Security Of Windows/Office XP Activation Code?

merodach asks: "In pondering the next versions of Windows and Office (XP), the wonderful save-us-from-ourselves product activation, and MS's repeated public blunders with security I began to wonder about the security around the activation code, itself. Specifically, I was wondering how it would impact my job as an IT Consultant with regards to Melissa-type viruses and trojans which might: surreptitiously use the transmission code to send sensitive info to competitors/enemies of my customer; and (assuming that the software checks this periodically) change the activation info and damage/destroy the ability to repair that info (in short order rendering an entire network useless). As I don't have access to the beta versions or the code I was wondering if anybody in the Slashdot community would be able to list or explain what, if any, precautions are being taken on this." As it happens, TechRepublic has an article about this very subject. Thanks to Deecyl for the link.

Comments

Activation codes

[jms]

The article asks:

OK, if product activation isn't the answer, then what is? Imagine you're running the Windows or Office business at Microsoft-how do you keep your product from being stolen without inconveniencing your customers or holding their PCs hostage? I'll take the best suggestions and pass them along to Microsoft.

Here's a simple approach. Cut deals with all of the hardware manufacturers so that they are forced to purchase a copy of Windows for each machine they sell, whether or not the user wants it. This way, Microsoft will receive automatic license payments on probably 95% of all PCs manufactured, leaving only the 5% or less of PCs that are built from scratch vulnerable to Windows piracy.

Oh wait ... they're already doing that.

Reinstalling WON'T require activation?

[Azza]

From the TechRepublic article:

Every time you reinstall Windows, you'll need a new code.
R. Kinner is already prepared to join a class action lawsuit against Microsoft: "If I, as a home user, am forced over the course of a year to reinstall XP five times, and MS refuses me a sixth code, they are the ones breaking the commerce contract that was begun when I purchased the software." Call off the lawyers! You can reinstall Windows or Office XP an unlimited number of times on the same hardware. The activation will be automatic.

This has to be bullshit. If I reformat and reinstall, how could Office possibly know that I already have an activation code? Where, exactly, is Office storing the activation code? On the hard drive I just formatted?

Ditto if I upgrade the hard drive. Am I missing something here?

Re:Reinstalling WON'T require activation?

[F.Prefect]

It's not storing the code at all. Go up one paragraph in the article from the paragraph you quoted. It specifically says that the code is generated based on the hardware in your system. Unless you swapped out hardware as part of your format-and-reinstall, the code that is generated after the reinstall will be identical to the one that was generated before the reinstall.

Re:Reinstalling WON'T require activation?

[UnifiedTechs]

This has to be bullshit. If I reformat and reinstall, how could Office possibly know that I already have an activation code? Where, exactly, is Office storing the activation code? On the hard drive I just formatted? Easy, you still get a licensing code with your CD, that unique code get registered in thier computer along with your activation code generated based on your hardware. This means You can't lose your licensing code like I tend to, the box I am on now was installed with a legal copy, but durring one of MS's famous crashes I couldn't find the license number *I had just moved*, so I borrowed my roommates. The two big problems I have with this, and noone has seemed to bring up is this. 1. If corporations don't have to worry about this what stops me from getting my "big corp" sysadmin buddie to lend me a copy of there CD. 2. and even worse, if my machine will check into there central server fronm time to time what happens if it is down? We all know MS server products are stable, yeah right. Maybe they plan to run this server off of BSD like hotmail. When this server is down by crash, DOS Attack, or Squirrel chewing through the fiber cable are we out of luck, or even if my DSL line is down that day can I not use my computer till it comes back up? Just a little bit ago all of MSs Servers were down for a few days due to a DNS problem (or so they say)imagine if it was you desktops time to check in durring this outage, yikes.Plus does anyone else see this as a new world record in the making, most popular server for DOS attacks, just thing about the ripe target this will be.

Nothing to worry about!

[djrogers]

According to the article, "a Microsoft spokesman assured [the author]" that mundane upgrades wouldn't cause a problem. Whew! We can all rest easy, because we know a Microsoft spokesman would never mislead a member of the press....

Re:Activation code won't change anything

[papskier]

I actually tried to post this as an AskSlashdot a couple weeks ago, but apparently I'm not important enough to actually have a front page story, but in any case, here's my $.02:

A simple fact remains for most home users: They aren't going to pay $500 so that lil' Johnny can make prettier school reports. What happens currently is that they borrow the copy from work, bring it home, and they have it for free. Problem solved. Now, they aren't going to be able to do that because it's going to be easier for M$ to track the software, and thus companies will be less willing to look the other way when employees borrow a copy. What's left for Joe-Six-Pack to do? Well, hopefully with the increasing demand for something reasonably priced for him to use, the OSS community will port some of free word processing programs over to winblowz. Give them a couple weeks using it, watch lil' Johnny create an 'A' report with it, and next thing you know, Joe-Six-Pack is at the water cooler telling his buddies how "this OSS shit ain't all that bad.. and it's FREE!" That's how you get into the home market people. M$ is going to lead the average user to us by disgusting them and making it harder and harder for them to use the crap they push.

Here's to a properous future!

$man microsoft