Microsoft introduces compulsory Windows piracy checks

[Darkscot]

It looks like Microsoft are finally getting tough on software piracy! See this link:

http://www.techworld.com/applications/news/index.cfm?NewsID=4102

My first thought on this is that it is good news for Linux. I have encountered numerous people on my travels who use Windows because:

a) It is the number one OS in the world
b) It is free. Or more accurately they have a free pirated copy.

Why should they bother with Linux when they can get MS XP for free? This is especially true in 'third world' countries. But if they are going to be forced to pay for Windows it will make Linux a more attractive option.

Have MS shot themselves in the foot? Or will the pirates just find another way?

[KrisDwyer]

It looks like Microsoft are finally getting tough on software piracy! See this link:

http://www.techworld.com/applications/news/index.cfm?NewsID=4102

My first thought on this is that it is good news for Linux. I have encountered numerous people on my travels who use Windows because:

a) It is the number one OS in the world
b) It is free. Or more accurately they have a free pirated copy.

Why should they bother with Linux when they can get MS XP for free? This is especially true in 'third world' countries. But if they are going to be forced to pay for Windows it will make Linux a more attractive option.

Have MS shot themselves in the foot? Or will the pirates just find another way?
Its no big suprise for me, im just glad i switched to linux when i did :)

[mike998]

The pirates will probably just find another way.

Alternately, this will increase the number of exploited boxes out there as people with pirated software will not want to do updates.

I'll stick with Linux, thank you very much.

[heimo]

Security updates are excluded from this "Genuine Advantage".

[KrisDwyer]

Security updates are excluded from this "Genuine Advantage".
Those who are using pirated windows, will not be allowed security updates right? well they will most likely be those who arent multimillion dollar businesses and hence they will not be at risk from hackers...

[somuchfortheafter]

no matter what piracy protection you use it will still fail as long as human contact can be reached whenever you have a problem.. a few of you former xp users know what im talking about.

[heimo]

What I meant to say is that at this point Microsoft will require authentication ("proof" that your copy of Windows is legit) only for feature enhancements (ie. IE7), and will not require it for security patches. That's what I think I read on this subject elsewhere.

[KrisDwyer]

What I meant to say is that at this point Microsoft will require authentication ("proof" that your copy of Windows is legit) only for feature enhancements (ie. IE7), and will not require it for security patches. That's what I think I read on this subject elsewhere.
meh... windows xp is obsolete in terms of support in 2007, why bother worrying...

[heimo]

meh... windows xp is obsolete in terms of support in 2007, why bother worrying...

Let's see if those friendly folks at Mozilla team can bring us same kind of Genuine Advantage to downloading their software, ie. Firefox. You should be required to prove that your Linux is genuine and legit copy before you will be allowed to install FF version 1.5 or later ;) IE7 (whenever it comes out) will not be available to older Windows than XP... which I call genuine advantage. ;)

[BWF89]

This is great news for Linux.

[Darkscot]

What I meant to say is that at this point Microsoft will require authentication ("proof" that your copy of Windows is legit) only for feature enhancements (ie. IE7), and will not require it for security patches. That's what I think I read on this subject elsewhere.

According to the report I read on the BBC website "Security updates are exempt from this in order to prevent people spreading viruses across the internet".

Personally it wil not affect me but I do think it is a big oppurtunity for Linux and particularly Ubuntu. The report goes on to say:

"Customers who discover that their copy of Windows is pirated have two options.

They can get a free version of Windows if they fill out a counterfeit report identifying the source of the software, providing proof of purchase and returning the counterfeit CD.

If they are unable to provide all the information, filling out a report will entitle them to receive a copy of Windows XP Home Edition for the reduced price of £56 or Windows XP Professional Edition for £86".

Why pay £56 to Microsoft when you can get Ubuntu for free?

