Microsoft has been battling piracy since the beginning. But it seems as though they have finally had enough. In one of the more recent Windows Updates, Microsoft deployed what they feel is a step in the right direction for preventing the theft of their software. Windows users with the pirated software installed on their computer will soon notice a black desktop, along with a permanent notice in the bottom right of their screen, stating that they must purchase a legitimate copy of Windows. While Microsoft is trying to get their message across as best they can, the company is still kind enough to allow all applications to run normally.
The new tactic has not gone unnoticed or without resistance. Multiple law suites have been filed claiming Microsoft is now the one doing the hacking, though to this date, no claims have been successful. Little time has been wasted, as users have already begun to find ways around the new feature. One way to circumvent this is as simple as shutting off the Windows Update feature to prevent the installation of the validation program.
Many are claiming it is because of the poor economy and high priced software that they are forced to make use of pirated goods. This may be true but they are not acceptable excuses. It is against the law to steal, ladies and gentlemen, and Windows is finally doing something about it.
The company is still called Microsoft, not Windows.
And what is a product doing about itself being pirated?
upgrading itself with this patch as the article mentions......
Last edited by Peter Griffin on 06 Nov 2008 - 20:31
Uh, no, Microsoft is upgrading Windows with this patch.
Didn't you hear? Programs nowadays update and patch themselves by themselves without the need of programmers (aka Microsoft). You are living in the past baby!
No, he just switched the "automatic feature" off
Doesn't sound like an "upgrade".
Man you are right, funniest thread to date ! People fighting over grammar. I think it should be "Microsoft is finally doing something about it." cause they are the ones who makes the patch and handles the lawsuits.
Also, my school has computers that have been marked as illegal copies of windows, how are those people going to feel when their desktops go black and they have that annoying windows validation notice? Come on Microsoft, don't bother trying to stop it, the pirates will always be smarter than you are.
The problem is that MS' work to stop piracy breaks legit copies of their software.
This seems like just about the most gentle warning possible.
It being black with a message in the lower corner saying my copy is illegal is hardly a big problem for me as long as I can still run my apps and do my work.
Are you mental? Show us all where ANY of Microsoft's Anti-Piracy measures has broken 100% Legit copies of their software. Consider this a formal challenge to your bullcrap and a CFR as well!
I'll take you up on that. My school bought a KMS license for Vista Business and the activation BS failed so we had to reload Vista.
You will ALWAYS have the genuine people who will always buy genuine software, you will ALWAYS have the people who will not buy the software, and you will ALWAYS have the people that cracks the software.
There will be no win for either side. There money is from the Companies and not the Individuals.
Its wasted money because it wont work...
The companies need to realize that if they make their software cheaper, more people will buy it and can afford to buy it and thus they will make more money. I cannot justify shelling out $330 for Office 2007 when OpenOffice works just as well and is free.
And here is the heart of the matter. We've created a large group of people who think things are free in life. *sigh*
What confuses a lot of people is the revenues Microsoft make, but you need to realize it goes back into research and development, it pays employees, it pays for maintenance of the company and its many locations around the world, patents, lawsuits and marketing. This ultimately goes back into the economy. When Microsoft wants to build an Office in a Country and hire local workers to help develop software and make living. We really need to think how our actions affect others. Some might say nah, 'what if I didn't buy it anyway?', it would be same thing. No, it creates the opportunity for piracy, that is what will happen, you will give it to a friend, a friend will give it to a friend and so on until nobody pays for it.
Hi! I know you!
Last edited by RangerLG on 07 Nov 2008 - 18:29
Adobe is crazy, $1000 for Photoshop CS4? And Microsoft is not that much better anyway.
But yeah, its not an excuse to use pirated stuff, but again.. Do you really think that the price of the Windows copy is reasonable?
Adobe is crazy, $1000 for Photoshop CS4? And Microsoft is not that much better anyway.
But yeah, its not an excuse to use pirated stuff, but again.. Do you really think that the price of the Windows copy is reasonable?
Yes it's reasonable considering you should be using it for many years.
But beyond that, you can usually find a deal of some sort. Student offers are great. You can get Office 2007 Ultimate for $60 and Vista Ultimate Upgrade for $70 through the Microsoft Ultimate Steal program.
And no matter what you can pretty much just buy the upgrade for Windows OS for much cheaper even if you technically aren't upgrading and still get it to work.
