Posted on 06/14/2006 6:45:12 PM PDT by Swordmaker
You may have bought and paid for Windows XP. But Microsoft decides whether or not you can use it.
If your XP software is up-to-date and online, it negotiates its validity with Microsoft servers every day. Nothing personal. Just part of Microsoft's Digital Rights Management (DRM) system protecting Redmond's property... checking to see if your Windows software (and heaven only knows what else) is perfectly valid.
Evoking memories of RealNetworks efforts to protect themselves from their loyal customers, innocent Microsoft officials explained to the discoverer, Lauren Weinstein, that this constant DRM enforcer is obviously not a constant DRM enforcer.
Instead, they averred, the feature simply allows Microsoft to disable the validation checker, Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA), if it should ever malfunction. (After the damage wrought on music lovers' computers by Sony-BMG's DRM software, Microsofties apparently thought Windows imbibers might swallow this "we monitor our monitor for your protection" line of reasoning.)
Silly us. Like Weinstein, we figured the daily validation check might allow Microsoft to remotely monitor you or pull the plug on your system, should you ever displease them down the road... perhaps, by refusing to buy a mandated Windows update, or discontinuing a Windows subscription.
Indeed, Microsoft officials admitted that, in the process of validating, they trap the IP address and date/timestamp.
Thus, as Microsoft knows that laptop's geographic location whenever it's online, it's easy to envision Homeland Security shadowing John Q. Public as he meanders across the country with his laptop... or Chinese authorities tracking a political dissident who had the temerity to use the word freedom.
And then, there's Microsoft itself. In addition to adding more details about you to its information reservoir, the company is blatantly letting you know who really controls the computer you bought.
You've been owned.
First and foremost, I'm not a lawyer...yet. (studying PoliSci, and law school after I graduate with my baccalaureate degree)
Having said this and from what I know, most anti-spyware laws right now are on the State level. IIRC, California, Washington, and Iowa have passed laws that criminalize certain types of spyware and adware.
There is also the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) on the federal level--last amended with the Patriot Act. However, the law only applies to systems with the U.S. Gov't and any computer involved in either interstate or international commerce.
Theoretically, what WGA does is enter into computers around the world, often without the permission of the computer's owner. It can be argued that CFAA was violated--assuming that the computers in question were used by the Gov't or for interstate or foreign commerce.
Considering that people talk and order things around the country and around the world, it can theoretically be argued that anyone on a computer has conducted interstate or international commerce.
However, MS and other companies can shoot back by saying that the people owning the computer, software, or product consented to these connections via the EULA, and that the owners can turn off the daily verifications if they so choose.
In any case though, fireworks are going to fly.
There are no applicable case law precedents from what I see--so any such suit is going to be hotly debated as it would set the general precedent for the country.
Right! As long as you pay your rent(taxes) to the city,county,state 'gubmints,you can remain in YOUR house....
Microsoft is going overboard with their anti-pirating paranoia. I inadvertenly downloaded the latest WGA so their spyware wgatray.exe found its way onto my system. Fortunately with a dual boot I could go into Windows 98SE and remove it easily from XP but they should have told people ahead of time it would be phoning home everyday.
Wait until they come out with IE7, it is the worst piece of software yet from them as they allow practically zero customization to the browser. You're going to see new users of Firefox and Opera explode.
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