[Kimm]

Its probably very good news for Linux, especialy in sweden now when its illegal to download.
Untill the first of juli this year it was completely legal to download a pirated copy of windows in sweden.

Great I say! :-P

[pmj]

Its probably very good news for Linux, especialy in sweden now when its illegal to download.
Untill the first of juli this year it was completely legal to download a pirated copy of windows in sweden.

Great I say! :-P
If you hadn't noticed, not a single Swedish pirate gave a crap when the new law was introduced. A law in itself changes nothing. Strict enforcement would, but that's not something that'll happen any time soon here in Sweden. Can't put 5% of the population in jail now can we, even if the police had the resources to do so. Which they don't.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy about this initiative from Microsoft. It makes Linux a more attractive alternative at the same time as the free security updates will keep the internet clean.

[somuchfortheafter]

idk guys if what we count as a good thing is when the competition introduces a program to prevent piracy.... we are in rough shape... Marketing and default distibution of linux would help more than anything,

[kiddo]

hmm, pretty happy about this.. means I can convert more people :)

as for the marketing... well when is the next windows refund day? get people in the streets disguised as badgers, and there you have it, free advertising tonight at 6pm (be sure to do that when the reporters have nothing to feed themselves)

[BWF89]

hmm, pretty happy about this.. means I can convert more people :)

as for the marketing... well when is the next windows refund day? get people in the streets disguised as badgers, and there you have it, free advertising tonight at 6pm (be sure to do that when the reporters have nothing to feed themselves)
How does the Windows refund work?

Can you only exchange it for cash if it hasn't been opened or hasn't been installed yet?

[sonny]

I don't think this are good news for anyone; exept MS. They've always know how much they can squeeze their users without harm. The only users that are going to swicht are the ones that are thinking of doing it right now, but they just need one more pretext, we won't see any massive change.

[newbie2]

conclusion? : future : pay up or bombarded 'legally' with M$ sponsored spam?? -->
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/15/microsoft_claria/page2.html
:rolleyes:

[WildTangent]

lol, this wont stop the pirates completely. sure, the most popular way to pirate wont work anymore, which is to download it, and use the Volume License Key thats often provided for it, but if you got a legit XP disk and key...theres a way to activate it...without cracks, without keygens anything. i wont go into detail for obvious reasons. also, anyone can download the Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition demo, which you can activate normally, and then you have a 180 day timebomb. that timebomb couldnt be easier to get rid of. so...the casual pirate may have difficulty, but the pirate who does his homework wont.

-Wild

[Kvark]

If you hadn't noticed, not a single Swedish pirate gave a crap when the new law was introduced. A law in itself changes nothing. Strict enforcement would, but that's not something that'll happen any time soon here in Sweden. Can't put 5% of the population in jail now can we, even if the police had the resources to do so. Which they don't.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy about this initiative from Microsoft. It makes Linux a more attractive alternative at the same time as the free security updates will keep the internet clean.
The official number (from the movie/music/software companies) of known software 'pirates' in Sweden is 900k. That is 10% of the population not 5%. In reality there is an even bigger portion because they have not managed to trace all file sharers yet.


More checks was expected. And even more will come. Sooner or later this will reach a point where cracking programs is too much trouble to be worth it.

[pmj]

The official number (from the movie/music/software companies) of known software 'pirates' in Sweden is 900k. That is 10% of the population not 5%. In reality there is an even bigger portion because they have not managed to trace all file sharers yet.

Yes, I just made that 5% figure up. I knew it was a lot though. Thanks for the correction.

[Stormy Eyes]

Somebody will crack this, and the ignorant will continue to use bootleg copies of Windows. Big deal.

[ubuntu_demon]

good news. Hopefully more people will come to unix/Ubuntu

[poofyhairguy]

Somebody will crack this, and the ignorant will continue to use bootleg copies of Windows. Big deal.


Ahh....but if it raises the bar for what it takes to be a pirate, thats a good thing. Its so easy now many people don't even know they are pirates.

