CodeGuard™ Security: Helping you create Customizable & Secure Solutions

Microchip’s CodeGuard™ Security enables you to provide customizable embedded solutions in a secure and cost-effective manner. Using CodeGuard Security, you (as Microchip’s customer) may securely share on-chip resources (memory, interrupts and peripherals) with your customer. Software algorithm and Intellectual Property (IP) Vendors, Original Design / Equipment Manufacturers (ODM/OEM) and Value-Added Resellers (VAR) now have an opportunity to reap the following benefits using these on-chip security features: ● Increase customizability of your solutions ● Decrease risk of losing IP to unqualified partners who use / license it ● Increase security during code distribution and Flash memory update ● System cost reduction, component reduction and associated benefits to size & inventory CodeGuard™ Security is a turnkey solution implemented on many devices in Microchip’s compatible line of 16-bit Flash memory-based PIC24 Microcontrollers (MCU) and dsPIC Digital Signal Controllers (DSC).

Do you need CodeGuard™ Security?

Unsure whether you need CodeGuard™ Security? Take our quick quiz.If you answer yes to any of the questions below, we recommend reading the CodeGuard™ Security White paper: ● Do you license Intellectual Property in the form of source or object code to your customers? ● Do you sell proprietary source or object code to your customers? ● Do you provide your customer a solution that contains a code-protected device? ● Do you secure remote or field updates of Flash memory for your application? ● Is only some of your code of a proprietary nature? ● Do your customers request to be able to customize your solution to suit their application? ● Does your application use multiple code protected MCUs? Getting Started with CodeGuard Security:

CodeGuard™ Security Collateral	Document / Collateral Description
White Paper	The white paper describes what CodeGuard™ Security is, and why it may be beneficial to your application. It also presents an overview of the feature-set and provides information on development tools, documentation and production support available to use CodeGuard™ Security. It also lists devices that support CodeGuard™ Security.
Web Seminar	This 24-minute web seminar provides a technical overview of CodeGuard™ Security. In addition it points the user to key configuration registers to be used when developing code in a collaborative system design environment
Reference Manuals: Section 23. CodeGuard Security - dsPIC33F FRM Section 23. Security - PIC24H FRM Section 26. CodeGuard™ Security - dsPIC30F FRM	These documents provides a detailed technical description of the features of CodeGuard™ Security, its operation and usage for the PIC24H, dsPIC30F and dsPIC33F 16-bit product families. The document serves as a reference when writing source code or using MPLAB® IDE to configure various memory segment size options, using interrupts with Boot, Secure and General memory segments enabled, securing or releasing RAM at run-time.
MPLAB® C30 Compiler, LINK30® Linker and ASM30® Assembler Support	The MPLAB® C30 compiler (FREE Student edition!), the ASM30® assembler and the LINK30® linker support CodeGuard Security. Special operators have been implemented to assist in the implementation of interrupt Service Routines. The User Guides for these tools provides details on usage.
Code Examples: See: CE123, CE124, CE125	Microchip publishes fully functional and tested code examples in the form of zipped MPLAB workspaces to aid you in code development: CE123 - CodeGuard(TM) Security: segment creation and code placement CE124 - CodeGuard(TM) Security: Program flow changes between segments CE125 - CodeGuard(TM) Security: Secure Segment Erase
Technical Support	Microchip offers 24/7 technical support worldwide. Please contact your local field applications engineer or the support hotline for further assistance.

Note: For Microchip legal information on Code Protection, please follow this link.