Heck, some scopes cripple their memory capacity which can be unlocked with a software upgrade.
Curiously, Rigol, a test equipment company, recently updated their dirt cheap line (DS1052E to DS1054Z). The DS1052E had a notoriously weak software option unlock encryption, so hobbyists bought the 400 dollar scope, punched some code into it generated with some Javascript on some webpage, and bam, you got a 1500 dollar scope.<p>Funny thing is the DS1054Z has the <i>same exact issue</i>. The crypto on the 1054Z is also crap (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;gotroot.ca&#x2F;rigol&#x2F;riglol&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;gotroot.ca&#x2F;rigol&#x2F;riglol&#x2F;</a> yay!) -- some have even speculated that they do this intentionally because they know corporate people won&#x27;t hack their scopes, but hobbyists will, furthering their brand in a market filled with American competitors (Keysight formerly Agilent, Tektronics, etc)