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| Quote: |
Microsoft to mark illegal copies
Source:http://bugsforum.com/
Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of local PC users running pirated Windows operating systems will soon face the shame of being reminded of their illegal action every time they switch on their machines. The feature will be added to the operating system by Microsoft Corp from tomorrow and cannot be erased. It will nag the guilty users and can be awkward if it shows up on corporate PCs. Current users of PCs running pirated Windows will find their machines “tattooed” the next time they update the operating system.
Basically, a message stating “This copy of Windows is not genuine …” will be permanently affixed to the operating system’s login screen, and a similar message will randomly pop up on the desktop whenever the machine is in use.
The anti-piracy move is being kicked off in five countries tomorrow – the United States, Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia.
Users whose machines have been affected will only be able to get rid of the tattoo if they install a genuine copy of Windows. Prices range from RM320 for a copy of Windows XP Home (OEM version) to RM510 for Windows XP Pro (OEM version).
“Or they can put up with being ‘nagged’ by the pop-up message every time they use their computers,” said K.T. Ng, group manager for Windows Client solutions at Microsoft Malaysia.
If they were businessmen or corporate executives, it would be embarrassing if their clients saw the tattoo indicating that a pirated copy of Windows was being used, he said.
According to Ng, the move was aimed at better serving Microsoft’s genuine users.
For example, he said, counterfeiters had been able to reproduce Microsoft product packaging to the point where consumers were unable to tell genuine from imitation.
“The pop-up message would immediately alert consumers to counterfeit copies of Windows, such as when they buy a new notebook or PC,” he said.
If a user has unknowingly received an illegal copy of the operating system, he will be able to report the vendor concerned by clicking on the “Get Genuine” button at the login screen.
Machines that have been tattooed will still be able to receive software updates for the operating system, but will not be allowed to download Internet Explorer 7.0 (IE7) and Windows Defender.
IE7 is the new, more secure version of Microsoft’s web browser while Windows Defender is an anti-spyware program. |
My bet is that this thread gets axed for spamming.
If you wan't to post news articles, please do us all a favor (and follow the rules), by putting the context in quotes.
Actually this kind of check for genuine versions are existing from XP SP1. But stil many out there run XP SP2s without any problems using cracks..
Soon ther'll be a crack for this kind of check also... 
| S3nd K3ys wrote: |
My bet is that this thread gets axed for spamming.
If you wan't to post news articles, please do us all a favor (and follow the rules), by putting the context in quotes. |
I am probably telling the same thing to every newbie here.
This guy has 50 posts and still knows nothing | scorpio wrote: |
| S3nd K3ys wrote: | My bet is that this thread gets axed for spamming.
If you wan't to post news articles, please do us all a favor (and follow the rules), by putting the context in quotes. |
I am probably telling the same thing to every newbie here.
This guy has 50 posts and still knows nothing |
Well, It's probably his first post in the news section, Give him time, He will eventually learn from his errors, If not, Then I guess he will be a Noob 4 Life.Note that some "Senior" members of FriHost might also like to read the forum rules again, especially the part about Back-Seat Moderating
Well Microsoft is really doing some hard and sloppy work to remove piracy.
| manumiglani wrote: |
| Well Microsoft is really doing some hard and sloppy work to remove piracy. |
They have to go with thier strong points
I am no lover of M$, but I think they are perfectly justified in this action. As was pointed out somebody will more than likely find a way to get around it, but in the meantime there will be alot of people (especially businesses) that will just go out and buy a legit copy. Now if we could just get them (M$) to stop trying to slave developers to thier own propriety scripting and programming languages the sun would shine in the computer world again.
*sigh*...if only.All you have to do is not update your windows instalation, which is a good idea anyway, because the updates often screw things up.
| ocalhoun wrote: |
| All you have to do is not update your windows instalation, which is a good idea anyway, because the updates often screw things up. |
Too true. But as said before there will be a workaround for this sooner or later, the wonders of technology.
I only use M$ windows (the crap that I wasted my money) because some applications and games just won't run on Linux, yet. One day we will be able to use Linux as we do windows. I can't wait !!! 
| Quote: |
| there will be a workaround for this sooner or later, the wonders of technology. |
Yeah, very true the crack for this will come out. Afterall, thousands of people make their living on pirated windows, they can't just let this update ruin their living.If they can do all that then why don't they make it so the pirated Windows can't do hardly anything? I guess maybe for the people that bought it unknowingly, but still this won't really dissuade the other ones that know they have a pirated version. A reccurent popup really isn't that much of a problem, and the other blocks are laughable.
| IAMED_2 wrote: |
| If they can do all that then why don't they make it so the pirated Windows can't do hardly anything? I guess maybe for the people that bought it unknowingly, but still this won't really dissuade the other ones that know they have a pirated version. A reccurent popup really isn't that much of a problem, and the other blocks are laughable. |
other sofware companies have employed different methods of security, including...crashing your PC, eating up available memory, and destroying your HD (by marking sectors as Bad). Do you think M$ should go this route?
