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Microsoft Allows Pirates to Install XP SP2
mkraft writes "On the tail of the previously asked question on whether Microsoft should support pirated copies of XP, comes the answer.
According to Computer Times, Microsoft will allow SP2 to be installed on any copy of Windows XP including copies with invalid license keys.
Microsoft decided "that even if someone has pirated copy of Windows, it is more important to keep him safe than it is to be concerned about the revenue issue."
There is no news of whether or not pirated copies will be allowed access to the Windows Update site afterwards or just allowed to install SP2."
sixty percent of software priates STILL won't install it, because they're white-knuckling their tinfoil hats screaming IT'S A TRAP! so loud that Admiral Ackbar thinks he hears an echo.
REM Old programmers don't die. They just GOSUB without RETURN.
I can't wait to see how people here try to twist this into something malevolent on MS' part. This is gonna be some mighty cool logical contortionism...
Good for your Microsoft.
http://www.rayn.net . Funny. Stuff.
the new DRM stuff being added has nothing to do with them letting everyone have it.
*tinfoil hat*
"You worthless post!"
-Shakespeare, 2 Gentlemen of Verona, 1. 1. 147
Of course, were they to deny access to SP2 to those with copyright infringing copies, those using them might migrate to OSS. Or Microsoft might even be sued for having allowed infected machines to exist, when they had the means to patch them.
One CPU cycle wasted on digital restrictions management is ONE TOO MANY.
I had to use a pirated version of windows on my vmware because my damn laptop came with a version of XP that could only be installed on a SONY, laptop. Which is crap - I was forced to pay for XP with my laptop - it should be mine to run on:
1. Another computer should I not use it on my laptop.
2. My vmware virtual machine on the laptop it was meant to run on, although not in the manner originally intended.
Well, allowing everyone to install SP2 would make worms and viruses that spreads due to OS voulnerabilities to be slowed down. And i doubt MS would sell more Windows if it wasnt possible to install SP2 on pirated windows-versions.
this is probably the most boring sig in the world
I think what they meant to say is that they realized it's more important to keep OTHER Windows users safe. By allowing users of invalid copies of XP to patch, known vulnerabilities that might be exploited and used as points of attack against other Windows installations are addressed. It simply makes sense for them to do this.
"that even if someone has pirated copy of Windows, it is more important to keep our future revenues safe than to worry about coypright infringment."
You're reading Slashdot. Of course you like Linux and pc hardware
If they really wanted to keep u ssafe, they wouldn't let us install windows AT ALL. ;)
Microsoft decided "that even if someone has pirated copy of Windows, it is more important to keep him safe than it is to be concerned about the revenue issue."
What they mean is "it is more important to keep us safe from the media when the next round of viruses hit any unpatched machines by saying we allowed anyone to install SP2"
Bob
Listen to my latest album here
This is fairly selfless. This stance could be interpreted as Microsoft putting aside its own interests in order to improve the current state of home computer security and the poor security levels on the net. Even though they caused those problems in the first place, this move is one which should be met with approval.
Free iPods - now in the UK!
Many corporate cdkeys were locked out of the last sp2 build to try to fight piracy. The build would allow you to install the service pack but immediatly after login it would force the activation screen to you which you can not get around. Only solution was to format and install with a different key. More info here.
For those that will say "big deal, we could've done this anyway", remember that while some people with invalid keys could install SP1 by just downloading the patch manually, many couldn't. Many of the pirated copies of XP used one of two keys (one of which started with FCK...), and Microsoft's SP1 download checked the PCs license number to make sure it wasn't one of these two keys. If it was, it wouldn't install itself. Trust me, I tried... I ended up having to change my license number by using a script provided by Microsoft itself.
"that even if someone has pirated copy of Windows, it is more important to keep him safe than it is to be concerned about the revenue issue."
Bullshit. What they really mean is:
"Even if someone has a pirated copy of Windows, we will grudgingly forego the revenue and allow it to be updated because the proliferation of morons with compromised machines further erodes the already declining credibility of our OS. For now."
"...all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness..." yada yada
It's quite obvious when you think about it. As long as Microsoft makes it possible to pirate windows it keeps linux down. Remember, piracy makes things more popular, like music. As long as people can get windows for free the freeness of linux is not so attractive. Microsoft knows that people who are pirating XP probably will never pay for windows ever. So by doing this they can keep their market share from going to linux or some other os. Someone using windows, even if not paying, is still using windows. And there's a chance they just might pay for some other windows software. Maybe the pirated windows and bought an EA Sports game. Doesn't help Microsoft directly, but every windows program sold makes a small difference.
