Posted on 01/26/2005 1:59:43 PM PST by Happy2BMe
Aiming to crack down on counterfeit software, Microsoft plans later this year to require customers to verify that their copy of Windows is genuine before downloading security patches and other add-ons to the operating system.
Since last fall the company has been testing a tool that can check whether a particular version of Windows is legitimate, but until now the checks have been voluntary. Starting Feb. 7, the verification will be mandatory for many downloads for people in three countries: China, Norway and the Czech Republic.
In those countries, people whose copies are found not to be legitimate can get a discount on a genuine copy of Windows, though the price varies from $10 to $150 depending on the country.
By the middle of this year, Microsoft will make the verification mandatory in all countries for both add-on features to Windows as well as for all OS updates, including security patches. Microsoft will continue to allow all people to get Windows updates by turning on the Automatic Update feature within Windows. By doing so, Microsoft hopes it has struck a balance between promoting security and ensuring that people buy genuine versions of Windows.
"We think that the best foundation for the most secure system is genuine software," said David Lazar, director of the Genuine Windows program at Microsoft. "We want to urge all of our customers to use genuine software. (At the same time), we want to make sure that we don't do anything to reduce the likelihood that a user will keep their system up to date."
The program, known as Windows Genuine Advantage, also offers perks to those who verify their copy of Windows. Those who do can get free software as well as discounts on other Microsoft products and services. Microsoft is upping the ante a bit, adding some additional discounts on MSN Games as well as on the company's recently announced Outlook Live subscription service to the existing list of benefits, which includes free access to the company's Photo Story 3 program.
Customers do appear to be interested in double-checking the status of their operating system. Some 8 million people have been asked to participate in the program since testing began, and more than 5 million have taken part.
And those numbers have come with very little recruiting on the part of Microsoft, Lazar said.
"More and more we will be marketing the offers to broaden the participation," he said. "People do like free stuff."
Piracy is a major problem for Microsoft and others in the software industry. One software industry study estimated that more than
a third of software is pirated, costing the industry $29 billion a year. Microsoft won't put an exact figure on its losses, but said it is certainly in the billions over the past 10 years.
The validation effort is just part of Microsoft's threefold program, which focuses on educating users, engineering products in ways that minimize piracy, and enforcement through the legal system.
As for the added security risk, Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry said that people are putting too much of the blame on the software maker.
Cherry said it is not necessarily Microsoft's responsibility to protect people who aren't paying the company for its products. He likened the situation to buying a fake Rolex and then expecting warranty service if the product breaks.
The problem with that analogy, Cherry acknowledged, is that a broken Rolex doesn't put other watch owners at risk, whereas vulnerable computers connected to the Internet threaten all PC users. However, Cherry said that many of the computers that are at risk are using genuine, but older versions of Windows.
"There's a growing chance that the people whose machines are being taken over are running older systems which aren't really securable," he said.
Cherry said he thinks the company is acting appropriately, noting that making sure people are running genuine Windows is important for all customers.
"I think they are entitled to do this, and I think it is in customers' best interest to know that they have a genuine version of the software," he said. Counterfeit copies could contain their own bugs or viruses, and there is no way to guarantee that security patches will work, even if the user can download them, he said.
While Microsoft is the obvious beneficiary if piracy rates go down, Cherry said programs like Genuine Advantage also help level the playing field for smaller computer builders who play by the rules and find themselves undercut by dealers offering PCs with bogus copies of Windows.
"Those are the people I hope the program is helping," Cherry said.
That was a mistake on my part, they both come with a one-year warranty. eMachines actually offers longer phone support, one year versus 90 days for Apple.
Workbench OS3.9 rules, Amiga 4 life
But no keyboard, monitor, or mouse. He said he got the 19" monitor included in the $900 price. The current Dell deal is a 2.8 ghz P4, 256 gig of RAM, 17 inch monitor, and 40 gig HD for just $499 (and that includes the keyboard and the mouse unlike the chintzy Mac).
