Newsgroups: sci.crypt
Path: msuinfo!uchinews!linac!uwm.edu!news
From: rick%discus.milw.wi.us@uwm.edu
Subject: Re: This guy's onto something!
Message-ID: <1992Feb18.215816.12602@uwm.edu>
Sender: news@uwm.edu (USENET News System)
Organization: University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
References: <299ffefa.knapper@knapper.cactus.org> <1992Feb18.190453.22924@ims.com> <1992Feb18.204235.3329@uwm.edu>
Date: Tue, 18 Feb 1992 21:58:16 GMT
Lines: 21

I know it's bad netiquette to follow-up one's own article, but...

	A note on the credit-card software-distribution idea:
	If a user buys a package using a credit card, and that
	credit approval number (from the credit company) is
	both included irremovably in the package and stored with
	that user's name in the software vendor's database,

	could the vendor take legal action if they found that
	user's copy (identifiable by approval number) floating
	about in some pirate's cove?

	If so, the big problem is how to irremovably incorporate
	*any* information into a software package...
	Me thinks it's a good application of the Public Key!
	(e.g. encrypt the user-specific info along with a
	 checksum of some sort with the vendor's private key,
	 and have the software verify the checksum with the
	 vendor's public key...)

		of course, *anything* can be hacked-around.  :-(