Microsoft probably has the power to completely disable every internet-connected PC with pirated MS software on it. But imagine if today all pirate copies of windows stopped working. You would have a large large number of people with useless computers. They would all follow one of two courses of action. Either go to the store and buy windows for $100+ or download a linux or some such for free. More people would do the latter than Microsoft would like.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
even if someone has pirated copy of Windows, it is more important to keep him safe than it is to be concerned about the revenue issue.
Of course Microsoft don't care about being kind to their pirates, but to save their asses and get a better rumor about providing secure operating systems.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
Better get me one of those scurvin' patches for me eye.
But what about me land-lubbin' mateys? Guess the scallywagin' Microsoft haven't thought about them.
Arrrr, who cares about them anyway? Pass the grog, ye son of a biscuit eater!
Yes, all you need to do is get a valid CD key, then change it. Follow the instructions here.
Running a pirated copy of Windows XP Proffesional here.
.NET have patches for what breaks, those are rather vital programs for me.
All I had to do was search out a clean license key and instructions on changing it- that was trivially easy to do. 15 minutes of searching the web, maybe five of running the windows programs(all built into windows) that manipulate the license key and activation system. Anyone able to follow simple directions, they go step by step not leaving anything to your own prior knowledge. Well, you have to be able to read, but thats about the only skill you need. My mom could probably do it.
I've got SP1 and all the security patches, most of the general use patches as well.
I'm holding off on SP2 though until Visual Studio and
95% of Windows users dont even know what a patch is and in result SP2 will never be installed and nothing will be resolved
I'd say that this is just good business for them.. Making sure that people who probably wouldn't pay for an OS anyways aren't helping to spread worms and infecting people who DO pay for the OS is just going to help MS.
:)) that windows is insecure.
On the other hand, denying people service packs is not likely to induce them to pay for a license (it certainly wouldn't have convinced me, back when I ran windows), and just contributes to the perception (if you want to call it that..
Microsoft will allow people to install SP2?
I hate to bring it up, but Apple does it the smart way. Install all the patches that you want, but if your key is considered invalid, the next time you try to run it... it prompts you for a valid key. Problem solved and all software is secure(but possibly not working).
It does suck because a few of my "Hi-End" software does not work, but you get what you pay for(troubles).
Great, so now we have to have MP9 on our computers if we want SP2. The only media players i use are winamp for audio and media player classic for films. and ocasionally vlc if mpc doesn't work.
I hate windows media player with a passion as it is horrible bloatware that takes seconds and seconds to startup. Instead of 1s like media player classic.
SURELY NOT!!!!!
As far as I know there are a couple different pirated copies of XP out there. There is the original DevilsOwn patched version, then there are the VLK/Corporate versions and so on. I am going to guess that the majority of people pirating XP are using the corporate version which AFAIK currently has no problem connecting to WindowsUpdate.
Now - even if Microsoft does block everyone with any kind of pirated version of XP out - what is stopping someone from setting up their own WindowsUpdate server (I have done so at my office) and allowing people to update themselves from there (unless of course the WindowsUpdate allows for the person to download and once it attempts to install finds the illegitimate key and then stops there).
With the piracy scene these days it shouldnt take but a couple days for someone to figure out a way around all this activation stuff and sometimes even MS makes it easier to get around. Take Office XP - it requires activation which can be gotten around and if you attempt to install updates (esp. Service packs) it will ask you for the original CD. However, if you just download the entire SP3 for Office XP you can install the service pack without ever needing the original disks for XP.
If you can program some sort of protection - someone else will figure out a way around it. MS Activation, PGP, etc, etc, etc. Almost everyone wants something for nothing and will spend a lot of time to figure out how to do it.
-
aphex
I Steal Music!
Microsoft is only doing this because if they didn't all the pirates would probably switch either:
1. Find a way around it
2. switch to Linux
Pirates have the correct personality to be switching to Linux and Microsoft realizes that even though they are not buying their operating system they are still stuck with Microsoft while using it and they may buy other Microsoft products
And if this is the case (which I highly doubt), where is the problem? I don't feel bad for people who pirate software and then complain when they get caught. If I steal a car and then there is a recall on it, should I be able to take my car in and get it fixed without anyone saying anything about it being stolen? The problem is that people are stealing MS software (and yes, taking something you have no rights to is stealing, whether it's software or hardware). MS isn't to blame for not supporting these people, they are to blame for stealing the software.
