Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft to Fight Crime With Spammer's Millions
daria42 writes "It looks as if the $7 million Microsoft won from spam king Scott Richter won't go into a Swiss bank account and never be seen again after all. The company plans to dedicate a cool $5 mil to helping law enforcement agencies address computer-related crimes. Another $1 million will go to New York State to "expand computer-related skills training for youths and adults", with the rest being flagged to pay Microsoft's legal costs."
Does this mean we're going to see Bill Gates in a bizarre spandex outfit combating spammers around the world? I smell a Ben Affleck film!
When you have billions you can be really generous with millions. The price of good advertising is probably higher. Giving the paltry five million away buys a lot of good will from New York state.
At least this time they had the decency to include a link to the previous slashdot posting, which contains a link to the previous article, which contains the information in today's posting.
Yanno, cause otherwise it could have been confusing.
It's not explicity written in the article that the money will go against spammers. Instead, it is said about crime. We can only suppose computer crimes. It's much larger than spamming and one might believe it's just a PR stunt where they will simply use 5$ million dollars to fight against people who "illegaly" obtain Windows Vista, maybe?
It's not a dupe, it's a followup. If you'd Read The Fucking Blurb, you'd see a link to the very same article (different URL though, admittedly).
Crimes like piracy of Windows ?. Patent policing ?. More SCO like allegations on newer projects that imitate or duplicate Microsoft products ?.
Another $1 million will go to New York State to "expand computer-related skills training for youths and adults"Train them to use Outlook, Word and Excel or do they mean .NET,C# and Monad ?. Sort of catch them young approach ?.
I've seen a lot of Microsoft charity - it's often just building a new market for themselves, locking in an expanding market or blatant tax evasionary steps . They sent 250 XP Cds to a school and mark the cost as donations. I went on TV to help FSF guys call foul on that in Kerala - apparently it seems to have made some impact there (they teach about using OpenOffice and FireFox now).Essentially the money is in Microsoft's pockets and they are trying for Maximum ROI, rather than paying it out as dividends to their shareholders right now.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
First, I'd rather Microsoft come out on top than spammers.
But I am interested and baffled by the concept of "punitive damages" and how they are paid to the litigating party rather than to the general tax revenue base. If a company or person is to be punished for doing something wrong, shouldn't the government be the one to mete out that punishment? Why should a private citizen or company be allowed to reap the windfall of punitive damages? I think the justice system turns the court into a lottery by allowing such huge awards to be paid to offended parties.
In a sense, Microsoft is doing what I think ought to be done with punitive damages. That is, 1) to pay the winner's court expenses, and 2) to have the government receive the punishment money. Not that I don't think that Microsoft isn't doing this out of self-serving long term planning, but I do agree with the action (perhaps not their guiding principle).
I would like to see more spammers put out of business. However, as long as there are people willing to buy their products, spammers will be out there trying to bilk them.
Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
This appeared to be a straightforward case, but somehow I can still see the lawyer, holding his pinkie to his mouth and saying "Sure, I can help you prosecute this spammer. For one million dollars!"
Smith said that Microsoft will reinvest all of the money, after legal expenses, including $5 million that will go to increase Internet enforcement efforts and expand technical and investigative support to help law enforcers to address computer-related crimes.
So I ask the question: how is this a follow-up to the previous article when in fact the linked article is a day behind the original article and only restates things?
Not to mention that the article I had submitted had all of the information and more than the original article but was rejected.
So yes, it is a dupe.
Also, how can the first post about a submitted story be Redundant? Oh right, it's Thursday. That means an extra dose of crack to carry you over til Friday.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
No surprise the the article and comments have taken the sarcastic and cynical route. You guys here seem to never be satisfied with anything Microsoft does.
The fact is Microsoft has no obligation to use this money to do anything. But they make a nice gesture, and nobody here can say one positive word? There's not one good outcome out of this?
