McAfee Associates Inc says that each copy of its Scan95 anti- virus software, an OEM product bundled on thousands of computers and peripherals, comes loaded with an on-line upgrade program from Issaquah, Washington-based CDi Inc called Self Serve Software and that users access the program through a menu option called Update Scan95 where they can go for either a one-time $10 upgrade or one- or two-year upgrade subscriptions for $40 or $60; the 32-bit service then intuitively senses the most direct route to Self Serve Software’s client server, either via modem, Internet or the user’s network’s communications path, and sends the order and encrypted credit card information to the server for processing and approval; the server fulfills the order electronically, transmitting the upgrade with a registration key that is valid only on the customer’s personal computer; security is ensured through a proprietary secret key locking and unlocking system, the use of a private T1 phone line for credit card authorisation and a variety of other mechanisms… in the old days of course, the user could just pop down to the computer store to buy an upgrade…