[benplaut]

Ahh....but if it raises the bar for what it takes to be a pirate, thats a good thing. Its so easy now many people don't even know they are pirates.

arrggg, me matees! \\:D/

my parents use a pirated Office 2003, and don't know it ](*,)

[Takis]

Bah. How many people even bother updating their Windows?

The users I know just wait for service packs to come out, and sit behind their firewalls.

[WildTangent]

Bah. How many people even bother updating their Windows?

The users I know just wait for service packs to come out, and sit behind their firewalls.
so true...the only updates i get are the security ones, and SPs. i know ill still be able to get my security updates...the SPs im not sure on. but im running a semi-legal install of windows server 2003 enterprise. registered and activated legally, removed the 180 day trial timebomb :P

-Wild

[MetalMusicAddict]

I only ever get security updates. Otherwise I have just slipstreamed the SPs. I bought my XP Pro and with a keygen put it on 3 machines. I think you can put it on 2 or 3 boxes before they get pissy right? Though I read that.

IMHO the license should be a household license. I have 6 PCs in the house. 3 now have Ubuntu on 'em. :) Ide like to move to MythTV on the HTPC but I play games on it so Windows is needed. Im playing Psychonauts @ 853x480 & 1280x720 16:9. Its awesome. :)

Anyone gonna get "Vista"?

[byen]

Anyone gonna get "Vista"?
get it? yeah sure..(gotta see what they had been doing for almost a decade!)
buy it? naah.... i'll just get it! ;-)

[kiddo]

just read the claria thing. omfg.
kiddo's zealotry +6

[WildTangent]

Anyone gonna get "Vista"?

ill get it one way or another. ive kept up with most of the alpha builds, getting torrents :P if it comes bundled with the next PC my parents buy, so be it. to be frank, i dont think it currently offers enough for me to switch to it from XP, or 2k3 which im running now on my box. since half its features will be available for both of these OSes anyway, theres really no point

-Wild

[MetalMusicAddict]

Ill see how it goes. Seems that only some eye-candy stuff will be the biggest reason but Im sure someone will make clones for XP. Funnt thing, since Ubuntu I dont care about eye-candy much. :) The XP machines I run are really striped down and purpose built. Server, HTPC and Media creation. No frills.

Bring on the Ubuntu eye-candy! :)

[poofyhairguy]

Anyone gonna get "Vista"?

Considering where I am...and my position...I shouldn't say this. But from what I've seen...I really like the way Vista is starting to look. If xcompmgr (or a Gnome equvelent) isn't stable by then I might buy it.

<eye candy anonymous meeting>

My name is poofyhairguy, and I have a problem. I love eye candy more than stability or features. I would have bought two mac minis if it could do the dashboard ripple like my sister's powerbook can. I dream of drop shadows, and I would pay over $300 to force whoever develops metacity to speed **** up. I will buy Vista if Linux eye candy does not match it at that time.

My name is poofyhairguy, and I'm an eye candy *****

Group of mostly OSX users: "hello poofyhairguy"
</eye candy anonymous meeting>

[MetalMusicAddict]

Considering where I am...and my position...I shouldn't say this. But from what I've seen...I really like the way Vista is starting to look.
Really? Why?

[poofyhairguy]

Really? Why?

Transparancies, drop shadows, and fading tricks make my day a lot better.

[WildTangent]

Ill see how it goes. Seems that only some eye-candy stuff will be the biggest reason but Im sure someone will make clones for XP.
you mean like this? ;)

http://longlivemarneus.serveftp.net/Justin/win2k3/Screen02.JPG

-Wild

[MetalMusicAddict]

Transparancies, drop shadows, and fading tricks make my day a lot better.
Cant wait till that stuff is common in linux.

[poofyhairguy]

Cant wait till that stuff is common in linux.

Yep...I really can't wait...

