?
A: The algorithm is well-known and the key size is 128-bit or higher (depending on encryption pack) so it should be pretty secure.




Copyright & Contact Information