Microsoft to fight back against pirated Windows 7

Zardon

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Last week the first cracked copies of Windows 7 went on retail sale in Asia. According to insiders, Microsoft are set to release a back door update to stop cracked, illegal versions of Windows 7 from operating.

Chaos

if they can do it to the XBOX they can do it to a PC one would think

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humonous

Well this is the thing, you would think they would have attempted this long ago. As Chaos said they do it with the Xbox 360 and im sure they know their code better than even the crackers, so a simple port connection to the OS and an internal kernel check. 'failed' - wham, OS disabled. The only issue would be if it accidentally deactivated a genuine OS install.

Its not like the guys who were running a hacked version could call and complain? I am very against running a pirated OS, I couldn't afford Windows 7 when it came out but I saved and got it the month after it was released. Well worth it too.

IvanV

Banning pirates from game servers is not the same as infecting PCs, I think it would fit "unauthorized computer access" and probably be a more serious offense than owning a single pirated piece of $200 software.

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Alex

mmm I see your point however I fail to see how stopping someone from illegally running code you created is in anyway breaching rights to that specific consumer - no binding contract was made as the code is stolen. If you steal something and have been caught doing so, you can hardly say "well no, you aren't having it back now, thats not fair".

I think if they could disable the OS on some level until a legitimate code was purchased and didn't trash the data on the drive then the end result is firmly in the consumers hands. Should they pay for a fully legal version or should they just not get access to the platform.

Perhaps they could even disable certain functionality, such as lock out a lot of the options users should have, or not let them get online until a license has been purchased and accepted as 'legal'...

IvanV

MS has the right to fight pirates, but within the legal system. If someone steals something from you, you call the cops, not break into their house and steal it back.

Also, if the story is true, then the part that says "... MS are so concerned with the huge amount of pirated Windows 7 copies being downloaded that they are looking into a way to deactivate some cracked and illegal versions of Windows 7 via transmitted backdoor code across an active net connection." is a confirmation of existence of unpatched security vulnerabilities in Windows which MS is aware of and willing to take advantage of, so that would be a point for the tin foil hats brigade.

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brutusmaximus

Its an interesting debacle, because I can see both views on this. I am not so sure the 'breaking into a home' analogy rings true however because when pirates defend their actions they say "hacking software isn't stealing, its not a physical object, its code" so therefore surely tagging some code to deactivate isn't actually a 'physical breach' either. If someone is running a pirated copy of Windows 7, then they have no right to access it or even use it, I fail to see how Microsoft deactivating it is in anyway illegal, they have did it on the Xbox 360's for a long time now and it has worked fine. Sure they aren't disabling the Xbox 360 completely, but I don't think they need to actually entirely stop the OS from operating to make this system work in their favour and force more people to buy it from them.

I also don't agree its 'infecting' pcs by deactivating it either. Disabling it from working is surely more a case of they are protecting their business and code from people who aren't paying to use it. if they disable certain functionality but don't wipe personal files, then I can't see an issue. the end user then has the option to purchase a legitimate copy and corresponding serial, or they have the option to move their personal files to an operating system they bought under the terms of ownership.

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Tyrsonswood

All they need to do is block updates for cracked copies........ (if they have a solid way to determine that) in a year it wouldn't be safe to go out on the internet with an un patched machine. Problem solved.

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IvanV

They are loading unwanted code by exploiting a security vulnerability, that's unauthorized access for sure. Whether that's "infecting" is secondary, though, considering the way the code would be loaded to the computers, I would call it that.

And sure, that's not too different from what hacking and pirating community are sometimes doing and what they often claim is not a (serious) crime, but their defenses are very often pure BS so I can't support MS in following in their footsteps.

Also, as a legitimate user, I'm none too happy if security vulnerabilities MS is unwilling to patch exist. Paranoia aside, assuming that MS has no use of them on legitimate systems, there are others (whom we have already mentioned) that can and will exploit them as soon as they figure them out.

Considering how many people out there are still using IE6, I don't think that it would deter them.

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procupine14

lol


Yeah I'm not really sure how this whole thing would play out for microsoft. Either it will work brilliantly or the hackers will simply find another way to get it for free simple as that. Its all a big rat race really. I kind of get tired of watching the whole game play out in the end.

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mkk

By all means squat that lame crack.

Cow_160483

Its going to get interesting from here on

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Decode!
Muhahahahah!

MitchRapp

Windows 7 is well worth the cash indeed, but...

- people like me who paid for vista ultimate are a little ticked off...
- once they start disabling some copies of windows, i'm sure they'll realise that 50% of the disabled copies come from legit OEM purchases...


same thing every OS, am I right?