Who Owns Your PC? New Anti-Piracy Windows 7 Update "Phones Home" to Microsoft Every 90 Days

Laren's Blag ^ | 11 February 2010 | Lauren Weinstein

[ShadowAce]

[AFreeBird]

(Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)

[Halgr]

super PING

[I still care]

Thanks so much.

[fatnotlazy]

I think I’ll hold on to my XP...until Microsoft disables it.

[VeniVidiVici]

I think my VL version of Win7 already does this.

[Man50D]

This is tantamount to anti gun activists trying to ban guns knowing the only people who won’t comply are the criminals. In the end law abiding citizens will be the only people adversely effected.

[DManA]

I don’t get why once it has been authenticated why it has to be re-authenticated every 90 days. How would it get unauthentic? If you had an authentic copy why would you install an unauthentic one?

[aft_lizard]

Welcome to 2003.

[aft_lizard]

BTW the update will be optional and as usual those who have nothing to worry about won’t.

I still don’t understand why so many loony tunes get in an uproar over this stuff.

[Gomez]

I don’t get why

It's for your own good.

[Nat Turner]

They do this to ENSURE that you will continue to comply with their directives. Remember if you upgrade your ram or swap out hard drives or switch your NIC cards, Windows will treat it as if you installed the software on a brand new machine and did not pay them their "royalties".

Remember this is Microsoft you are dealing with and not a human with common sense.

[visualops]

As people who like to tinker with computers, and having built many and cannibalized and rebuilt, changed OS, experimented etc, a certain retail purchase of Win XP has been installed several times but never on more than one machine at a time. Having paid full retail of course we expect to be able to install the damn thing as many times as we please. However with MS this means a phone call and activation every time, and the last time they basically said nope you can’t do this automatically, you’ll have to speak to someone and explain the situation. To me that is just unbelievably insulting that they think that a product that we paid probably close to $200 for several years ago, needs a lifetime of mommy may I to install when we see fit.

[snippy_about_it]

Ping

[King_Corey]

Quit Reading right here Imagine that you're sitting quietly in your living-room at your PC, perhaps watching YouTube. Suddenly, a pair of big, burly guys barge into your house and demand that you let them check your computer to make sure that it's "genuine" and not running pirated software. No, After blasting both of them with my handgun or shotgun...I then call the local Sheriff and have them come clean up and then I send the BILL for the MESS to Microsoft ... Welcome to TEXAS. We END home invaders here.

[Big Giant Head]

I own Windows 7 and like it very much. It’s on my gaming computer. If, however, this becomes a problem, I will get totally away from windows. I can use any one of several versions of Linux I have. X-Plane is as much fun as Flight Simulator X.

[alancarp]

Optional, perhaps, but this update will continue to nag for installation and effectively require you to reject it each time... every time another 'Important' or 'Critical' update is made available.

My concern is that of the one asked in Post #9: once authentication is successfully done once (which I don't actually mind), why on earth does it need to be repeated??? The only thing I can think of it that you might have Win7 on a DVD that you give to another family member for installation on their machine - thus "pirating" another copy out. But even under this circumstance, I'm expect the first copy certified to be allowed to continue.

[dfwright]

This doesn’t even mention the lifetime issue. Microsoft also has the power now to determine when it’s time for you to get a new version of the software, and to stop using this one. They just flip the switch on this, and your OS annoys you to death until you upgrade.

No more running the OS for years after support ends, like my nice Windows 98 laptop.

[CaptainMorgantown]

Welcome to 2003

Exactly. I think Microsoft already authenticates your PC every time it checks for updates. Not being able to download and install security patches seems to me a much greater penalty than black screen background.