-Spenser
That's a good deal for an OS you'll use for as long as you pretty much want. If you payed the same price for XP back in 2001 and still use it that's 7 years for $100-$190 depending on what and where you got it from.
I've got the problem with paying for something if the price isn't crazy, you bring up Adobe and their CS4 price, now THAT is crazy.
That's a good deal for an OS you'll use for as long as you pretty much want. If you payed the same price for XP back in 2001 and still use it that's 7 years for $100-$190 depending on what and where you got it from.
I've got the problem with paying for something if the price isn't crazy, you bring up Adobe and their CS4 price, now THAT is crazy.
Oh course! Back in 2003 I bought a full version copy of XP Pro from Microsoft's Partner's program for $50 in some promotional that came with a baseball, Microsoft themed baseball cards, and a pack of that stringy bubblegum. If people are still pirating Windows, they are just plain Kleptomaniacs
That's a good deal for an OS you'll use for as long as you pretty much want. If you payed the same price for XP back in 2001 and still use it that's 7 years for $100-$190 depending on what and where you got it from.
I've got the problem with paying for something if the price isn't crazy, you bring up Adobe and their CS4 price, now THAT is crazy.
Copying software alone is not piracy, obtaining through wrong channels is also considered as piracy. OEM versions of Windows and Office must be tied to approved hardware such a new PC or mother board. I don't think buying a mouse with Windows Vista Ultimate should make anyone's conscience clean.
Only the fact Bill Gates doesn't work at Microsoft anymore and isn't accusing anyone. Stop the BG bashing.
And the other fact might be pointed out that Bill Gates has been right since the beginning, so really, what's the point of the original statement anyway?
Um, no! Bill Gates is still the Chairman of Microsoft. He stepped down as chief software architect back in June. So he still works at Microsoft.
Ahh, that's the million dollar question isn't it! And the answer is yes, some people have been affected, but IIRC it wasn't that hard to get it sorted. Still annoying though.
Yeah, I was affected a few years ago when I was running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (woah, that was a pain to type.)
I had to call up Microsoft support and they walked me through deleting some registry keys and all was good. It was still annoying though!
I had to call up Microsoft support and they walked me through deleting some registry keys and all was good. It was still annoying though!
If someones legitimate copy of Windows or Office is mistakenly informing them of piracy, there shouldn't be a problem since you can call Microsoft toll free and let them clarify the issue. Its man made stuff, sometimes there are glitches in the system. The only way it ends up not activating or not download updates is if the software is already activated and registered on another system.
But yes, I have to agree with the others, Adobe software is ridiculously expensive...
OEM is cheeper, but still...
OEM is cheeper, but still...
Well its a good job that you don't have to buy a copy every month then isn't it. You shouldn't look at it as being 30 - 50 % of your montly income, but rather a tiny percentage of your income over 3 years.
Lots of things I would like but cannot afford.
I live with it and do not steal it.
Its true, some of the MS software is way over priced.
I have used pirated software but the campains in the past years have changed the way i think about it.
IT-developers need bread&butter too. And those millions of dollars, that go on as profits - well they are always re-invested.
But it is true - people don't by original software, because they don't have money for it. But hey - use freeware.
Because it's simply obnoxius if i see a student in a university, using torrent for downloading movies or - in this case - a windows genuine pop-ups come to her/his screen every once in a while.
It's like with driving - if you don't have money, go by bus.
If you don't have money, go by freeware.
Or stop drinking and by Windows
Problem solved.
Problem solved.
maybe, but dont you think MS will be sued if they even lock out a few legitimate users using the method you described?
cause if i had a legit copy of windows and got locked out of it i would be super pis*ed, especially if i had to use my PC for something important.
Last edited by ThaCrip on 06 Nov 2008 - 21:37
Theres one reason that all of these "Microsoft hacked my PC!!" lawsuits keep failing... the user does not own the copy of Windows running on their machine! The software belongs to Microsoft and can be modified by Microsoft at any time. All the user has is a license to run that software.
hardly, if they were doing something about it they would lock down the OS.
hardly, if they were doing something about it they would lock down the OS.
The targets for this action are those that don't know their copy of Windows is illegal. Those who bought their PCs from dodgy corner shops where the shop owner installed an illegal copy of windows to save some money.
