Microsoft: Can we check your software license?

[SDK]

Microsoft is trying to get to know its pirates a little better.

The software maker has launched a pilot program in which some visitors to the main Windows download page are being asked to let the software maker check to see whether their copy of the operating system is licensed.

Visitors do not have to partipate in the program to get their downloads. They'll also get their downloads if they do participate and their copy of Windows turns out to be unlicensed. But Microsoft said the program is a first step in trying to provide a better experience for customers using legitimate copies of Windows.

Since the program is optional at this stage, Microsoft expects that most of those who know their software is bogus will not take part.

"I would expect that people who know they are running pirated Windows are going to be very interested to know what we are doing, but they could easily choose to not opt in," said David Lazar, a director in the Windows client unit.

Those whose copies are found not to be genuine will be encouraged to go back to the company from whom they bought the PC or software upgrade. They'll also be given other information on obtaining genuine software before being allowed to download whatever software they were seeking. In its current form, the program offers no particular benefit for those who are running licensed software.

Eventually, Microsoft could make the program mandatory. The company could also prevent those that have unlicensed copies of Windows from downloading software updates on Microsoft's site.

Still, Lazar said, it is a sensitive group of customers Microsoft is targeting with the program--namely, people who bought a computer that they thought had a legitimate copy of Windows, but are somewhat unsure. Microsoft wants those people as customers, so it wants to be sure to treat them kindly, even as the company seeks to encourage legitimate Windows use.

"We've got to pilot the infrastructure," Lazar said. "We're kind of making a value judgment (on whether a copy of Windows is genuine). We want to make sure we get that correct and the experience for everyone is a positive one."

Lazar said Microsoft's goal is to have 20,000 users go through the procedure before deciding how to expand or modify the program, an effort that he estimates could take anywhere from six weeks to three months.

Dubbed the Windows Genuine Advantage, the program is part of Microsoft's overall antipiracy campaign, Lazar said, noting that the company's efforts fall into three categories: education, enforcement and engineering. The new program is part of the company's effort to engineer its software to encourage legitimate use, Lazar said.

The Business Software Alliance, of which Microsoft is a key member, estimates that piracy costs software makers $29 billion annually, although some have taken issue with the means by which the group calculates those figures.

Lazar stressed that Microsoft is not blocking access to any updates, in particular to Windows XP Service Pack 2, which the company is encouraging all customers to upgrade to. The company is not requiring customers to have a genuine copy of Windows to get SP2, though it has blocked a few registration codes that have been known for several years as pirated.

Source : http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5371664.html

I'm interest to see this program will be mandatory somedays!

[lepricaun]

well, i doubt it will ever work, if there is another security on their site, someone will find a way to get past it, and if that wouldn't work, you can always download the updated for network distribution from a legit system, and update an illegal system with it...

and for microsoft it isn't so bad that people use cracked versions, they eventually will win from it, since the more people are using windows (illegal or legal), the more people talk about it, and the more people will buy it.. i don't think they want to lose such kind of free advertising.

i wouldn't even find it strange if the above program is implemented, that microsoft itself will secretly give out a key to go past their own security program, for the same reasons as i mentioned above..

i'm positive they would never made such a strategy public, but who knows, for a businessman, such strategy can bring in a lot of money....

just wondering though, i have a notebook with office XP preinstalled, i never have to enter the serial when i run the recovery cd's, so how is microsoft able to find out if my copy of XP pro is legit???

[SDK]

They will always be a way to “crack” that program but to “crack” the program, you need to have some technical skills witch a lot of peoples doesn’t have at all. That mean the program will crack by only 10-15% of the users.

When you buy a PC from your local dealer, you might get a pirate copy of XP re-install without knowing it! That is the customers that Microsoft is targeting with this program.

[rider_royal]

quote
"and for microsoft it isn't so bad that people use cracked versions, they eventually will win from it, since the more people are using windows (illegal or legal), the more people talk about it, and the more people will buy it.. i don't think they want to lose such kind of free advertising. "

this reminds of an article few ear back in a magzine, it is like everybody is free to view the show but those who pay can get a seat and good personal service overall increasing popularity of show which will bring more people to show and even if few of them are tempted for personal service of paid users ultimately, product seels.
isn't it a nice marketing tool?

[lepricaun]

They will always be a way to “crack” that program but to “crack” the program, you need to have some technical skills witch a lot of peoples doesn’t have at all. That mean the program will crack by only 10-15% of the users.

that's true, but its just like an exploit, one man finds it, reveals it, and a lot of other people, without the skills, use it...

When you buy a PC from your local dealer, you might get a pirate copy of XP re-install without knowing it! That is the customers that Microsoft is targeting with this program.

that's what microsoft says, but as long as the price of a windows version still is so expensive, i think a lot of people will not bother to buy a legit copy when they already have a illegal version. they would think "oh what the heck, then i don't update at all...", like you said, most of the people don't have the knowledge.

this reminds of an article few ear back in a magzine, it is like everybody is free to view the show but those who pay can get a seat and good personal service overall increasing popularity of show which will bring more people to show and even if few of them are tempted for personal service of paid users ultimately, product seels.
isn't it a nice marketing tool?

it sure is... and for microsoft they don't have to bother about the money anymore (at least bill gates doesn't). but they are still fighting against linux, and since linux is free, they have to use other means of still getting as much people as they can using windows, even if it is "cracked"...

[rider_royal]

And thats what it is all about , every body has little or more habit of looking for familiar name when we want a solution. In this case every common user looks for microsoft because even cracked r not , it is omnipresent and even a kid knows how to operate it. And by offering premium services at a cost (which microsoft is reducing to counter linux) they are offering a good deal in simple users term.

[SDK]

I have an ex-friend who bought a computer with XP on but the retail shop didn¡¦t crack the activation! I didn¡¦t bother to help him crack the activation so he finished buying a legal version of XP!

User who doesn¡¦t update will be catch by worm! ƒº So they will be in a no-win situation!

[lepricaun]

or just stop using it and go to slackware