(as in won't wait if I can get it elsewhere)

[kiddo]

You know, if there was a "anyone who wishes eyecandy donate some cash so we can hire milo hoffman", then for once I would be willing to spend money on this. I can't wait two years to get an impressive desktop. *joins the eye candy circle*

Me wants wobbling windows. Naw.

[poofyhairguy]

You know, if there was a "anyone who wishes eyecandy donate some cash so we can hire milo hoffman", then for once I would be willing to spend money on this. I can't wait two years to get an impressive desktop. *joins the eye candy circle*

Me wants wobbling windows. Naw.

I played with that...I can wait for that. I want a stable xcompmgr now. And I don't want excuses how Gnome doesn't need it because it has its own crappy composite manager that won't do cool crap for two releases....grrrr...

$20 to whoever posts a working, stable howto for "how to compile metacity without its crappy composite manager."

[Takis]

Cant wait till that stuff is common in linux.
a) default mouse cursor whose pixels cannot be seen
b) more than two colour themes shipped with OS
c) decent screensavers
d) zoomable icons (e.g. SVG)
Can't wait till that stuff is common in Windows.

KDE absolutely rapes Windows in terms of eye candy.
For the record, it has both fading tricks and transparency available.

[super]

thowing my hat in with the eye-candy lovers. :-D

if (read big IF) Vista lives up to the hype (probably won't) and the new xcompmgr or GNOME or E17 are not yet ready (complete with jaw dropping eye-candy) then i`ll be forced to "get" a copy of Vista. I don`t want to, but i will. my desktop must at all costs be awesome! :shock:

as to these piracy check i`m not too worried. i rarely use XP and it is sitting behind a physical firewall, 2 software firewalls, and it is directly wired (no router or hub) to a machine that uses a legal version of XP. 8-[

[poofyhairguy]

thowing my hat in with the eye-candy lovers. :-D

if (read big IF) Vista lives up to the hype (probably won't) and the new xcompmgr or GNOME or E17 are not yet ready (complete with jaw dropping eye-candy) then i`ll be forced to "get" a copy of Vista. I don`t want to, but i will. my desktop must at all costs be awesome! :shock

Better not say at all costs. The OSX people will take you away in your sleep and riun your credit.

[darkmatter]

Window's will no longer be worth the price of purchase with this new 'Genuine Advantage' validity check.

Why? The reason being that Microsoft has already test-driven the 'technology' for several months, and even though it will prevent people running pirate copies of 'dozer from accessing specific downloads, it will also block some genuine windows user's.

This is an experience that I had personally (as did a friend of mine who works in the security market). If you are running a heavily modified Windows installation (registry tweaked to the max, etc.), the check may tell you that your copy of Windows is not valid. (even if it is). ](*,) That's part of the reason I quit using MS products, why should I invest any more money in a product that - should I choose to actually secure it - registers itself as invalid, even though the product and key are both genuine?

So, they introduce another buggy service, one that may potentially shaft actual users as well as software pirates. They must really be desperate to secure the future of open source. :smile:

All I have to say is: Bring it on, Redmond!!! :grin:

[MetalMusicAddict]

If you are running a heavily modified Windows installation (registry tweaked to the max, etc.), the check may tell you that your copy of Windows is not valid. (even if it is).
That will suck. I have a valid home and pro copy. Both are very hacked and stripped. I used a great piece of software called nLite (http://www.nliteos.com/). Great app. Give these fourms a look for help with it: MSFN (http://www.msfn.org/)

Oh well. :)

[Omnios]

Worst part of having a invalid check on a valid copy of wondows is that there going to offer you a legal valid copy of it for free if you tell where it came from and some amount if you don't remember. Does that mean that Microsoft sold you an illegal copy.

I have a legal copy of Xp and actualy had a problem where someone stupid kept changing my windows update to the Italian language which was delt with extreemly quickly. Fastest service I ever got from a Microsoft product.

