Software piracy is inhibited by distributing unique software product keys operable in hardware or a hardware linked device. Software operable on the hardware requires the presence of the key in or accessible via the hardware, and operates only if the hardware product key is present. A method for securing software includes the steps of: providing a plurality of unique product activation keys designed for access by a computer program and delivering the keys to a hardware manufacturer. The computer program seeks at least one of said plurality of unique product activation keys in the read only memory device.