The bitterness with Microsoft got old and stale 10 years ago. It's past time you people gave up this hatred and obsession with the 'Borg'.
This is to cover for the embarrassing $50,000 that Eliot Spitzer (NYAG) settled for with Richter the first time around. I couldn't believe it when I read it the first time, that the AG was settling with Richter, one of the worst spammers in the world, for $50,000. That really showed that Spitzer was outmaneuvered by Richter or Richter was so good at covering his tracks the first time around, especially since MS was involved with the first investigation also.
Knowing a bit about NY politics/showboating since I'm from there, it seems that Spitzer must've insisted on doing things his way the first time around and ended up with the ridiculous $50,000 settlement. With MS taking the lead this time (MS is issuing the press releases on this one this time, Spitzer issued the press releases with the last settlement), it certainly appears MS did a much better job investigating and nailing Richter than Spitzer could ever dream of.
That million for New York is still going to be touted by Spitzer as a joint effort, and he'll be taking the credit for providing that money to schools (because of his investigation) during the gubernatorial election which everyone knows he's running for. $50,000 for arguably the king of spam. Pocket change to him. Richter must've wet himself laughing when his lawyer told him how much the settlement was for the first time around. Looks like 2nd time's the charm in this case.
We have probably all done it at some stage (piracy that is), and flame wars aside about ethics and monopolies, it's really time for people to pull their heads out of their collective butts and accept that it is stealing (and no I don't want an argument about definitions. I know nothing physical was taken, but under current law it's still stealing. Don't like it? Get the laws changed).
This doesn't mean I'm against pushing for change in the software industry, and moving to OpenSource (where it makes sense) but people have got to accept that it's not right, no matter what your politics, views or anything else are.
Spammers are good for community! Thanks to spammers, law enforcement and poor lawyers have been paid!
Huh? This is not a fine and whether it is like a $5 tip to the rest of us is completely irrelevant. MS have won a major lawsuit against a spammer (which we should all be happy with) and are giving away the proceeds to other organisations. They could have just pocketed the money and left it at that. Is that what you're saying they should have done? Or are you just karma whoring on anti-ms cynicism?
If I had created the world I wouldn't have messed about with butterflies and daffodils. I would have started with lasers
He has given away an ungodly amount of money.
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I know it wasn't a fine. Call that an ... um, inverse analogy.
Look, I'm having a bad day. This damn thing stole my cursor....
"All great things are simple & expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." --Churchill
I hope we will see paper records and outcomes from these promises.
"I'm going to f***ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I'm going to f***ing kill Google"
New here? :)
In this part of the noosphere, guilty until proven innocent is the standard applied to MS. And given MS' past behaviour that shouldn't be a surprise.
Personally I can't see anything wrong with MS going after spammers, and would applaud it if they continue to do so.
If J.K.R wrote Windows: Puteulanus fenestra mortalis!
Oh, I don't mean that "stealing" windows is a good thing, just that microsoft will be spending the money on themselves most likely, but are spinning it as a "donation".
Under current law it is NOT stealing, although the powers that be would love it that you perceive it that way.
But of course Slashdotters would likely piss and moan about how greedy M$ was to pocket that $7 million.
Either way, no matter what they did with the money, Slashdot would find some way to disparage them for it.
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
So, basically, they're betting that Eliot Spitzer is our next governor? I mean, why else single out NY, except that ES goes after big corporations like a fame-seeking pit bull with rabies.
...the rest being flagged to pay Microsoft's legal costs
:)
With "the rest" amounting at $1mil, it's not too surprising Microsoft won!
as far as im concerned the money doesn't belong to them in the first place....i dont know about you but i get a whoooole lot of spam. why does one company..being microsoft or not, ever even get the ability to sue this guy. Don't get me wrong I'm glad that the spam king is done for. But (in my eyes) Microsoft is giving money away that doesn't belong to them in the first place.
i think your all pretty sad bashing microsoft for giving money to charity. i mean, sure they could easily afford to give more. but we should be thanking them for giving anything at all. grow up and stop bashing microsoft just because its what you do. i have have nothing but respect for a man such as gates who gives so much to charity, and besides, much of it isnt slammed all over the papers like ./'ers seem to imagine it is. i genuinly think he's a good person.
