A system for preventing an unauthorized software copying prevention
mechanism from being invalidated by a program falsification, includes an
inherent key generator for generating an inherent key peculiar to a
software user data processing device, a secret information encrypting
unit for encrypting secret information indispensable for software to
operate properly, which is stored by a secret information storage unit,
with an inherent key, and a falsification detector for inspecting whether
the system for preventing unauthorized copying of software, which is
operating on the software user data processing device, has been falsified
or not. If the system has not been falsified, then the inherent key
generator generates the inherent key. If the system has been falsified,
then a secret information destroyer destroys the encrypted secret
information stored by an encrypted secret information storage unit by
erasing the secret information or writing a pseudo-random number into the
secret information.