| 摘要 |
<p>A method of manufacturing and supplying to a user a fully operational postage meter (20) is disclosed in which the meter is rendered inoperative by setting of a secure flag in a storage location of non-volatile memory (14, 15) to which access is permitted only by use of a secure key. Provided the postal authority has permitted installation of the meter (20), a remote computer (18) is enabled to transmit to the meter (20) a meter identification and an encrypted secure key. In an installation routine the meter (20) checks that the received identification matches that of the meter and then proceeds to decrypt the secure key to obtain access to the storage location of the non-volatile memory (14,15) to reset the key and thereby enable the meter (20) for franking operations.</p> |