Bill Gates, who is considered, the wealthiest man in the world, has started his very own foundation called the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced on 6/6/01, that in the first half of the year, Bill and Melinda Gates have given their charitable foundation an additional $2 billion, bringing the total endowment of the foundation to $23.5 billion. http://www.gatesfoundation.org/
SearchIRC - Now with live chat directory!
There's some generator on the web that makes random movie plots, sounds like something that it would come up with:
Microsoft and a Spammer's millions team up. Together, they fight crime!
InThane
Also, which agenicies will get the money to fight crime? Will it be traditional law enforcement, or will it be a group like the Business Software Alliance?
$5M sounds nice up front, but before I say "gosh, that's great", I'd like to hear what exactly they're giving, and to who.
Idiot, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant
This was a settlement, not a judgement. Hence no punative damages.
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
If it's going to law enforcement, It'll end up going to the "OMG Kiddie PorN!!!!!!!! It's teh evil!!!!!" fund.
Don't get me wrong. Child pornographers deserve their own special ring of Hell. But it seems that to law enforcement, computer crime == kiddie porn. Period. No other crime occurs on a computer. Ever. Just child porn. Nothing else. End of line.
There are other crimes occuring involved the magic, glowing grey box.
There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
No, not really. Given the size of Microsoft's legal team, I wouldn't have been suprised if they would have put the $7 Million right back into the company, nor would I have moaned on Slashdot about it. In fact, in this case I'd _rather_ see it going back in Microsoft's pockets--especially into their security division--because they could put it to good use developing quality software. But no, as someone pointed out, this 'charity' is a drop in the bucket, both for what Microsoft can afford to give, and for what would actually be needed to create an effective body for fighting computer-related crimes. On top of that, yeah, this is basically a well thought-out PR move meant to bolster Microsoft's philanthropy ratings, making them look like the good guy for much less than a cheap ad campaign.
Oh, and for the record, 'charity' when coerced is called modern government, where the governing body efficiently and effectively takes care of their own (that is to say, the constituents, not the politicians), while being an upstanding member of the global community. Oh, to live in such a place.
--- What
This is a "follow up" story. The original simply said microsoft won the case. Today we learned what microsoft was going to do with the money.
I figured Bill would just blow the money on strippers and coke. Or perhaps on a death ray. Maybe even buy a grilled cheese sandwich off of ebay with the image of Don Knotts wearing a burka while training a horse to ride a unicycle burned into it.
There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
I don't know that they did something "good" because they wanted to do good, but, as you said, they did the only thing they could with the money. I don't fault them for that. Doing good for society does not always have to be altruistic.
As you stated, Microsoft does many things for charity. The man we all love to hate, Bill, has done more for charity than all of us would ever be able to do, even if we took all of our gross income and combined it and just gave it away. Just because we dislike their business practices as a whole, just because we hate their rhetoric, just because we hate their products - it doesn't mean everything they do is wrong or evil. Let's applaud them for the good things they do - believe me, we'll have more than enough opportunities to flame them (more than likely this very day!)
I don't know what sort of taxes are on that kind of income, but "giving" away to law enforcement most likely means that more of that $5 million is going to end up together at the same place. If MS keep it, most likely a good chunk would be taxed and a little bit of it would end up every where. Law Enforcement would end up with some money, but it'd more be like $500-$5,000 instead of $5,000,000. Donating money like this is great for MS.
1. The money is spent directly on objectives that MS wants to help.
2. The MS saves on taxes
3. The money could be considered direct targeted PR for those markets.
Why don't they start by handing themselves in?
