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Microsoft puts limits on updates to fight piracy (News)


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Microsoft puts limits on updates to fight piracy

By TODD BISHOP Tuesday, July 26, 2005

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Microsoft Corp. is stepping up its campaign against piracy with a program that requires Windows users to show their copy of the operating system is authentic before they can receive many online software updates.

The program, known as Windows Genuine Advantage, has been in public testing for the past 10 months, but the authentication process was previously a voluntary option for users wanting to download updates. Today, that authentication becomes a requirement in most cases.

People using the Microsoft Update and Windows Update sites will no longer be able to download Windows add-ons and updates -- including security fixes -- from those sites without first going through an automatic online validation process.

However, Microsoft says it will still let people who haven't validated their copies of the program get the same Windows security fixes through the company's separate Download Center and Automatic Update services.

"For things that are dangerous vulnerabilities, we want to patch those for everyone, just to protect the overall ecosystem," said David Lazar, director of the Genuine Windows program.

At the same time, other programs available through the Download Center won't be available to people without authenticated Windows versions. One is the free Windows AntiSpyware program. That's despite the fact that Bill Gates, earlier this year, said Microsoft decided to make it available for free because such features "should be available to protect every system."

Lazar said yesterday that the company sees the free anti-spyware program as more of an added value for legitimate users, in contrast with an essential update that fixes a dangerous vulnerability. For that reason, he said, Microsoft will be making the anti-spyware tool available only to people who validate their Windows copy through the Genuine Advantage program. "We believe that the added value should be reserved exclusively for genuine Windows customers."

The validation process works through a small utility program called an ActiveX control that can check the authenticity of a Windows copy. People seeking to download programs and updates from Microsoft will be prompted to first authenticate their copy of Windows by downloading that ActiveX control.

Microsoft says the process is anonymous, not collecting any information to identify a user. In a change from the initial testing period, the company says it no longer will ask people to enter the 25-digit product key as part of the validation process.

A study by the Business Software Alliance found that 35 percent of PC software is pirated. As part of the Genuine Advantage program, Microsoft is offering people who validate their Windows copies extra programs that the company values at $450 total. It also is offering people with counterfeit or pirated Windows the chance to buy genuine copies for as little as half the retail price, if they meet certain conditions.

Source: seattlepi.com

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....Makes a person ill to see (one of) the wealthiest people on the planet do so much belly-aching over some lost dollars...It is a part of big business, a part of the Big Machine, whatever you want to call it. If Billy-Boy ever steered some of that paranoid energy onto more worthy & productive projects, he could quite possibly be written into the history books as the pioneering icon of the computer age, instead of the pie-faced slob the people love to hate....

The news article about MS intending to procure the largest Spam outfit for force-feeding its' products says it all.

I still like Win2k though

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I use a legal copy of WinXP Pro, but when I first installed it it wanted all that registration crap, so I dug up a corporate Product Key and never had to go through that again, and it went through the update site today with no problem.

It's probably not legal to use a different key, but I payed for the CD soooo whatever, works good for me....... ;)

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Virus infected factory disks? You got a CD from Microsoft with a virus?

Oops, i meant my Recovery Discs  :oops:. When i bought this Sony Vaio Comp a year ago they gave me some Recovery Discs that included all the pre-installed software and XP HOME Edition. But the discs came with a bunch of viruses like blaster and sasser.A, Sasser.B, Sasser.C, Sasser.D and many others.

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Oops, i meant my Recovery Discs :oops:. When i bought this Sony Vaio Comp a year ago they gave me some Recovery Discs that included all the pre-installed software and XP HOME Edition. But the discs came with a bunch of viruses like blaster and sasser.A, Sasser.B, Sasser.C, Sasser.D and many others.

Well, that's a problem introduced by Sony, not Microsoft.

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Microsoft puts limits on updates to fight piracy

A study by the Business Software Alliance found that 35 percent of PC software is pirated. As part of the Genuine Advantage program, Microsoft is offering people who validate their Windows copies extra programs that the company values at $450 total. It also is offering people with counterfeit or pirated Windows the chance to buy genuine copies for as little as half the retail price, if they meet certain conditions.

Source: seattlepi.com

35 percent of PC software.

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Guest helloimtim

I really never have seen that big of diffrence between home and pro except for price. I have the xp home and have played with the pro version. The new os is comming soon is true. But they really have allot more work to do with xp in my humble oppinion. Go back to useing home and stay with it till the next new version gets the bugs worked out......Just my 2 cents.....

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I really never have seen that big of diffrence between home and pro except for price. I have the xp home and have played with the pro version. The new os is comming soon is true. But they really have allot more work to do with xp in my humble oppinion. Go back to useing home and stay with it till the next new version gets the bugs worked out......Just my 2 cents.....

Theres a alot of things different but not that much difference...  but for now updats are working again so im good with pro but ur right' i will switch back to home edition if i can't get anymore updates.....

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:D I think I am just gonna buy a XP mediacenter disc and upgrade to that in anticipation of the 360 :cool:

I thought Mediacenter edition only came with a new computer?

I really never have seen that big of diffrence between home and pro except for price. I have the xp home and have played with the pro version. The new os is comming soon is true. But they really have allot more work to do with xp in my humble oppinion. Go back to useing home and stay with it till the next new version gets the bugs worked out......Just my 2 cents.....

I believe XP Pro has more user management functions, e.g.: It's more like Windows NT.

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Why not just keep what you all have (those of you that have been victimized :)) and enable automatic updates? Set it to notify you before downloading or installing any updates. You will still have the option of picking what updates you want and viewing the information on them.  :)

You will have to go to Windows Update first and allow it to check for updates. It will prompt you to install the latest version of V6 inorder to use the service. Once installed, if any updates are available, auto update will give you access.  :)

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