"Information wants to be expensive" - Stewart Brand, the same guy who said "Information wants to be free"
Hmm. Maybe Apple ? Because, you know, there is no company called 'Mac' that creates operating systems, or applications. mac.com is a portal for .Mac.
And you can't really list a website for Linux, short of kernel.org. Maybe DistroWatch.
Well thanks to Microsoft's Product Activation, there is no such thing as a pirated copy of Windows XP, right? Oh, there is? And its easy to get around? Well thanks for wasting all the legit users fscking time, Microsoft!
Microsoft doesn't actually have anything to loose by giving this patch to pirates of its operating system. For one thing, if they had less pirates they would loose valuable market share (their greatest asset). The number of pirates who would actually buy a copy of Windows to get SP2 is negligable, so it's not like they're giving up some big potential revenue stream. Factor in the reduction in bad press that MS gets every time there's a worm and Microsoft's continued policy of supporting pirated copies of Windows makes all the sense in the world. They'd have to be stupid to do otherwise.
Of course the curtailing of various worms is nice for the Internet at large. Just because an action serves Microsoft's interest doesn't mean that it can't serve everyone else's interests too. (Except for the fact that it perpetuates Microsoft's choke-hold on the IT industry, but since when did we worry about the long-term good when a short-term good is in front of us?)
I'm sure that the extra bandwidth will cost Microsoft thousands of dollars, but it's cheap PR for them.
Maybe I'm not the target of this particular troll, since I don't believe that there's any "conspiracy". Microsoft is just doing what is best for Microsoft. That's what it always does (and should do - it is a business after all).
Since SP1 didn't stop anyone from using pirated copies neither will SP2 even if they tried, so spin it like they care.
SP1 did stop people from using pirated copies; it wouldn't install if the registration key was one of two red-flagged ones (for example, that one that starts with "F...").
Of course, the day after that, out come all those programs which automatically change your Windows key to a new, un-flagged one.
If I were running Microsoft, I'd give up on copy-protection altogether. It's a waste of resources, because it simply does not work and never will. Except maybe with NGSCB, since Microsoft will be administering your computer and not you.
Before SP1 came out, copies of XP Corporate Edition (which doesn't require on-line activation) had been circulating along with a few known keys or key blocks. It was a simple matter to block that relatively small set of keys in the SP1 software package.
Now, key generators have been out for some time. While Microsoft could graze the newsgroups looking for key lists, the number of "known keys" would be enormous. Combined with the fact that the key generator is widely available, disabling pirated copies in an off-line version of the service pack would be impossible without including all known (and ever-to-be-generated) keys in the new service pack.
It might be more complex than that, but if the goal of your key generation algorithm is to not require you to record every generated key (i.e., it's effectively just a string and a checksum), then this is bound to happen eventually. Best to just roll with the punches, and assume that the pirates probably wouldn't pay for the product if they had to.
-Scott Hutton
Seriously.. The issues of internet protection are much larger then the revenue lost from a few 'pirates'... ( though it is debatable if there really is a loss, since most 'pirates' wouldnt have purchased the product anyway )
This was a good and responsible move on their part.
Assuming there wasnt some underlying motive we dont know about.... I hate to be too trusting of a company that has a history with hidden agendas..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
My god, with 250mb i could create an entire operating environment...
Something is wrong with that, being as the SP is mostly bug fixes.. ( not all, but mostly )
Will not be practical for dialup users, and they will have to pay for the ( by then late ) updates..
And give Microsoft their home address for future 'license verification sweeps'... how convenient...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
The first is simple. MS can't ban them. SP1 was easily installed when you had a keygen. So basically they are allowing something they can't stop anyway.
The second is more sinister. Has MS ever lost from piracy? Or has piracy helped them become the owner of the desktop. If everyone really had to pay for every bit of MS software they ran would they still be so widely used?
If they ever manage to create a windows you can't install without a license people might just choose not to use windows. It is a radical idea I know but MS can't risk it. They can afford piracy, they can't afford losing dominance on the desktop. Hell Gates himself has boasted that MS fortune is big enough to last them years without a single source of income.