--- guns don't kill people, people with guns kill people ---
Yes, we should imagine that much of the "donation" will be software and hardware valued at retail. That's typical of Microsoft.
What's more disturbing is having police departments business run by Microsoft. One of the first things Bill G did was to make sure the class scheduling program he sold his high school put him with all the "pretty girls". The rest of his career and Microsoft practices have been a series of broken trust, from breaking other people's programs to spying on every thing you do. Do we really want that kind of equipment in police stations? At any price?
The subjugation of public institutions by private interests is called fascism. When your city government clicks, "I agree" to the average M$ EULA, you are very screwed. Say no to backdoored public computing.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
There's a whole lot of back and forth going on here. The only thing everyone can agree on is that the spammer deserved the fine. Now everyone wants to know why Microsoft is entitled to that fine? I personally believe they are entitled to it. First and most obvious they are the ones that created the law suit and did the actual suing. Microsoft isn't a government agency, what they win shouldn't be stripped from them. In all honesty if Microsoft didn't sue this guy, he would probably still be spamming. In which case no one is better off. Secondly anyone and everyone can sue. I know I'm going to get shit about how the American legal system sucks and blah blah blah. But that's a perk/pitfall of living in this country. As far as Microsoft donating the money, it's a brilliant move from a business standpoint. As mentioned earlier the cost of an advertising campaign would far exceed that of the $5m donation. The donation created goodwill and great PR. It's almost impossible to put a price on goodwill. People need to stop looking at Microsoft (and other corporations) as a public service. These companies exist to make money. Period. Microsoft did a good thing, they are the heroes here. They are the only ones who stood up against this guy and dished out the cash to do it. Yes the Million bucks in legal fees is pocket change to them. But I don't see anyone else willing to anti up. Plus if you really wanted an argument to show they are directly affected. They own an email service. I'm sure millions of this guys email has gone through there servers at some point, costing them money and inconveniencing clients. Congratulations Microsoft on your victory!
Everyone who thinks that Gates is going to dress up in a batman costume is very wrong. The costume would be more like Howard Sterns fart man!
they will ever see a dime.
that Microsoft acquired from its customers via the illegal leveraging of its monopoly? Is Microsoft going to donate that to the Justice Department to help it fight corporate abuse?
For example, infringement of Microsoft's "patents"?
I don't know about you or the other /.ers, but I certainly distrust Microsoft for everything they do. It's not misantropy or pessimism, but experience from the past. Whatever MS did or announced to do, everything they ever made, produced or started was primarily to support their own interests, corner the competition or gain an advantage somehow. Although this is the usual and expected behavior of a for-profit organization, Microsoft certainly proved time and again having nearly no moral obligations to themselves.
So it's not cynism, but a thing we should've learned in the past: Microsoft will hold nothing back and leave no sleazy trick untried. Just like I won't instantly believe a notorious liar when he's saying "I'll be true now", I won't instanly believe Microsoft when they're saying "We're the good guys now".
Microsoft haven't been "good" in a philantrophic sense for a very long time now and it takes a lot more than a donation of any amount to convince me otherwise.
When you have billions you can be really generous with millions. The price of good advertising is probably higher. Giving the paltry five million away buys a lot of good will from New York state.
Not only that, one is also forced to wonder what sorts of "cybercrime" this money is targeted at. Will it be used to go after phishers, spammers, virus, trojan, and worm authors, or will it be used to persecute teenagers trading Britanny Spears tunes and television episodes they forgot to tivo (or don't receive in their area, like particular british sitcoms not broadcast in the ever-more-prudush United States)?
It isn't a given that this money is going toward "the public good" at all. It could be driving a particular agenda many here would consider anti-social at best (legalities aside).
One would hope not, but without further information, and given Microsoft's past behavior in other areas, we probably should reserve judgement (and maintain some skepticisms) until we know more.
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
Which probably means prosecuting p2p users.
