Security & Licensing

Two questions this section answers in full: how ModelxcelPro decides you’re licensed, and what it does — and does not — do with your data and your machine. The short version: a license is a signed file issued for your specific machine and checked offline, there is no account to sign into from Excel, and your model never leaves your computer to use the add-in.

Private beta — read this first

ModelxcelPro is in private beta (the add-in reports “Version 1.0.0 (beta)” and ships under a Beta Evaluation License). The installer is not yet Authenticode code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may warn of an “unknown publisher” during setup. The production license-signing path (Azure Key Vault) is implemented but a production signing key is not yet provisioned — the key embedded in the current build is a development key. None of this changes how the add-in protects your data; it sets honest expectations for the beta. A signed build and a provisioned production key ship before general availability.

The model in one paragraph

Your license is a small signed file (.lic) that was issued for the specific machine you asked for it on. When Excel starts, ModelxcelPro verifies that file entirely offline — it checks the cryptographic signature against public keys built into the add-in, confirms the file was issued for this machine, and checks the dates. No network connection is needed to keep working, and there is no account to sign into from inside Excel. Everything you review or generate — proof ledgers, audit marks, comparison results — stays in or beside your workbook on your own disk.

In this section

Licensing modelLicense states (Unlicensed, Trial, Licensed, Grace, Expired, Invalid), what a license carries, trial vs. paid, the grace window, and the v2 → v3 license formats.Activation & machine bindingHow the machine code is derived (safely), why a license is bound to one machine, offline re-validation, the website’s freshness/revocation endpoint (a planned add-in check), and how moving machines is handled.Security modelOffline signature verification, where keys live (and where they don’t), what stays on your machine, the cryptography used in each feature, and what we deliberately don’t collect.Admin & signingFor administrators: the licensing portal, production signing in Azure Key Vault, seat and move policy, the website→portal issue contract, key rotation, and release readiness.

What unlocks the add-in

Every feature group on the ModelXcel Pro ribbon is enabled only while your license is in one of three active states — Trial, Licensed, or Grace. When the license is Unlicensed, Expired, or Invalid the feature groups are greyed out together (Help, About, and License Status always stay reachable). There is no per-feature tier: an active trial unlocks the same commands as a paid license. The full breakdown is on the Licensing model page.

What this section does not cover

  • Installing the add-in and the SmartScreen prompt during the beta — see Install.
  • The step-by-step activation dialog (machine code, paste key, Activate) — see Activation & licensing. This section explains the model behind that dialog.
  • The cryptography of the Proof system in depth — see Proof & Trust. Here we summarize how it fits the overall security picture.

Where to go next

Licensing modelLicense states, what a license carries, and v2 vs v3.Activation & machine bindingMachine code, offline checks, and moving machines.Security modelOffline verification, local data, and the crypto map.Activation walkthroughThe actual dialog, step by step.