[Am-info] No justice from Microsoft for the Texas Dept. of Cr iminal Justice

[Joe Moore]

On Wed, Apr 17, 2002 at 03:48:12PM -0700, Bockhorst, Roland wrote:
> That authentication number or a computed verification key of that number
> could be obtained. It would thereby prove the authentication number is
> either unique or is the same as on other suspect machines.  That would be
> proof positive that duplicate copies exist. Absent that proof, there is
> scant basis to charge software theft. 

Often, corporate PCs are built from a common disk image, which would have
the same auth code on all of them.

Of course, if the systems are purchased piecemeal, or if the IT department
doesn't have enough "identical" PCs to justify imaging them, there may be
different keys on all of them.
Unfortunately, some IT shops have a single key that they have hanging on
the wall in their "setup" room, which they apply to all systems.  The 
authorization codes are remarkably portable... 95 codes work on 98, etc.

--Joe