Liberty in your lifetime
This is a brilliant move by Microsoft. According to the open letter on MSs site:
a ug05/08-09BradSmithLetter.mspx
"In appreciation of the role of the New York Attorney General, another $1 million of this settlement money will be directed to New York state..."
found: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2005/
What state AG would not look seriously into computer crimes if they know there is some extra cash in it for them! MS sure knows how to play the game.
Religion and politics, without the flame. godgab.org
by any chance in coupon form only redeemable for software from a certain software company?
*DrugCheese rants*
That is stupid. $5M might be a "miniscule" portion of their R&D - it's not, but I'll grant it for the sake of argument. Even so, it does not follow that because it is a small amount in relation to their R&D budget, it is not a sufficient sum to aid law enforcement. That inference just does not make a bit of sense.
Of course, not only both your premise and your logic are off here, so is your conclusion. I guess people are jaded when they hear about how much money their elected officials are spending on toys, but five million dollars is a fucking lot of money and police organizations which aren't federal tend to be under-funded. So it could conceivably make a difference.
Now before I get modded down, I be to remind whoever might read this that what I am saying is FACT. - bogaboga
As a resident of NY, I'm actually in favor of this, even though I'm a linux die-hard. I *really* hope NY doesn't just toss this into the General Fund and lose it on some left-wing pork barrel project. That sort of thing is all too common here; the highway tolls were supposed to disappear years ago, and yet the tolls are still there. The power company in my part of the state is the single largest land-owner, and yet it pays no taxes. So, I really hope these MS funds are used for cyber-crime law enforcement. FWIW I think very highly of the police here; they usually require at least a 4-year degree and military/para-military background in my area. So, these guys tend to be big, strong, and smart. That doesn't mean they know jack-all about computer crimes or even computers. So if this means they get some computer crime training, that's fine with me. There are some *big* dataenters and backbone here, so I imagine the field is ripe.
C|N>K
And the money goes to such laudable causes as ensuring that every school in every corner of the world uses Windows and to religous right think tanks like the Disvocery Institute (the nr. 1 promoter of "Intelligent Design").
Link?
Facts founder where M$FT is concerned.
"Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer
I just puked in my coffee imagining Steve Ballmer running around in tights, with his underwear on the outside. "I am Sweat-Man!"
I had no choice but to share the image with everybody else, in a futile attempt to get it out of my own skull...
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
How in the hell is this offtopic?
perl -e "eval pack(q{H*},join q{},qw{70 72696e74207061636b28717b482a7d2c717b343 637323635363534323533343430617d293b})"
Maybe you heard about it today but I think a lot of us heard about it a few days ago.
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In solidarity with Microsoft, American Airlines is donating a Jesus-shaped peanut to be sold on ebay. The profits will go towards fighting terrorism and making the skies safer.
The bitterness with Microsoft got old and stale 10 years ago.
Oh ... and there I was under the impression that the anti-MS sentiment was about the fact that the company actually continues to behave unethically to this day, not about whether or not it was "fashionable" or "not fashionable" to be anti-MS ... silly me. I didn't realise bashing Microsoft "was, like, so yesterday!"
Your post reminds me of how Nike successfully turned around rising negative sentiment against the company over their sweatshop labour practices by creating a clever youth-targeted ad campaign that manipulated young people into simply thinking it was no longer "cool" to whine about the sweatshop labour because the topic was, well, 'so yesterday'. Of course they never stopped the sweatshop labour practices.
Are we so divorced from reality that our opinions about serious, real-life problems are now mostly based on how "hot", "current" or "fashionable" a topic is, rather than on, you know, facts?
Is reflected in today's cartoon by David Horsey in the Seattle-PI.
We need to come up with something more agressive and effective. I for one am a fan of the much discussed idea DOS attacks against the spammers websites, despite the moral and ethical issues people have raised. A nice side effect is that it will somewhat discourage ISPs from hosting them also.
