I picked up a new Mac this weekend (a Quadra 650, on the very eve of its obsolescence :-) and with it came a CD from "Software Dispatch" (or something like that) packed with commercial software, and apparently locked with some sort of cryptographic protocol. I'm not sure whether each CD is digitally stamped with a key (seems kinda difficult) or whether the key I typed in from the cardboard envelope at the start-up screen served the purpose of identifying my disk (probably). You call up an 800 number and give them a key from the disk (I can't remember whether it was the same as the key I typed in) and after supplying a credit card number they'll "unlock" whatever packages you want by providing another key for each one. Does anybody know what sort of protocol this is using? The keys are pretty long (about 16 bytes). (Note that I'm really just curious; I don't think I have the attention span to try and "break" it. Besides, I already bought the only things I wanted off it :-) -- | GOOD TIME FOR MOVIE - GOING ||| Mike McNally <m5@tivoli.com> | | TAKE TWA TO CAIRO. ||| Tivoli Systems, Austin, TX: | | (actual fortune cookie) ||| "Like A Little Bit of Semi-Heaven" |