Microsoft Access - how to make my data base work as demo for a certain time then ask for a password?

Greetings every one ...


i am working on a data base for my company and i have some worries that they might not pay me my full fees !!

so i want to make the database to work for some time ( say a week or month ) and after that it will ask for a password / activation code .

i don;t want Access to simply read system date and if the date is after X day it will ask for the password , this can be overrun by changing the system date ... 

thank you very much for your help 

Z

You can be sued for crap like this.  And, if they made public your tactic, you'd most likely never get a contract job again.

If you have a valid contract, you can sue them if they don't pay.

As far as locking up Microsoft Access, good luck.  There are a gazillion different ways to hack into an Access database and you'd never successfully lock it down.

If you are truly worried about this sort of thing, see if you can set up some sort of virtual machine they can connect to (or remote desktop into some machine) and test out the app before you give them possession of it.

thanks for your reply ...

just to clear things .. i am a civil engineer working in a contracting company .. i have a good knowledge in Access and i am making this project on the side ... there is no contract with them ... i am not a professional programmer ... 
now i left the company due to disagreement with them , and i have to finish this project , it is already up and running , they are already using it and we are in testing and modifying , 

i would sue them if i know that i can get my right , but things are crappy here and it would take long time to achieve any thing , plus i might move to another country soon ... 
even if here is a million way to hack around access , they don't have time for that or the brain to do that , 

i want to copy right my work but again it will take long time to do that and long time to sue, which i don't have such time or even sure it will pay ...

i won;t to protect my right since they already didn't pay me all my money , if i knew they were like this i would not do the program from the beginning but it is already too late .. 
thanks 
Z

As soon as you attempt to stick it to them, they'll quickly find someone to get around your tactics.  Don't underestimate how easy it is.  Plus, if you do ever go to court, a judge is not going to like your tactics.

If you don't have a contract, why do you think you "have" to finish the project?

Once you left the company, they immediately stopped trusting you.  They are already working on what to do if you try to do this sort of thing.