Unix was once very popular because it was practially free to everyone working at a university. There were other OS'es to work with but unix was free for students, teachers, researchers and other people with no money. Same with the C programming language.
Dominance is worth a lot more then getting every user to pay. Just ask apple. Apple made sure you had to pay for their OS because you have to buy their hardware. How big is their share again?
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
what about people with more than one machine? i don't just mean a family with a few computers, but i know some people that still keep their older machine around for whatever reason. they may test software on it or put it in another part of the house or whatever. technically they have to buy windows for each machine to keep it current. i'm not talking about keeping a 486 running for kicks, i mean a gamer that upgrades every 2 years or so and their "older" machine is still faster than some bargin box and is capable of running the current M$ OS. i wonder how many of those people really bought 2 or 3 boxes of XP.
What's to keep Microsoft, if they choose, from grabbing the IP addresses of pirates attempting the Windows Update, and going after them RIAA-style? It seems like that would be real tempting to their legal department...
They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
Um... I don't register with MS when I download stuff from them, and I'd bet most legit users don't either.
They don't require it, so why would I go out of my way to give them personal info that I'd rather they didn't have.
I doubt FOSS has anything to do with this move. It's designed to please the folks at the NSA who realize that millions of Winzombies could be used to launch a major attack on critical infrastructure.
If I steal a car
There is a big difference between stealing real tangible property and illegally using intellectual property (copyrights, patented, and trademarked items). You can not directly compare the two, they are completely 100% different in every way. One is a physical thing, the other only exists because of a series of laws. Although it can be misused (as defined by existing laws), it is impossible to steal intellectual property.
Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
Microsoft decided "that even if someone has pirated copy of Windows, it is more important to keep him safe than it is to be concerned about the revenue issue."
Roughly translates to:
Microsoft decided "that even if someone has pirated copy of Windows, it is more important to keep him locked into the platform than it is to be concerned with the legality of the license."
..There's a-dooin's a-transpirin'
My company decided that windows 2000 was the last Microsoft operating system we would use unless Microsoft removed activation from its products. Sure, we use open-license corporate edition software, but the risk of being locked out of updates is too great to consider windows XP. Our machines will easily last us 3-4 years. If Microsoft still persists on using product activation at that time, we will probably move to Mac OS X (we'll need new hardware anyway) or Linux.
We are actively evaluating both products. In 3-4 years, those products will be even better than they are today. Microsoft needs to start realizing that they aren't the only game in town anylonger.
-ted
Someone I know *ahem* downloaded an XP Pro ISO from KaZaA (took nearly 2 weeks on modem) then used WinISO to slipstream it with the Service Pack 1 full installer
This individual was going to try and google a key but then went into his local bank (Barclays) to arrange a loan for a car, and noticed that the Dell PC sitting on the adviser's desk had the usual Dell label on it, with serial numbers for Windows XP and 2000 on it....
And there was a pile of complimentary notepads and a pen on the desk. And the adviser was off getting some forms.
Priceless...
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
I think you'll find it's important from a security aspect only actually, as for a company that sells software with security holes in it, it's kinda important (and in their interests) to close them.
I've been beta testing it since inception and there isn't anything in there that remotely qualifies you to wield your FUD. If anything you should be taking your tin foil hat off and applauding them because, by releasing SP2 to people who didn't buy Windows, they've drastically reduced the potential number of zombie machines we'd all have to deal with. Goodness knows how you got a +5 interesting for 29 words with no basis...
People in thier comments seem to just be regurgitating the same old piracy drivel about the company not losing revenue streams: "Well, its not like the pirates would actually buy the software anyway." This might be true for some apps like 3d studio max and photoshop to an extent, which are high-priced, luxury software.
But if Windows had been impossible to pirate, these people would have bought windows. Sure, some of them might have gone the *nix route, but most likely a very small minority. These pirates dont balk at spending money: they spent 1000-1500 dollars on the hardware for their computers. Spending an extra 100 bucks on some software that makes that hardware work and function wouldnt even be a second thougt if it were impossible to pirate windows.
So sure, microsoft is gaining marketshare, which is arguably more important to them than revenue -- especially at this point -- but recognize that they have lost a significant revenue source because of piracy.
