Antidrot Access Keys: How to Give Your Child Gaming Time

An access key is a string like 3600.600.14400.C8FCE983 that you type into the Antidrot window to give your child time to play. The three numbers are play time, break and total limit in seconds, and the 8 characters at the end are a signature. Parents get the key from the web key generator or the Telegram bot: all it takes is the master key, the one-time code from your child's screen and the time you choose.

What an access key is made of

A key is written as S.R.M.SIGNATURE. Let's break down the example 3600.600.14400.C8FCE983:

Letter case in the signature doesn't matter. The input field clears after every attempt, so the key doesn't stay on screen.

How the time you give works

Once the key is entered, the window hides and a cycle begins:

1. Play time S. The window is hidden, and your child can play.
2. Break R. The window appears on top of all other windows, with a “Time left until unlock: …” line counting down. The “Continue” button is visible but not active yet.
3. End of the break. The window doesn't disappear by itself: the “Continue” button becomes active, and your child presses it when ready to get back to the game. Until it's pressed, no play time is used, but the total limit keeps running. If your child has gone off to make a cup of tea, they won't lose the minutes of play they were given.
4. Play time S again — and so on, round and round.

When the total limit M runs out, the window stays on screen until a new key is entered. The program makes sure play time doesn't go past the limit: if less than S is left, it trims the last play period. After that there's still a break countdown, and then the window no longer hides.

How to convert hours and minutes to seconds

All three numbers in a key are in seconds: multiply minutes by 60 and hours by 3600. The most common values:

For example, “45 minutes of play, a 15-minute break, 3 hours in total” is 2700.900.10800. Numbers are written without leading zeros: 600, not 0600. In the web key generator you enter time in hours and minutes, so there's nothing to calculate. The table comes in handy for the Telegram bot if you type your own time in the S.R.M format. Ready-made sets for different ages are collected in Antidrot presets by age.

How to give a key with the web key generator

The key generator is a single page that calculates the key right in your browser, even offline. It doesn't save anything or send anything anywhere.

1. Look at the one-time code — the 4 red characters in the window on your child's computer — or ask your child to read it out.
2. Open the generator on your phone or computer.
3. Enter the master key and the one-time code.
4. Choose a preset — “30 min / 10 min / 2 h”, “45 min / 15 min / 3 h”, “1 h / 10 min / 4 h” or “1 h / 15 min / 12 h” — or set the time manually.
5. Copy the finished key, type it into the window's field and click “Unlock”.

If you pick unusual values — for example, no break, or play time longer than the limit — the generator will warn you.

How to give a key with the Telegram bot

In the bot, you enter the master key once, when you connect, and it's stored there from then on. Giving a key looks like this:

1. Open the bot and tap “⚡ Generate key”. If you have several computers, first pick the right master key with “🔄 Select key”.
2. Send the one-time code from your child's screen.
3. Choose a preset or type your own time in the S.R.M format, for example 2700.900.10800.
4. Pass the finished key to your child or type it in yourself.

The bot keeps a history of issued keys and can hand out keys on a schedule: during the hours you allow, your child gets a key with the time you've set. The details are in The Antidrot Telegram bot.

Why a key works only once

The key's signature is calculated from three things: the master key, the one-time code and the time you choose. The one-time code changes every time the window appears again and right after a key is accepted. That has three consequences:

• a key only fits the particular showing of the window it was calculated for;
• the same key can't be entered a second time, because the code on screen is already different;
• an old key from a chat or a scrap of paper is useless.

If a key doesn't work, check the code first: perhaps the window hid and reappeared, and the code changed. Another common cause is look-alike characters. The one-time code can contain both letters and digits, so ask your child exactly what's on screen: a zero or the letter O, a one or the letter I. If you have several computers, make sure the key was calculated with the master key for this particular computer.

While the window is on screen — during a break, for example — you can enter a new key: it replaces the previous time settings.

Why the time in a key can't be faked

The time digits in a key are plain to see, and it might seem easy to change 3600 to 36000. But the signature is calculated from the exact notation of all three numbers, separated by dots. Any edit breaks it:

• a different digit: 36000.600.14400.C8FCE983;
• digits moved between the numbers: 360060014.40.0.C8FCE983;
• a leading zero: 03600.600.14400.C8FCE983.

In all of these cases the program rejects the key. Only someone who knows the master key can calculate the correct signature for a new time — which is exactly why it's worth keeping it away from your child's computer.

That said, Antidrot doesn't claim to be impenetrable: the settings file is open, the master password in it isn't encrypted, and the process can be ended from Task Manager. The program is built around a family agreement, not a standoff with your child.

Special cases: zeros and play time that's too long

How to choose the time

Remember that the total limit M includes breaks and the wait for the “Continue” button. So pure play time is always less than M: for example, the key 3600.600.7200 gives about 1 hour 50 minutes of play if “Continue” is pressed right after each break. How much time is appropriate at different ages is covered in How much gaming time for kids.

And if you need to switch the program off entirely, that's done not with an access key but with the master key: once it's entered, the “Close” button appears. More on that in Antidrot first launch and the master key.