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Reported in today’s paper (find your own link you lazy gits) is an article on MIcrosoft’s latest wheeze to stop people stealing their software.
I’ve commented on software piracy in the Technical Forum a couple of days ago (the thread on Office 2007) – but this one is a real stunner.
It appears that they have incorporated a little bit of script into the Microsoft Genuine Advantage tool that you download before each release of Office update or Windows update. This scans your computer and if it finds that your Windows Operating System or your Office installation is ”pirated” (i.e. illegally obtained or unliscensed) it turns the computer’s screen black.
OK you can turn it back on again, but it returns every hour to nag you into buying properly liscensed copies of their products. Nice one Microsoft, eh?
So what do you think??? Is software piracy in reality stealing / theft? Is is OK to get so-called free or pirated copies of Windows or Office? Are Microsoft justified in protecting their products in this way or should they simply roll over and submit to ”market forces”???
Wasn’t the “Windows Advantge” supposed to counteract mass software piracy rather than the lone t wat that spends all day trying to get everything for free?
I saw on the news that it has recently been released in China and they are in an uproar over this, as nearly 80 percent of the products are unlicensed.
There is nothing wrong with Microsoft protecting it’s products, as long as it doesn’t affect legitimate users, which of course it has and now it will again! I think they were taken to court for something to do with this – I need to check that – and how many times have they been taken to court due to them using unlawful practices?
Of course it’s wrong to get pirated copies but then it’s also wrong for Microsoft to put things on your computer without disclosing all the facts, but they still do it!
I swear I am trying to read what fek says but my head keeps bobbing along with the kitten :lol:
@*Dawny* wrote:
I swear I am trying to read what fek says but my head keeps bobbing along with the kitten :lol:
Tee hee hee..here’s another one to keep ya distracted, Dawny..
I love it!!!!!
:lol: :lol: :lol:
@lil fek wrote:
Wasn’t the “Windows Advantge” supposed to counteract mass software piracy rather than the lone t wat that spends all day trying to get everything for free?
I saw on the news that it has recently been released in China and they are in an uproar over this, as nearly 80 percent of the products are unlicensed.
There is nothing wrong with Microsoft protecting it’s products, as long as it doesn’t affect legitimate users, which of course it has and now it will again! I think they were taken to court for something to do with this – I need to check that – and how many times have they been taken to court due to them using unlawful practices?
Of course it’s wrong to get pirated copies but then it’s also wrong for Microsoft to put things on your computer without disclosing all the facts, but they still do it!
The Windows Genuine Advantage tool isn’t about the “lone” pirate or indeed mass piracy …. it is all about piracy full stop. I think that the common perception seems to be that it’s OK if only one or two people do it … and only wrong when hundreds of thousands do it.
Yes the Chinese have thrown a collective conniption fit, as their (illegal) screens have been blacked out. Tough luck I say. They stole it in the first place, why should they be allowed to carry on getting free support on an unlicensed (stolen) product?
Your point Fek about MS affecting innocent users doesn’t really hold up. The downloaded tool has been in use by MS for a long time now and is solely used to check if the installation is genuine (i.e. not stolen). If it is, then nothing happens; the update is downloaded and installed and life goes on. It only affects illegal copies.
It’s the fact that China is in uproar over it made me smile the most. Piracy is piracy, the laws are there, choose to ignore them at your own peril. Microsoft is a business like any other and if they have taken this step to stop unwarranted theft of their product good for them. People may argue that they make enough money, but if you ran your own business and had constant theft problems that ran into thousands, you would take steps to prevent. Microsoft is just doing the same.
I think that it is definately classed as stealing, the same as pirate copies of DVDs and downloading music off the net. I think I’m one of the few (sad?) people who still BUY dvds and cds from shops or internet sites and all my software is bought.
@forumhostpb wrote:
Your point Fek about MS affecting innocent users doesn’t really hold up. The downloaded tool has been in use by MS for a long time now and is solely used to check if the installation is genuine (i.e. not stolen). If it is, then nothing happens; the update is downloaded and installed and life goes on. It only affects illegal copies.[/b][/color]
My point does hold up too many things have happened with it in the past:
Spyware accusations
The notification tool has been accused of spyware-like behavior, “phoning home” on a daily basis. Microsoft subsequently admitted the behaviour, but denied that it amounted to spyware. Following pressure, Microsoft announced that in future the tool would only phone home once every two weeks, instead of every day. Microsoft has also provided removal instructions for the pilot version of WGA.Despite this, Microsoft is currently being sued under anti-spyware statutes over WGA’s non-disclosed “phone home” behaviour. The outcome of the lawsuit has not been determined.
Major Failures in WGA SystemOn October 5, 2006 a WGA failure occurred, incorrectly flagging some systems as being non-genuine.
On August 25, 2007 the Microsoft WGA servers suffered an outage, resulting in many legitimate copies of Windows XP and Vista being marked as counterfeit. The issue was solved about twelve hours later. According to Microsoft, “fewer than 12,000 systems were affected worldwide.
On July 18,2008 reports of Microsoft’s WGA and OGA servers being offline surfaced again. Microsoft later responded that only offline verification was temporarily down
Wikipedia.orgScrolling through the posts on Microsoft’s official WGA Validation Problems forum is like reading accident reports from a multiple-car pileup on Interstate 5. Many of the victims are completely innocent and have no idea what hit them, and cleaning up the mess can be a nightmare.
ZDNet.comI have never condoned piracy either.
@*Dawny* wrote:
I swear I am trying to read what fek says but my head keeps bobbing along with the kitten :lol:
taint ya head
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