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Microsoft 'fixes' its malware problem
,----[ Quote ]
| Computerworld has an Microsoft WGA/WAT spokesman quoted as saying: "When we
| went out and talked to customers, we found that activation was the concept
| that resonated most strongly with them".
|
| The quote ends there, but may have ended: "...Like memories of the first time
| they were kicked in the groin."
|
| In any case, Microsoft's draconian licensing enforcement 'technology' is
| malware by its own definition. And it's forced on the user through EULAs of
| questionable legality.
|
| There is no advantage to it for the user, only advantages for Microsoft. And
| renaming it won't make it more attractive to users or any more palatable.
|
| Maybe someday, smart users will stop buying software products that have a
| built-in remote off switch.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1137145/microsoft-fixes-malware
Recent:
WGA: Won’t Go Away anytime soon
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15680/1105/
Microsoft "learning" from WGA failures, but the lesson should be: kill it
,----[ Quote ]
| The other problem with WGA is that its very name is oxymoronic: there is no
| advantage for users who pass WGA's tests. Microsoft attempted to add a carrot
| to go with its WGA stick by tying it to certain products (such as the first
| releases of Internet Explorer 7—subsequent versions have had their WGA
| requirement removed), but for all intents and purposes, passing a WGA check
| brought no additional benefits to the end user. Fixing WGA's flaws may not be
| enough here: Microsoft should really take a long, hard look at whether or not
| WGA is really necessary at all.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071126-microsoft-learning-from-wga-failures-but-the-lesson-should-be-kill-it.html
http://tinyurl.com/2vevrs
Related:
Microsoft WGA validation servers down
,----[ Quote ]
| It just goes to show that MS DRM infections and inbuilt malware are
| unacceptable. If you buy anything with activation, you are simply wasting
| money. Avoid Vista like the plague, it simply isn't worth it. If today is not
| a warning sign in big red letters, I don't know what is.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=41924
Windows users: Get Ready for a Long Weekend
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| The discussion on the Microsoft forums has not been kind. As you might
| expect, the “U-word” Ubuntu has been bandied about.
`----
http://www.askreamaor.com/microsoft-and-windows/windows-users-get-ready-for-a-long-weekend/
Cancelling WGA Installation sends a report to Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| They decided to cancel the installation and immediately after doing
| so the firewall reported that update.exe tried to connect to the
| internet. This caught their attention of course and they decided
| to analyze the data that was send after the connection was established.
|
| They used Wireshark to analyze the traffic and found out that
| update.exe sends data to genuine.microsoft.com. Some of the data
| seems to be encrypted while some could be identified. It sends
| registry information, namely the SusClientID as well as information
| about the version of the WGA tool, the windows version and the
| language of the operating system. It also sets a cookie whichc
| ontains a GUID which could possibly be used to identify the computer.
`----
http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&id=38614
I've had it up to HERE with the likes of Microsoft
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| When WGA was first implemented, certain free downloads from MS
| were unavailable unless you installed something to "verify" you
| didn't "pirate" your OS. Then comes the WGA "tool" that phones home
| several times a day/week/month "verifying" your installation, and
| now most interesting downloads from MS are blocked unless you
| validate your OS. Add to this the certainty that Vista is going
| to up the ante on WGA and MS found one less customer.
|
| Speaking of Vista, I tried out RC1 and found it slow, ill-conceived
| and just plain ugly. You cannot change basic interface elements like
| menus without warning. Things are moved all over the place, never got
| a sense of uniformity, etc, etc. Bottom line - I hated it. Add this
| to the unrest in my stomach over WGA and I found myself at the
| crossroads.
`----
http://www.applexnet.com/node/549
Vista's EULA Product Activation Worries
,----[ Quote ]
| Mark Rasch looks at the license agreement for Windows Vista and how its
| product activation component, which can disable operation of the computer,
| may be like walking on thin ice.
|
| [...]
|
| "Does the Microsoft EULA adequately tell you what will happen if you
| don't activate the product or if you can't establish that it is
| genuine? Well, not exactly. It does tell you that some parts of the
| product won't work - but it also ambiguously says that the product
| itself won't work. Moreover, it allows Microsoft, through fine print
| in a generally unread and non negotiable agreement, to create an
| opportunity for economic extortion."
`----
http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/423
Dvorak: 'Something To Avoid at All Costs'
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| Many in Health IT are moving to all over-the-web 'asp', software-as-service
| Electronic Medical Records services with total centralized control of data.
| John C. Dvorak sounds off a note of caution for such a trend with the recent
| Windows Genuine Advantage server outage...
`----
http://www.linuxmednews.com/1188267152
Still no word on cause of WGA outage or Microsoft’s future prevention plans
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| Microsoft officials say they are continuing to investigate how the outage
| occurred, as well as why someone on the support team inappropriately told
| users the outage wouldn’t be resolved until August 28. If the team already
| knows what happened, so far, it’s not saying.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=677
WGA Meltdown Casts Doubt on Microsoft Reliability
,----[ Quote ]
| Gartner Inc. analyst Michael Silver also dinged Microsoft on the reliability
| issue. "A system that's not totally reliable really should not be so
| punitive," he said. "This issue is not really how long it take for Microsoft
| to fix the problem, but also how when the user can get back on the network to
| revalidate. What happens when someone's about to get on a plane and won't be
| able to revalidate for three days?"
