How to Make a Million Dollars

1. Perhaps you want to use digital coupons to launch a sales pr omotion. First, set up a server. In most cases, you'll need a 486/66 or better PC or a PowerPC based Macintosh (with 8 MB of RAM and a 500-MB hard drive) and an Internet connection.

2. Publish a public key. Standard encryption software, such as PGP, will let you do this using easy menu selections.

3. Create coupons. Encryption software can also help here. A coupon consists of a short text message with essential details, like the issuing company's name, the value of the coupon, and a unique serial number to guard against someone trying to redeem a coupon more than once. If you're using PGP, the coupon will look like this:


4. Sign the coupon with a digital signature, which can also be automatically generated by encryption software.


5. Issue co upons. You can do this by sending the coupon file via e-mail to customers that buy a particular product you're promoting or any other criteria you choose. Anyone can trade or exchange the coupon via the Web or e-mail through clipping, cutting, or pasting the text.

6. Consumers verify the coupon's validity by checking the digital signature of the note. Web servers can also verify that a particular serial number hasn't been redeemed. Consumers redeem a coupon by pasting it into a Web form or mailing ti to an e-mail processor.

7. Redeem the coupon. Note on the coupon database that this particular serial number is no longer valid and send one free limerick to the consumer.