Microsoft Fights Back Against Vista Pirates
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Microsoft is fighting back against those attempting to distribute a cracked version of Windows Vista. It has issued an update to detect use of a tampered build which mixed files from test and final versions of the OS.
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Microsoft Corp. defended its decision to limit support for three versions of the Windows Vista operating system to five years rather than the usual 10 years.
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(InfoWorld) - Continuing itsÂ worldwide assault on software piracy, Microsoft has filed 20 lawsuits against resellers accused of distributing unauthorized copies of its software. The lawsuits, filed against 20 resellers in the U.S., accuse the companies of either distributing counterfeit software on CDs or installing it on PCs that are then sold to consumers and businesses, a practice known as hard disk loading, Microsoft said Tuesday. The software maker filed the lawsuits in nine U.S. states. The names of the companies and the states where they are located are listed in a Microsoft statementÂ available here. Microsoft also announced the results of its first large-scale forensic analysis of counterfeit versions of Windows acquired in 17 countries. The company found that 34 percent of the 348 counterfeit copies analyzed could not be installed on computers, and that 43 percent contained additional programs that aren't part of Windows. The legal actions and the forensic analysis are part of Microsoft's broader Genuine Software Initiative, a program to protect the company's intellectual property. In 2005, MicrosoftÂ introduced Windows Genuine AdvantageÂ (WGA) as part of this initiative. WGA automatically checks that customers using Windows Update, Microsoft Update for Windows and the Microsoft Download Center have a legitimate version of Windows before they can download updates from those services.
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Three images embedded in the surface of Windows Vista's installation DVDs may be  too small to see with the naked eye, but they're no big mystery, according to Microsoft Corp. They're part of the company's anti-piracy efforts.
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With all the talk about Microsoft's stepped up efforts to curb piracy through Vista's new activation methods, it may all be for naught after some crafty hackers figured out a way to crack the Vista Activation Server.
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Microsoft has said it is trying to track down the people behind a pirated copy of the forthcoming Halo 2 game. A version of the eagerly awaited Xbox game has appeared on net piracy sites and newsgroups, almost a month before making it into the shops.
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Microsoft will introduce a new system for fighting software piracy with its upcoming Windows Vista and Windows Longhorn Server operating systems, the company said Wednesday.
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Although Microsoft officials have been talking a lot about piracy in recent days -- including discussion of changes to Windows Genuine Advantage -- the company isn't softening its antipiracy resolve, says analyst Michael Cherry.
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Hackers have come up with a way to get around one of Microsoft's antipiracy mechanisms for Vista.
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Microsoft denied it has turned on an anti-piracy measure in Vista that would stop  unlicensed OEM copies of the operating system from running, but did not rule out using it in the future.
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Paying customers may not get their hands on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1) for weeks, but pirates can download the brand-new code today, according to searches at several BitTorrent trackers.The RTM, or release to manufacturing, versions of both operating systems can easily be found on BitTorrent tracker sites such as Pirate Bay, which has made them available since yesterday.One torrent of Microsoft's newest server operating system, Windows Server 2008, lists 42 "seeders," the term for a computer that has a complete copy of the torrent file, and nearly 190 "leechers," or computers that have downloaded only part of the complete torrent. The Windows Server 2008 torrent installs a 60-day trial edition, according to users on Pirate Bay who have downloaded the 2.5GB disk image.Vista SP1, meanwhile, is even more popular. The most active torrent located using Pirate Bay listed 163 seeds and almost 500 leechers by mid-day Wednesday. Another tracker, Mininova.org, showed similar numbers: 159 seeders and 665 leechers.Pirate Bay reported the file as 2.9GB in size, while users who successfully downloaded the image warned others that it was not an upgrade per se. "This torrent is a complete install of Windows Vista including SP1. So there will be no option to upgrade," said a commenter on Pirate Bay using the alias "Soulshot." "You'll have to backup [sic] your Documents/Music/Pictures/Favorites, install the .iso to a DVD, restart and run the DVD. Which will erease [sic] everthing [sic] on your primary hard disk."Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1 moved to RTM on Monday, when CEO Steve Ballmer touted both milestones during a conference call with financial analysts. Vista SP1, however, won't land on the company's download site until mid-March because of problems with device drivers, while the official launch for Windows Server 2008 has been set for Feb. 27. Neither operating system can currently be legally obtained by the public.Microsoft is no stranger to leaks. Last summer, for example, several builds of Vista SP1 that had been given to an invite-only group of some 15,000 testers ended up on BitTorrent within days.The company, of course, takes a dim view of counterfeiters -- one analyst recently estimated that Microsoft made an extra $77 million last quarter by cracking down on piracy. But its response to questions about the latest leaks was muted. "Microsoft cautions consumers and businesses that downloading software from a non-genuine source can pose risks to their environment," a spokeswoman said.
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The mystery faces on Vista -- not to be confused with the bogus face on Mars -- are only the latest in a long line of Microsoft efforts to knock down software piracy efforts against their products. Some were weirder than others, some more successful as PR, but so far just one's engendered government complaint for including a shirtless baby.
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Microsoft is trying to fight piracy in China by ensuring that more new computers in the region come with genuine copies of Windows pre-installed at the factory.
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I can't urge you strongly enough to read the article entitled How Vista Lets Microsoft Lock Users In. It details how Microsoft has built into Vista the "trusted computing" ability to lock down Office files via DRM such that no unauthorized document reader will be able to decrypt and read them. This is perhaps one of the biggest hidden weapons Microsoft has in its arsenal that could sabotage Linux and OpenOffice.org if Microsoft succeeds in its attempt to plug SUSE and all Novell's "interoperability" bonuses.   Think of this, if you will, as the Tivoization of Office files, only with malicious intent.  Microsoft could, indeed, open up the document format completely and swear before God that it will never sue anyone for patent infringement.  However, this does not prevent Microsoft from locking Office files in such a way that only Vista users can read them.  No one else will be able to do so without the proper authorization, thus rendering the open format and Microsoft compatibility entirely meaningless.
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European Union officials warned Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday not to shut out rivals in the security software market as the company plans to launch its Windows Vista operating system with built-in protection from hackers and malicious programs.
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As part of its fight against software piracy, Microsoft has begun legal proceedings against eight resellers for allegedly buying and selling fake and used Certificate of Authenticity labels.
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Watching "premium content" in Windows Vista requires users to play nice with Microsoft's built-in digital rights controls. In Monkey Bites.