Microsoft therefore give the user the incentive to 1) buy a cheaper "legit" license and become legal, and 2) tell Microsoft where they bought their PC from. Microsoft then sends Mr. Lawyer around to that corner shop and files a lawsuit against it's owner.
That already happens.
Now "pirate" some dollars. Just make sure the originals are not "removed".
sure this won't effect a lot users that pirate everything, but the average user that didn't know they had a pirated copy till this showed up might go out and buy one (meaning increase in sales and less pirated copies out there).
Photoshop is a professional application which is why it costs so much, if you don't have the money then use Paint.Net
Don't you mean lawsuits?
- But they can use their computers to check into ours?!
where do i get such a thing i hear you asking..............use your imagination.
(i haven't told you cos i don't want my post to be deleted)
I'd really like to see this happen to somebody's computer
As soon as they put it out it will be "fixed" in no time at all. Its a joke and really only annoys legal owners when it''ll misfire, and I guarantee it will miss-fire often as activations does in Vista and XP.
If you ever bought a computer with Windows pre-installed, you gave money to those money-swilling hogs as you so eloquently put it. Congratulations.
Quit allowing them to do whatever with the OS. You aren't battling any piracy, yu are almost advocating it by allowing them to run as normal.
Jesus Christ Microsoft, wake up for once.
Personally, I think they should just make it so the machine halts for 1 minute every 60 minutes, then once every 30 minutes, 15 minutes, etc
When my friends son's pc fried,I replaced the mobo,ran,etc...Windows would not re-install,since only HP owns the license?So ,when you own their machine you have to pay then to swap out the exact mobo,or windows will lock you out,and will never let you get your pics of years off the machine?That is B.S
I hooked it up as a slave,retrieved the pics,and they aquired a copy of XP PRO.
Sure,some people are flat out thiefs.But,if they did not try to F#### you at every turn,most people would never consider (self allocation) of a OS.I,would never pirate.But,I can see why some people get frustrated and do--that is my two cents
and only morons get this black desktop.
the computer is mine and all the stuff in it.
if I copied from anywhere its because its free. if it wasnt, sorry, I dont give a damm, its mine when I get it.
i can think of paying a house for 3 years, not a software, sorry, dont give a damm to companies or developers.
if they cant get money from that, they should do other things.
microsoft is part of the economy? dont care, its not the only thing, we can live without it.
"microsoft is part of the economy? dont care, its not the only thing, we can live without it."
Where would the world be without Microsoft ? And look at how important MS is to the US economy. Competition among Software developers are whats making our lives easier.
If you think softwares are insignificant , you can go back to the stone age and eat bananas. And exactly why are you here on Neowin ?
Lets teach everyone from now on that robin hood is a cowardly theif.
If they wana curb it charge less thats all.
Plenty of actions are against the law, such as Microsoft's monopolistic, predatory behavior with OEMs, bullying, FUD and outright lies against competitors. Yet they continue to do it. Moral dilemma?
In any case, we don't need self-righteous Neowin editors lecturing us.
Pirate on mateys
for 30$ now why pirate when you can get an orignal which can keep it self updated all the time...
on subject: yeah we all scared out of our panties now, who the hell leaves windows update running anyhow on a pirated OS ... DUH ! haven't used windows update in like 4 years, not planing on changing this habit anytime soon !
this extra charge really annoyed me, so i bought the system with vista business and tried it out for a while.
my suspicions were confirmed.......i hated it.....for performance reasons
so i acquired a pirated version of xp pro and installed it.....now i'm happy
am i a pirate for doing this ?
not really cos i have paid for the "superior" product.
some might argue that it was dell who made the decision to charge more for XP
but i believe that the were under pressure from microsoft to do so xp could be laid to rest quicker.
The funny thing is that the experience has changed me.
now i find myself using a lot more pirated software, but i never pirated before that.
so now i am a pirate and microsoft created me.
so microsoft, you have shot yourself in the foot by forcing the custmers to take what you want them to have instead of giving them what they want.
Here's hoping for a good and reasonably-priced Windows 7.
Just felt like adding that. Having a vent!
Oh, those poor victims! I'm sure they also work for free! Oh wait....
What is the MS08-xxx or Knowledgebase KB9xxxxx identifier/ number(s) for this insidious Windows Update / patch?
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