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Microsoft Blocking Wine Users From Downloads Site

Posted by Zonk on from the they-could-use-some dept.

IamTheRealMike writes "In January, Microsoft announced a new anti-piracy initiative called Genuine Advantage. From this summer onwards all users of Microsoft Downloads will be required to validate using either an ActiveX control or a standalone tool. Yesterday Ivan Leo Puoti, a Wine developer, discovered that the validation tool checks directly for Wine and bails out with a generic error when found. This is significant as it's not only the first time Microsoft has actively discriminated against users running their programs via Wine, but it's also the first time they've broken radio silence on the project."

3 of 895 comments (clear)

  1. Mixed signals by tehshen · · Score: 5, Funny

    "At Microsoft, security is our number one priority. You should turn off ActiveX controls and click 'no' to any dialog boxes. Service Pack 2 adds protection against these ActiveX controls, and with Windows Server 2003 ActiveX controls and other harmful content are blocked by default. This is for your own safety."

    "Ignore all that, turn ActiveX on again, else you won't be able to download from us!"

    What the hell?

    --
    Guy asked me for a quarter for a cup of coffee. So I bit him.
  2. It's not done... by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... `till WINE won't run.

    Good old Microsoft.
    Same as it ever was.

  3. We're here to protect you by speedbump · · Score: 5, Funny

    Brilliant move, Microsoft. Now some dweeb living in his mom's basement will write an ActiveX virus that creates the Wine key in the registry, then exits.

    The next time you go to Windows Update, whether you run Wine or not...