A "popup" is the safest route to take...and I am no lover of M$. | ocalhoun wrote: |
| All you have to do is not update your windows instalation, which is a good idea anyway, because the updates often screw things up. |
This is a good idea but not updating the windows also worries us alot because the pc becomes more vulnerable to virus attacks. For me, there is nothing to worry since I use genuine windows that comes with HP laptop. If something like that shows up, shame on them! lolz.. | Vrythramax wrote: |
| other sofware companies have employed different methods of security, including...crashing your PC, eating up available memory, and destroying your HD (by marking sectors as Bad). |
Well actually Microsoft (and others) are already doing this, even with legal versions. | Bondings wrote: |
| Vrythramax wrote: | | other sofware companies have employed different methods of security, including...crashing your PC, eating up available memory, and destroying your HD (by marking sectors as Bad). |
Well actually Microsoft (and others) are already doing this, even with legal versions. |
So true Bondings.
Long Live OpenSource Software! | Vrythramax wrote: |
| Bondings wrote: | | Vrythramax wrote: | | other sofware companies have employed different methods of security, including...crashing your PC, eating up available memory, and destroying your HD (by marking sectors as Bad). |
Well actually Microsoft (and others) are already doing this, even with legal versions. |
So true Bondings.
Long Live OpenSource Software! |
Indeed, all those things happened to the Frihost servers which are both running on ... Linux - OpenSource. I don't presume to argue with you about opensource Bondings, but you must admit, being able to edit the kernel "on-the-fly" is not a bad thing.
Forgive my spelling. DOWN WITH VOLE!!!
this whole scheme might backfire on M$ because there is a reason why people don't want to pay for software: coz they don't want to!!! So all these annoying pop-ups they are planning might be the trigger-effect that pushes people towards open-source more than ever, therefore reducing vole's all-important market share and therefore evil grip on the world! It will be interesting to see how effective this plan is or rather how disasterous it is.
hmmmmmmmmmmm.... so, this has truned our into Microsoft v/s open source. Well just wanna add that I think open source people are followers. However, I can be wrong as usual. They follow and make alternatives to the softwares/innovations done by companies that charge for their softwares.
M$ will never be "OpenSource" (and I am a lover of that...OpenSource that is)...Uncle Bill needs the $$$ to complete his goal of World Domination.
You can always update through auto updates which doesn't check with the WGA thing for some reason. Also theres Autopatcher, plenty of alternatives from using windows update. Even if you do get tattoed there will be a workaround sooner or later.
so what you're saying is...
ms is making a virus for pirated software.
wow
will be fixed in ... 1 week of release! (ie someone will make a patch to remove it)
I'll put 20 bucks on that!
As Vrythramax so rightly said, Microsoft is within their rights to do this to pirated copies of Windows. In fact, they would be within their rights to stop illegal copies from working - provided they did not cause the user actual data loss, this would be a perfectly reasonable stance.
If you stole a car from a garage, would you expect to be able to return and get a free warranty service every month from the same garage? Essentially, that's what MS are doing - if you "steal" a copy of Windows, they give you critical security updates for free, leaving you with a fully-functional operating system that you can use without limits. By adding a pop-up, they are adding a small irritation to try and encourage users to change to a genuine copy.
Think about it: Even if Microsoft know you are running pirated software, they still let you use it unrestricted. There really is no believable argument against this update.
Microsoft is always painted as the "bad man" of the software industry, but when you actually think about it, maybe they're not so bad...
Seems to me that if you are willing to use a pirated version of Windows, it would be best not to let the operating system contact Microsoft for a software update. Even had they not implemented this feature, it seems common sense to me that one would not wish to indentify their machine as such by voluntarily establishing a direct connection to Microsoft and giving the website permission to verify information regarding the system.
The public should own Microsoft. And Wal Mart, Exxon, Starbucks, etc.
Seems like Microsoft is getting better and better with it's security. I guess this is a good way to stop people from using Pirated copies of Windows and maybe even stop pirated copies entirely. Way to go Microsoft!
| mabuhay wrote: |
| The public should own Microsoft. And Wal Mart, Exxon, Starbucks, etc. |
oh please...and why exactly?
no English is is not my native language...but I still hate M$