[darkmatter]

The biggest problem is in my usage of 'may' register as invalid.

It all depends on exactly what modifications affect the validity checking, and the solution really isn't that transparent.

Not that it matters. This household is 100% GNU/Linux, and it's going to stay that way. ;-)

[darkmatter]

Viva Linux! Viva freedom! Viva Ubuntu! \\:D/

Viva h4X0rZ!!! :-P

(sorry, couldn't resist... ;-) )

[poofyhairguy]

Considering where I am...and my position...I shouldn't say this. But from what I've seen...I really like the way Vista is starting to look. If xcompmgr (or a Gnome equvelent) isn't stable by then I might buy it.

<eye candy anonymous meeting>

My name is poofyhairguy, and I have a problem. I love eye candy more than stability or features. I would have bought two mac minis if it could do the dashboard ripple like my sister's powerbook can. I dream of drop shadows, and I would pay over $300 to force whoever develops metacity to speed **** up. I will buy Vista if Linux eye candy does not match it at that time.

My name is poofyhairguy, and I'm an eye candy *****

Group of mostly OSX users: "hello poofyhairguy"
</eye candy anonymous meeting>

Never mind:

http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/0,1206,l=&s=26945&a=156757,00.asp

LOL

[ubuntu_demon]

a weblogger with the name Rafael Rivera has been able to work around the "windows genuine advantage" checking

[MetalMusicAddict]

Never mind:

http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/0,1206,l=&s=26945&a=156757,00.asp

LOL
I swear. What do they thinkin' about when they choose colors? Yuck. :-|

[t2kburl]

Thats it? That is the "wonderful" new look it took them 10 years to come up with? Are they serious?

hmmm ... kind of looks like SuSE 9.3 ....

[trivialpackets]

Thats it? That is the "wonderful" new look it took them 10 years to come up with? Are they serious?

hmmm ... kind of looks like SuSE 9.3 ....
9.3 indeed.

[DJ_Max]

Never mind:

http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/0,1206,l=&s=26945&a=156757,00.asp

LOL
Heh, how much you wanna bet people who've never used KDE or GNOME thing those eyecandy features are revolutionary?

They can get a free version of Windows if they fill out a counterfeit report identifying the source of the software, providing proof of purchase and returning the counterfeit CD.
This sounds like the choice the cops give you when you're arrested for a crime...

[super]

you are welcome:



http://www.boingboing.net/2005/07/28/microsoft_genuine_ad.html

link courtesy of ./

[Sam]

you are welcome:


Microsoft "Genuine Advantage" cracked in 24h: window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all'
AV sez, "This week, Microsoft started requiring users to verifiy their serial number before using Windows Update. This effort to force users to either buy XP or tell them where you got the illegal copy is called 'Genuine Advantage.' It was cracked within 24 hours."

Before pressing 'Custom' or 'Express' buttons paste this text to the address bar and press enter:

javascript:void(window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all')

It turns off the trigger for the key check.

link courtesy of ./
Damn more easy than I thought !

[gray-squirrel]

There really is no genuine advantage if a Web applet can be cracked within 24 hours, now is there? The word has probably reached the Redmond folks already. I wonder what they'll do about it?

All this "genuine advantage" does is make things more of a pain to those who play by the book. When I was under a Windows ME setup, I had to replace a motherboard on my computer, which had Norton Systemworks 2004 installed. Systemworks made me reactivate the software - which I paid for a retail store, legally - which logically makes no sense to me. I did, and then it crashed. Reinstalled it, and I couldn't get the activation feature to work since. Systemworks is now history on my machine.

And I won't even think about it too much anyways since Linux is what I use more often now. But the above is just to illustrate something.

This activation stuff reminds me of the national ID proposal that's been the topic of discussion here in the U.S. The principles behind both are somewhat similar (a lack of trust of law-abiding folks, perhaps?), and in both cases the ones who do wrong will always find a loophole or workaround.