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03-16-07, 08:04 PM
http://wind@wssecrets.com/images/wsn/Brian-Livingston-1.jpg By Brian Livingston
micr@soft always says it opposes "software pirates" who sell thousands of unauthorized copies of wind@ws.
But the Redmond company has made things a lot easier for pirates by adding a line to the Registry that can be changed from 0 to 1 to postpone the need to "activate" Vista indefinitely.
Activation doesn't stop true software piracy
As most wind@ws users know, micr@soft has required "product activation" since the release of wind@ws XP in 2001. XP must be activated by communicating with servers in Redmond within 30 days of installation. By contrast, micr@soft Office XP, 2003, and 2007 require activatation before the package is used 5 to 50 times, depending on the version, according to a company FAQ. If a PC has no Internet connection, a user may activate a product by dialing a telephone number in various countries.
The activation process will complete successfully only if the software has not been previously activated, such as on a different machine. If activation isn't completed within the trial period, micr@soft products temporarily shut down some of their features. MS Office loses the ability to edit and save files. After Vista's activation deadline runs out, the user can do little other than use Internet Explorer to activate the operating system or buy a new license.
micr@soft describes its product activation scheme as a way to foil software pirates. However, as I previously described in an InfoWorld Magazine article on Oct. 22, 2001, activation does nothing to stop mass piracy. The Redmond company actually included in wind@ws XP a small file, Wpa.dbl, that makes it easy for pirates to create thousands of machines that validate perfectly.
Far from stopping software piracy, product activation has primarily been designed to prevent home users from installing one copy of wind@ws on a home machine and a personal-use copy on a laptop. As I explained in an article on Mar. 8, buying a copyrighted work and making another copy strictly for personal use is specifically permitted to consumers by the U.S. Copyright Act and the copyright laws of many other countries.
For example, courts have repeatedly ruled that consumers can make copies of copyrighted songs or television programs for personal use (not for distribution or resale). This principle is legally known as "fair use." The home edition of micr@soft Office 2007 reflects this principle, allowing consumers to activate three copies of a single purchased product. micr@soft wind@ws XP and Vista, however, allow only one activation.
Surprisingly, micr@soft has embedded into its new Vista operating system a feature that makes things easier than ever for true, mass software pirates. These tricksters will be able to produce thousands of wind@ws PCs machines that won't demand activation indefinitely — at least for a year or more.
http://windowssecrets.com/comp/070315/#story1]
micr@soft always says it opposes "software pirates" who sell thousands of unauthorized copies of wind@ws.
But the Redmond company has made things a lot easier for pirates by adding a line to the Registry that can be changed from 0 to 1 to postpone the need to "activate" Vista indefinitely.
Activation doesn't stop true software piracy
As most wind@ws users know, micr@soft has required "product activation" since the release of wind@ws XP in 2001. XP must be activated by communicating with servers in Redmond within 30 days of installation. By contrast, micr@soft Office XP, 2003, and 2007 require activatation before the package is used 5 to 50 times, depending on the version, according to a company FAQ. If a PC has no Internet connection, a user may activate a product by dialing a telephone number in various countries.
The activation process will complete successfully only if the software has not been previously activated, such as on a different machine. If activation isn't completed within the trial period, micr@soft products temporarily shut down some of their features. MS Office loses the ability to edit and save files. After Vista's activation deadline runs out, the user can do little other than use Internet Explorer to activate the operating system or buy a new license.
micr@soft describes its product activation scheme as a way to foil software pirates. However, as I previously described in an InfoWorld Magazine article on Oct. 22, 2001, activation does nothing to stop mass piracy. The Redmond company actually included in wind@ws XP a small file, Wpa.dbl, that makes it easy for pirates to create thousands of machines that validate perfectly.
Far from stopping software piracy, product activation has primarily been designed to prevent home users from installing one copy of wind@ws on a home machine and a personal-use copy on a laptop. As I explained in an article on Mar. 8, buying a copyrighted work and making another copy strictly for personal use is specifically permitted to consumers by the U.S. Copyright Act and the copyright laws of many other countries.
For example, courts have repeatedly ruled that consumers can make copies of copyrighted songs or television programs for personal use (not for distribution or resale). This principle is legally known as "fair use." The home edition of micr@soft Office 2007 reflects this principle, allowing consumers to activate three copies of a single purchased product. micr@soft wind@ws XP and Vista, however, allow only one activation.
Surprisingly, micr@soft has embedded into its new Vista operating system a feature that makes things easier than ever for true, mass software pirates. These tricksters will be able to produce thousands of wind@ws PCs machines that won't demand activation indefinitely — at least for a year or more.
http://windowssecrets.com/comp/070315/#story1]