information to ensure the code is valid, and also includes the ability to verify the personal information the user sent to the software vendor. In this way, the user's name or business name must be entered along with the registration code. The registration code will not be accepted by the software unless the user types in the business name exactly as submitted to the software vendor. The business name is usually displayed by the software on its opening banner whenever the software is used. If the customer gives away his activation code it will be useless without his business name, and anyone that uses the activation code must enter it in during the activation process, leaving the original buyer's business name on the banner of the software. This makes it very easy to "trace the traitor" and find any customers who originally gave out their activation codes. Since giving away the registration code is a violation of the license agreement, the software vendor may invalidate the user's serial number (disabling that user's software in the process) and may take legal action. This does raise privacy concerns in some areas. See also Canary trap References Copy protection Applications of cryptography Copyright enforcement Copyright infringement of software