In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Schestowitz
<newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote
on Wed, 21 Jun 2006 06:34:17 +0100
<1376586.9JKREI9W13@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> Fighting Microsoft's piracy check
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Counterfeiters aren't Microsoft's only opponents in its effort to
> | combat piracy: Some of its customers are against it, too.
> |
> | [...]
> |
> | Most of their criticism is directed at the way Microsoft's antipiracy
> | technology, Windows Genuine Advantage, interacts with a PC. Recently,
> | the software maker was lambasted over its WGA Notifications tool, which
> | it pushes out as a "high priority" update alongside security fixes. There
> | have also been complaints about the tool collecting information from PCs
> | and causing system troubles.
> |
> | [...]
> |
> | The hacks and workarounds are a sign of the indignation among some
> | Microsoft users, including some CNET News.com readers.
> |
> | [...]
> |
> | In response to the criticism, Microsoft maintains that there is a real
> | benefit in validating a copy of Windows.
> `----
>
> http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6085853.html
There are benefits (to Microsoft) in validating Windows copies:
[1] Ensuring that Microsoft gets its cut.
[2] See #1.
[3] Ensuring that Microsoft Customer Support only deals
with those who are valid Windows users.
[4] See #3.
[5] See #1 and #3.
Personally, I'm not quite sure what to make of it, as
I don't know precisely how Windows "validates Windows
copies"; all the schemes I can think of require sending
encrypted messages back to a key verifier (or, as one wag
put it, "the mothership"). However, this key verifier
could be distributed, with some care, similar to download
systems at sourceforge.net or other such websites.
--
#191, ewill3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Windows Vista. Because it's time to refresh your hardware. Trust us.
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