`----
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136451-c,companynews/article.html
Microsoft set to push out updated antipiracy tool
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft will soon start pushing out a new version of its controversial
| Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications antipiracy tool to Windows XP
| users.
`----
http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-6139161.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news
Analyst: Microsoft's revamped WGA puts burden on users
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft announced Tuesday that it would use Automatic Updates to
| roll out changes to the component of its anti-piracy scheme that
| nags users when their copy of Windows is tagged as counterfeit. An
| analyst criticises the changes as more work for customers.
`----
http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=42894
Windows Trojan masquerades as Vista hack
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| A supposed Windows Vista crack called Windows Vista All Versions
| Activation 21.11.06 is reportedly doing the rounds, offering those
| tempted by the chance of sticking it to Microsoft the ability to
| install illegal versions of Windows Vista.
|
| However, the software is not a Windows Vista crack and pirates get
| something they didn't expect - installation of a Trojan called
| PSW.Win32.LdPinch.aze - something with a "high" threat level.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/06/windows_vista_trojan/
Windows Genuine Advantage Validation v1.5.722.0 Cracked
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| Just press any key, and it's done cracking! All popup nag screens
| gone and you're now able to download updates from Windows Update.
`----
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2006/12/11/windows-genuine-advantage-validation-v157220-cracked/
Windows Genuine Advantage - what a pain
,----[ Quote ]
| One of the Trojans appears to have corrupted the registry of the
| PC to such an extent that Windows Genuine Advantage thinks the
| version of Windows on his machine is pirated.
|
| It's not, but perhaps worse, a number of other applications,
| including AVG Anti-Virus are also blocking updates until the
| copy of Windows is made legitimate.
|
| I think a complete re-install of the operating system is
| called for, as patching around the problem seems to be impossible.
`----
http://securityblog.itproportal.com/?p=655
Latest Windows Genuine Advantage Validation v1.7.17.0 Cracked
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| Team ETH0 again very quickly cracked the latest Windows Genuine
| Advantage Validation v1.7.17.0 and released it to public after a week.
| So far they're the only one that cracked the latest WGA.
`----
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2007/02/28/latest-windows-genuine-advantage-validation-v17170-cracked/
Microsoft offers small-business promotions
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| At its Small Business Summit Monday, Microsoft said that small
| businesses that take part in the WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage)
| program can receive a seven-day free trial of business credit-report
| checks and a six-month trial of Microsoft Office OneNote 2003.
`----
http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20070319/tc_infoworld/86978
Windows Genuine Annoyance
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| My windows Genuine Advantage experience, which doesn't provide
| any discernible advantage to anyone but Microsoft, hit a new
| low today.
`----
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2007/04/windows_genuine.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_techbeat
http://tinyurl.com/3dy86d
MS to OEMs: Get legit on Vista, or the OS is toast
,----[ Quote ]
| It gets worse. Microsoft offers OEMs a chance to "win a cool PC" by
| taking a quiz testing their knowledge of Windows Vista and WGA. But
| it doesn't exactly instill confidence when you type the URL into your
| browser and find out the page doesn't exist.
`----
http://weblog.infoworld.com/robertxcringely/archives/2007/06/microsoft_to_oe.html
Microsoft to offer code protection, validation to other software developers
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft is encouraging developers to take the next step, and do not just
| activation, but also Genuine Advantage-style validation. But the new SLP
| offerings are not “Genuine Advantage” for third parties, Lindeman said.
|
| “We are encouraging ISVs to think about doing validation like we do with
| Genuine Advantage. They can do that or their own thing,” Lindeman said.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=575
Seeking market share, Microsoft removes WGA anti-piracy check from IE7
,----[ Quote ]
| The move is remarkable because it is the first time that Microsoft has
| removed WGA checks from a product in order to increase the attractiveness of
| that product. It's difficult to see this as any but an attempt to get as many
| users as possible to install IE7, even those who have pirated Windows.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071004-seeking-market-share-microsoft-removes-wga-anti-piracy-check-from-ie7.html
Microsoft WGA validation servers down
,----[ Quote ]
| It just goes to show that MS DRM infections and inbuilt malware are
| unacceptable. If you buy anything with activation, you are simply wasting
| money. Avoid Vista like the plague, it simply isn't worth it. If today is not
| a warning sign in big red letters, I don't know what is.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=41924
Dvorak: 'Something To Avoid at All Costs'
,----[ Quote ]
| Many in Health IT are moving to all over-the-web 'asp', software-as-service
| Electronic Medical Records services with total centralized control of data.
| John C. Dvorak sounds off a note of caution for such a trend with the recent
| Windows Genuine Advantage server outage...
`----
http://www.linuxmednews.com/1188267152
Microsoft "learning" from WGA failures, but the lesson should be: kill it
,----[ Quote ]
| The other problem with WGA is that its very name is oxymoronic: there is no
| advantage for users who pass WGA's tests. Microsoft attempted to add a carrot
| to go with its WGA stick by tying it to certain products (such as the first
| releases of Internet Explorer 7—subsequent versions have had their WGA
| requirement removed), but for all intents and purposes, passing a WGA check
| brought no additional benefits to the end user. Fixing WGA's flaws may not be
| enough here: Microsoft should really take a long, hard look at whether or not
| WGA is really necessary at all.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071126-microsoft-learning-from-wga-failures-but-the-lesson-should-be-kill-it.html
http://tinyurl.com/2vevrs
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