Microsoft launches validation program
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Microsoft last week quietly launched a pilot program to tackle the increasing problem of software piracy. Windows Genuine Advantage is the first trial of a validation scheme operating on Microsoftâs Download Center.
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Microsoft Corp. is once again on the defensive against hackers after the launch of a new program that gives average PC users tools to unlock copy-protected digital music and movies.
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New Microsoft program helps partners add business processes and intelligence functions to Office 2007.
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US software giant Microsoft Corporation has expanded a program giving government organizations access to some of its tightly guarded software blueprints.
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To help ensure that Windows Server 2008 won't lack for compatible software, Microsoft released a beta version of a tool that can check whether applications will work with the upcoming OS.
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Microsoft is planning free online versions of its word processing and spreadsheet programs.
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Microsoft&#39;s earlier attempts at a specification for Sender ID, the technology which is used for verifying the authenticity of e-mail with Internet Protocol records
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Microsoft Corp. said on Sunday that it would share the underlying software code for its Office program as part of its efforts to make governments more confident in the security and compatibility of the world's largest software maker's products.
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Microsoft has released a preliminary version of its search tool for finding documents, e-mail messages and other files stored on personal computer hard drives.
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Microsoft yesterday released 10 new security bulletins to fix multiple components in its Windows operating system and applications.
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Microsoft has previewed &quot;Whitehorse,&quot; a set of visual design tools intended to support the design and validation of Web services-based applications.
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Microsoft has released a list of 800 applications it has officially verified as running  bug-free on Windows Vista.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft will start to give some customers the benefit of the doubt with an updated version of its software antipiracy tool, Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications. The company has added a new category to the tool, "indeterminate," for instances where it can't be sure whether the OS running on a user's PC is legitimate or not, said Michala Alexander, Microsoft's head of antipiracy for the U.K. Previous versions of the software labelled an OS as either valid or invalid. In the latter case it would block the customer from downloading software updates, except for critical updates such as security patches. However, some users have complained that the Notifications tool incorrectly identified their copy of Windows as unlicensed. The new category aims to address that problem, in some cases not ruling one way or the other on whether a user's software is pirated. The issue has arisen partly because, through no fault of the customer, the wrong product activation key can sometimes be used to unlock a legitimate copy of the OS. For example, a PC repair shop might reinstall an OS on a customer's machine with a product key that it uses over and over, Alexander said. She said she saw one repair shop that had a product key written up on a whiteboard so it could be reused easily. Software pirates can also complicate matters, by generating fake product activation keys to try to unlock software. The Notifications tool checks the activation key on a customer's PC and compares it to a database of legitimate keys. A computer may pass the test at one time, but six months later it may fail it if other computers have subsequently been registered using the same product key, Alexander said. The situation makes it difficult sometimes for Microsoft to make a clear call. "The last thing we need are false positives," she said. When a customer's software is flagged as "indeterminate," they will be redirected to Microsoft's Web site for more information. One way out of the problem would be to re-enter a legitimate product key, which does not require the user to reinstall the OS, Alexander said. Microsoft will continue to update Notifications every three to four months, she said. Earlier this month it released an update through Windows XP's Automatic Updates. It also rolled out 21 localized versions of the program for countries including China, Portugal, Russia, and Korea. Complaints from usersÂ have prompted Microsoft to make several changes to Notifications since it debuted in July 2005. It dropped the persistent pop-up messages that used to warn people their software might be unlicensed, for example. Notifications is one prong of Microsoft's antipiracy strategy, which also involves suing counterfeiters and visiting PC stores to ensure that sellers are installing the OS properly.
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This week, Microsoft is repeating statements made over the past seven years that Office's Reduced Functionality Mode is nothing other than a mechanism to prevent users who won't let the company verify the product's authenticity from doing more than testing how it works. What's the cause of recent confusion over RFM and product validation?
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Office, Microsoft Corp.&#39;s collection of programs for business documents and tasks, is fast becoming a software platform unto itself.
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Microsoft is offering a new subscription model to small businesses that will allow them to use the company&#39;s software for less cost than the currently available licensing model.The plan, called Open Value Subscription program, is part of Microsoft&#39;s effort to give small businesses more flexible and affordable options for purchasing software, said Cindy Bates, Microsoft&#39;s general manager for U.S. small business.The new plan costs about a third of the license-only expense for the current licensing program open to small business, called the Open Value program, Bates said. The plan is cheaper because Microsoft offers upfront discounts for software purchased through the subscription program, and also allows customers to increase or decrease pricing over the three-year subscription period if their business needs change, she said.Open Value Subscription includes Microsoft&#39;s Software Assurance program, the company&#39;s software maintenance and support program for business customers.Microsoft defines small businesses as those with 50 employees or fewer. Bates called 50 employees the &quot;break point&quot; for when a company hires IT management. Up until that number, &quot;usually it&#39;s the business owner or office manager&quot; handling the IT system, she said.Businesses will be able to sign up for the Open Value Subscription program beginning in March, Bates said. Microsoft products available through the program include Microsoft Office Small Business, Office Professional +, Windows Vista Business Upgrade, Small Business Server Client Access License (CAL), Core CAL, Desktop Professional Suite, and Small Business Desktop Suite.As part of its small-business outreach, Microsoft also this week is unveiling a partner program called &quot;Big Easy,&quot; which invests about $10 million in subsidies to small businesses purchasing products through partners.Through the program, small businesses purchasing certain products through authorized specialist partners will get a certain percentage of money back that they can use to purchase other services from those partners, Bates said.For example, a small business would get a maximum of 22 percent of the money it spends if it buys six or more products that are on the approved list. Bates said Microsoft has figured the average return will be about 15 percent to 17 percent on purchases for small businesses.Products available for subsidies under the Big Easy program include Microsoft Office products, Exchange Server, Forefront Security for Exchange Server, System Center Essentials, Project, Visio, Office SharePoint Server, Forefront Security for SharePoint, and Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2006, among others.More information about Open Value Subscription can be found on Microsoft&#39;s Web site. The company also provides more information about the Big Easy on its Microsoft Small Business Community Blog.
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Microsoft said Friday afternoon that it was in the process of issuing new keys to those who may have received invalid ones through the Vista Family Discount program.