From: "Geo." 

Simple, it is someone else using your computer for their purposes. In the
spambot case it's a spammer using your computer to send his spam. In the
disk serial number being used for validation it's an author using your
computer to enforce his copyright.

Geo.

"Rich"  wrote in message news:45b5054a$1{at}w3.nls.net...
   Now having a disk serial number allows an external party to gain control
over your computer in the same way that a spambot has.  Can you explain the
scenario by which this happens in detail?  This would be surprising and a
security issue.  I think you are bullshitting but would be very interested
in hearing how this happens.

Rich

  "Geo."  wrote in message
news:45b4a052{at}w3.nls.net...
  Someone outside gaining some control over your servers is a security
issue,
  it's no different than having a spambot on your machine. Whether that
  control is a remote control spambot or just the ability to make it so you
  can't switch hard drives and restore from a backup, it's still control
that
  has been taken from you.

  Geo.

  "Rich"  wrote in message news:45b43fcf{at}w3.nls.net...
     Security, no.  It's wouldn't be.

  Rich

    "Geo."  wrote in message
news:45b42a7f$1{at}w3.nls.net...
    If for example the DOJ had argued for the ability to shut down MS
internal
    systems as a way to force compliance with the consent decree you would
not
    expect the folks at MS to view that as a security issue?

    That's exactly how some of us view activation.

    Geo.

    "Rich"  wrote in message news:45b408e5$1{at}w3.nls.net...
       Still not security.  Do you claim that everything you would wish were
    otherwise is a security issue?

    Rich

      "Geo."  wrote in message
news:45b3b438$1{at}w3.nls.net...
      It's not the backup program that will break, it's the software you
have
      backed up that is keyed to the old now dead hard drive that's going to
      break. Same for Raid, the only thing that's going to break is the
      application that finds the drive serial number has now changed.

      Are you playing stupid? I know you understand how serial number
checking
      works.

      Geo.

      "Rich"  wrote in message news:45b2f5c9$1{at}w3.nls.net...
         Still not security.

         If your backup program really broke when restoring to a different
      physical drive I would suggest getting a new one.  I don't see how
this
      applies to RAID but if you have a RAID implementation that doesn't
allow
      drives to be replaced I would reconsider that too.  If these exist I
  would
      consider both to be reliability issues.  Security doesn't seem
affected
  at
      all.

      Rich

        "Geo."  wrote in message
  news:45b2e02e$1{at}w3.nls.net...
        It has nothing to do with security? From who's point of view? I
happen
    to
        think that vendors locking an install to a specific hard drive
    (especially
        if it is done stealth with no notification) and thus blowing any
tape
      backup
        capabilities or possibly Raid implementations is a direct threat and
  is
        certainly something I would consider a corporate security concern.

        Any time a vendor gains more control over a corporation, that
    corporation
        should consider it a security concern.

        Geo.

        "Rich"  wrote in message news:45b2a2c6{at}w3.nls.net...
           That has nothing to do with security.  mike made a claim about
      security.
        He failed to respond I suspect because he has nothing.  If you have
        something, please speak up.

        Rich

          "Geo."  wrote in message
  news:45b2990c{at}w3.nls.net...
          How about keeping vendors from locking an install to a specific
hard
        drive?

          Geo. (I know I'd sleep better)

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