This is the way MS operates.

This is MS's early goal. Annual licenses. A guaranteed revenue stream.

Of course, it depends upon the type of license you have with MS. If you've purchased each copy individually, tell MS to get a warrant.

If you've previously signed a license contract with them (most large sites have), then the verbage in that contract allows them to demand such audits whenever MS wants them.

This is used to motivate those companies to different contracts.

Looks like that school has fucked itself. Too bad.

MS >ALWAYS< offers really, really, really NICE >INITIAL< licensing terms.

MS knows that, without built-in, anti-piracy controls (Novell has had them for years), the ease of installing software will result in a nice bit of unlicensed software running at any company of any size.

All MS has to do is sit back for a couple of years and then hit them with an audit and collect the new license fees (or collect the piracy fees).

The amazing thing is how many sites have stood for these audits and still use MS software. Especially the ones who have had these audits and then gone 100% MS (with the resulting virus/worm problems).

100% legal, at the moment.