There's an English version and a German version, but the english is 13 megs heavier. Anyone know why? Perhaps some nasty little bit of snoopware they know they couldn't get away with in Germany?
Windows Update Privacy Statement (Last Updated 10/17/2003) Windows Update is committed to protecting your privacy. To provide you with the appropriate list of updates, Windows Update must collect a certain amount of configuration information from your computer. None of this configuration information can be used to identify you. This information includes:
-Operating-system version number
-Internet Explorer version number
-Version numbers of other software for which Windows Update provides updates
-Plug and Play ID numbers of hardware devices
-Region and Language setting
The configuration information collected is used only to determine the appropriate updates and to generate aggregate statistics. Windows Update does not collect your name, address, e-mail address, or any other form of personally identifiable information.
Windows Update also collects the Product ID and Product Key to confirm that you are running a validly licensed copy of Windows. A validly licensed copy of Windows ensures that you will receive on-going updates from Windows Update. The Product ID and Product Key are not retained beyond the end of the Windows Update session, unless the Product ID is not valid.
To provide you with the best possible service, Windows Update also tracks and records how many unique machines visit its site and whether the download and installation of specific updates succeeded or failed. In order to do this, the Windows operating system generates a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) that is stored on your computer to uniquely identify it. The GUID does not contain any personally identifiable information and cannot be used to identify you. Windows Update records the GUID of the computer that attempted the download, the ID of the item that you attempted to download and install, and the configuration information listed above.
Bravo MS. Good move.
Anthony Papillion
Advanced Data Concepts, Inc.
"Quality Custom Software and IT Services"
Well, I run Gentoo here. I don't really know about Slackware. On many distributions you can install with SMP by choosing the kernel from the menu that you get when you boot from the CD. In most the default is an UP kernel. Most also come with packages, kernel-image-2.6.3-1-686-smp in Debian.
/proc/config.gz. Then just:
/usr/src/linux/ /proc/config.gz > .config
/boot/
If slackware comes with a 2.6 kernel, then you might have your current configuration in
cd
zcat
make xconfig
(enable smp)
make bzImage
cp arch/i368/boot/bzImage
update grub/lilo
This way you can get your current kernel, just with SMP support without having to go through the whole config process.
BTW, Creative doesn't appear to support SMP in Windows. I think ALSA in Linux does though, and my sound card works fine in Win2K too.
But they should still bring up a single pop-up box/warning when it's installing/starting up. Many people who have 'pirated' copies don't know they were pirated at all. Often, a friend or relative builds them a computer, and just installs a pirated copy rather than buy one.
This one student at the college purchased the computer, and it had a pirated copy on it. Apparently, the person who was assembling computers was just installing pirated copies instead of buying a copy of windows XP for each computer he was making. Therefore, they bought a computer with what they thought was a legal copy and ended up getting ripped off.
I told them to contact the person and inform him that they would like a full registered copy in a sealed box that they could use with a non-activated key. Without attempting to install SP1, they would never have known.
-=Lothsahn=-
I'll say it, even at the risk of burning my karma.
Most (I said most--if it doesn't apply to you, disregard) of the posters here are high schoolers and college students who don't work and have absorbed into the hivemind groupthink that dictates that everything Microsoft does is silly and ridiculous, and everything OSS does is cool and cutting-edge. It's "hip" to your IRC buddies to hate Microsoft and use Mandrake. Then you can say, "Windows sucks because a buggy driver crashed it once...by the way, I'll be back in three hours while I set up my sound card in Linux."
VA Linux-owned Slashdot has a certain interest in posting as many negative Microsoft articles as possible, and seeing as how Taco's excuse for calling his "news" site a hobby is supposed to be an explanation for the outright falsehoods and propaganda that gets posted, it's a convenient way to discredit Microsoft no matter what they do.
Outside of Slashdot, the world is very different, but a lot of people have adopted a worldview that is based entirely on Slashdot headlines. Google Zeitgeist shows Linux at 1%, Windows is still around and Longhorn is definitely coming, but if you come to Slashdot, Linux is somehow taking over Mac usage and Longhorn is "vaporware" with no useful technologies whatsoever. Just one example of many (don't get me started on the pro-piracy bullshit...violating copyright holder rights is "justified," while violating the copyright of the GPL is "evil").
