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Microsoft Warning Leaked Code Traders
An anonymous reader writes "Broadand Reports notes that Microsoft is now sending snail mail warnings to downloaders of the leaked source code. They're also apparently working in conjunction with several un-named peer to peer vendors to send out legal warnings to any users who search for the leaked code. The notice on Microsoft's website has been updated to reflect the new warnings."
On Monday, February 16, Microsoft began investigating a reported exploit on versions of Internet Explorer allegedly discovered by an individual studying the leaked source code. This exploit is a known issue that Microsoft had discovered internally and addressed with the latest release of Internet Explorer -- Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 1.
Um, don't usually like to argue semantics, but what was discovered was a security vulnerability (bug) in the code, not an "exploit".
Devising and revealing a method to take advantage of this problem (a virus, worm, bitmap) is an "exploit", right?
There is much cruelty in the universe, John.
Yeah, we seem to have the tour map.
Now that the source code is leaked, MS will probably get a lot safer, with all those hackers and crackers exploiting their bugs and thus revealing them ;-)
Plenty of folks have access to Windows source, I know for a fact that these guys do, they ship their fault tolerant boxes with a heavily customized version of Windows.
Plenty of other vendors do, too. Plus plenty of third party developers who work on windows. Not every component in there was developed in house, after all. I remember a time when RealPlayer was part of the package, Real must have had some source back then.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Copyrights might have been extended by Congress, but they can still lapse if they aren't defended comensurate to their value.
That's trademarks, not copyrights.
I got two calls yesterday from my on-campus network administrator's office asking to speak to my room mate. This is odd because I believe he downloaded it through a DC++ connection, as he seems to avoid bittorrent for some reason. All they asked was that he removed the source from his computer, I don't think there were any other consequences. Anyone else have a similar experience?
I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well. -Henry David Thoreau
If peoples' ability to disseminate information serves as a message to corporations that their attempts to turn the US into a police state won't work, then I can live with that.
Orrrrrr you could go through VALID channels and work for reform of intellectual property laws. Because as it stands now, if you trade in MS's intellectual property, it's WELL within their legal rights to come after you.
If you don't like it, do something about it. Something BESIDES breaking the law anyway because it suits you and hiding behind "civil disobedience".
Copyright cannot lapse per se, the right is unconditionally granted and there is no concept of abandonment (which you can do with patents and trademarks): however, if a copyright owner didn't take any action against infringements - when it knew that they were happening - it could be a good arguement that the owner has "allowed" an implicit license to come into effect. This is just a common legal principle of estoppel: if you passively consent to something, it becomes difficult to later turn around and retract.
you are completely uninformed. It is illegal to:
1. Distribute it
2. Use parts of it as your own
It is not illegal to:
1. Possess a copy of it
2. Read the code
3. Think about what you have read
4. Talk about what you have read
The leak came from a Microsoft partner, Mainsoft. The partner's access to Microsoft source was given long before Microsoft started their "shared source" program.
BetaNews has the details.
There are legitimate ways for people to get windows code that are outside of GSP or Shared source.
Think about this - the code that was leaked is older than the shared source program. Was shared source the very first time any institution ever got windows code ?
No.
I thought the answer on where this code came from was publicly known, and even discussed here ?
The microsoft statement above, to the best of my knowledge, is correct. (iow what i know doesn't disagree with that statement) If the specific details to back this up aren't widely known, I won't disclose them. IOW, they know how the code got out, and its none of the things you mention. Mostly the distinction is that people have an overbroad interpretation of who the shared source program covers.
My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.