Suprisingly though Nero's latest Burning Rom version appears a little unstable in 98SE and so unfortunately I suspect software writers are in the process of ditching that OS altogether."
You got it! My Cool Edit Pro on Win98 thru Echo's Gina20 is STILL up and running! This was my intro to hard disk so I had no doubts about going to XP and MOTU's 2408 mk3
WRONG!!!!! WRONG!!!!!! WRONG!!!!!!!
Xp has a HUGE problem with multi port audio. It loses the drivers even though the drivers are right where they have always been. The drivers them selves are "unsigned". The driver regestries have limits that 98's did not and on and on and on....
I've had enough of Gates and his mickey mouse OS. I'm going MAc OR I'm gonna buy a 24 track standalone Hard disk recorder and a few morw hardware effects boxes. I still have my old mackie 8*Buss!
That's what I installed, the corporate version of SP2. It's running a lot better now that I've updated some of the major applications like the ethernet and graphic drivers but there's still some smoothing out to go yet.
Hopefully they will run it like RHN, give you an enitilement for a license...
I must be blessed... never had a single issue with SP2... good luck.
Plus a much smaller and quieter enclosure.
I believe it is a combination of the computer and the OS. I had nothing but problems with MS ME. Others had no problems at all.
I had a computer built from scratch and XP installed. It went into operation on 9/24/03 on 4/12/04 I had some problems, and haven't had anymore through this day 1/26/05.
To me that is amazing. But also I know XP will be less reliable in other computers.
For me it works, and I would be reluctant to change. - Tom
"Those one of those new headless macs would work just fine, especially since MacOS is now unix."
Since seeing this thread I've been wonderinfg about the new macs.
Do you know what the buss speed is? Can you get at least 512k memory (or a gig) and what is the speed of the memory--or is mac memory all the same?
I've gotta look into this because the sound I was getting with CubaseSX and the MOTU 2408mk3 (when it worked)was AWESOME!
Imp the only issue I have ever had with wireless is the start up order of services. the Networking service starts up before the service that loads the pcmcia module. TO fix it change the order (I think most distros have nice easy graphical tools)..
I had 20 times more problems running Linux than running Windows. Hopefully by Linux 12.0 they will have the bugs worked out. Until than it's just a toy to play with.
SH/Renepo-A is the creature you are looking for.
SH/Renepo-A is a shell script worm targeted at the Mac OS X platform. If run on your computer (either accidentally or by design), it copies itself to the local startup directory (/System/Library/StartupItems) and to any other mounted volumes, including other computers on your network. SH/Renepo-A also makes infected StartupItems folders world-writeable, thus opening a dangerous backdoor on any system it infects.
"Just one, that's all I ask."
Why do I have the feeling that that will not be all you ask for? That you will find some excuse to deny that such a virus does exist and it does indeed infect OS X. <sigh>
There is good reason that Microsoft is on top.
I may just go ahead and purchase a MAC as an alternative if Microsoft becomes too heavy handed. I've read recently that in their new OS Longhorn the ability to record through the inline jack for example into mp3s will not be allowed and that's unacceptible to me if true. I'll stay on 98SE regardless of security risks before someone tells me what I can do with my personal equipment.
k. DVI is built into almost all new computers now adays, firewire is not neaded by 90% of the people using computers. A mac mini maximum ram is only 1 gig, but at least it uses pc ram. THe mac mini uses a laptop hardrive, which is limited to 5200 rpm, not exactly what some video power user and editor really wants.
By the time you add a monitor and keyboard to a mac-mini, you could have upgraded the video card and ram on the emachine or just bought the $599 model, which has alot more expandibility and can have up to 4 gigs of ram and a faster processor more up to date and comes with a dvd-r/rw.
People looking to buy for less will always take a package with more to offer.
I don't have crash problems on my XP.
I did when we used Mac for the newspaper a couple years ago.
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