I've seen sigs that stated, "You use Linux if you're anti-Microsoft, you use BSD if you're pro-UNIX." It extends to this website, which is not pro-OSS or pro-Linux, but merely anti-"M$." We're still seeing Clippy and BSOD jokes in 2004. It's like this place is firmly stuck in 1998 and absolutely will not let go. Meanwhile, the late 90s free software golden child that Linux was to the press has subsided, and now people have moved on, expecting actual results and not just cute ideologies that look good in a Wired article. I merely bring all this up because I believe it has an effect on the attitudes of the Slashdot editors and most of Slashdot's devoted readers.
Less and less do I even bother reading the comments of stories anymore...I'm about ready to just skip them entirely. So much uninformed opinion, outright false memes that never stop spreading ("640K is enough for anybody" is just one example) and bullshit that I could start a manure farm...
Has MS ever lost from piracy?
I hear constantly how Microsoft is supposedly pro-piracy for dominance purposes, yet never an explanation why they added activation to Windows XP, Windows 2003, Office XP, and Office 2003.
And why did SP1 not install on invalid keys?
Clearly, this is simply a turnaround based on the fact that the keygens out there make it impossible to detect an invalid key, and the need to plug certain holes that have been spreading things is more important than making sure the user has paid for what's running. Their own dominance through piracy is becoming a security clutch, and this is their answer.
This is about SP2 not checking valid product keys.
What do pirated copies of Windows XP have to do with people caring about security and the FOSS movement? What does any of this have to do with the open-source movement?
Typical Slashbot spin...
However, some people seem to be under the illusion that MS have made a charitable gesture to those users and almost sanctioned the use of pirated copies of XP in the future - this is not the case.
Everything that MS does is purely for financial reasons, nothing more. The fact is that their reputation has taken a beating recently with regard to worms & viruses and, as many people have already said, it makes sense to allow all users to apply updates to limit the spread of those across the Internet in the future.
However, MS's ultimate aims are to sell more copies of XP and deep down MS knows full well that the struggle to keep Windows in and Linux out of the desktop is going to get more and more difficult over the next few years - so from a financial perspective, it makes far more sense to keep all users working with MS products now (and taking a financial hit as a result) rather than risking them seeking an alternative OS. This decision is therefore purely a business one, not a charitable one.
Finally, I also believe that the people here who are proudly proclaiming some kind of victory because they can continue to run updated copies of illegal XP installations, need to grow up and join the world of adults.
Piracy achieves nothing apart from making things bad for everyone. Any piece of commercial software released today has a price that factors in some assumptions based on the amount of illegal copies that will be run of it - the upshot is that the price is higher than it should be and honest users suffer.
A lot of people need to grow up out of this childish "must have" attitude. The only way to force the hand of any business is to hit them where it hurts - in their profits. In other words, if people don't want to pay the full price for a product, they should contact the vendor or manufacturer and tell them exactly why their product is overpriced and and why they will not use it, rather than simply copying it. The same goes for a product that restricts rights to fair usage - don't use it or buy it if you don't like what it does to your freedoms.
Pirates are nothing more than cowardly sheep who are ultimately responsible for driving prices up and allowing all manner of restrictive technologies to get in through the back door. In a few years time, when these same people still need their Windows "fix", they may not be congratulating MS so loudly when they find that all their data is DRMed and the ability to copy & share data, something they took for granted previously, has disappeared.
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
I don't know about elsewhere, but I don't recall seeing even one single `legal' version of Microsoft (or any other thing) software in my country, during the past eight years. Although that the world is not my country (Iran), but it is still a part of the world. And I quite beleive many third-level countries are the same. The security issues as far as I concern, is over having your Yahoo! ID hacked or similar over here. It is also very stupid for companies to run Windows or any other pirated software, because that they won't be able to receive complete support. They don't have [= can't afford] the code, so they can't tell their clients: ``I am really sorry that your entire buisiness website was replaced with ..... Probably Microsoft will fix it some time.''. Even if they do so, Microsoft will have to give away their patch again. And, sometimes, one comes back to think: Do these things really help security? Or are they written with such a haste that they even waste what you have already? I am not against Microsoft, but anyone that wants `guaranteed' security should come to OSS. At this point of time, the Iranian Government has elected Linux as the national OS, but there is still a `way' long way to go. Already, many of the Universities and webservers have switched to Linux.
Face It: Untill the time that Little Jimmy and her Grandmother are sitting behind PCs, there will be _no_ security available to anyone at the PC level.