If Eliot Spitzer is expected to be running for Governor of NY in the next election cycle, can someone tell me how this isn't just a 'donation' to a good will publicity campaign on his part? MS is turning a positive outcome into crass lobbying money.
For that matter, I find it quite ironic that this whole issue revolves around the state of New York, which just busted Sony for payola. Why is it illegal to fork out money and gifts out to radio stations that lockstep to your wishes, but NOT illegal when you do the same thing in politics? Why isn't lobbying a public disclosure issue?
The world's largest piece of humble pie was served to and eaten by over 800000 slashdot users...with a side of ice cream and peanut m&m's..
Those who can, do. Those who can't, go into business for themselves.
expand computer-related skills training for youths and adults
Is that computer skills, or the use of Windows Software, Hotmail and MSNSearch?
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
indocrinate them into Windows.
2 years and no mod points. Join reddit. Because openness is good.
at least you have the choice not to be subjected to Microsoft products.
which is the american government?
I'm not sure where you get that idea? I've seen plenty of cases of law enforcement breaking up illegal drug trades, phishing, fraud, piracy etc on computers. Maybe the child porn ones are high profile, but it certainly doesn't seem like thats ALL they are worried about. And even if it was, I would say child porn probably would be one of the best ones to focus your efforts on as it hurts people on a different level then the crimes cited above.
First Google becomes evil and now MS is giving money to fight spam? What's next -- wearing our hats upside down and having hamburgers eat people?
(or should I say acronym):
OCP.
Looking forward to Microsoft RoboCop v1.0 (SP3, plus KB990212 to address the gun-holster jamming caused by the earlier KB990112 patch for the 'erroneous firing into crowds of civilians' issue).
What's the frequency, Kenneth?
Anyway, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't give that nickle you're talking about. When's the last time you gave something to someone?
Of Code And Men
Get the laws changed
...but people have got to accept that it's not right...
Hmmm, just how many millions do you have in you war chest to convince people to vote on a law that they could care less about?
According to who? Garp? It is just as valid to say that the concept of IP is not right. That it robs the public. That it only encourages hoarding and speculation. Once you divulge an idea, you can't take it back for yourself exclusively. I consider that to be stealing. Just because the law says otherwise, doesn't mean that the law is right. The legality of copyright is one thing. The morality of it is another issue entirely.
What?
This was a perfectly valid observation. How is it redundant?
perl -e "eval pack(q{H*},join q{},qw{70 72696e74207061636b28717b482a7d2c717b343 637323635363534323533343430617d293b})"
Wow, $5 million!! If only Microsoft had that kind of money all the time, imagine how much crime they could fight.
No, I don't want to explore the Recycle Bin.
Ohh help I've been moderated by the pro Microsoft league... you think they will donate $5M cash do you?
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
"Microsoft bribes cops with $5 million to look the other way when Microsoft commits antitrust crimes."
And pays its legal fees with the rest...
Meanwhile, spam rolls on.
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
Just because this guy has been ordered to pay a $7m fine doesn't mean he *CAN* pay it. Sure, they'll garnish his accounts, sell his house, etc., but that won't come anywhere close. Since MS knows they'll never actually see the money anyway, sure let's give it all away to worthy causes. Good PR, but they'll never see the full amount.
If they are spending $5 mil to fight computer crimes, how much of that will go towards fixing IE to the point it is truely secure?
Sorry about a poor attempt at an IE joke but it was the very thought that came to mind after reading this.
So Microsoft gets to sue people who are either explioting there operationg systems shortcommings to send spam or just sending spam to ALL email users and Microsoft gets to sue them. how does that pan out, we victims of spam get nothing and one of the main causes of spam (worms trojans and general spam bottery) gets the money.
Spam kinda works all around the WOrld so do they now sue the same spammer in several countries or do we the public get some kick-back as well?
Personaly I'd still like to sue the ruddy ass's of the cold calling companies that ring you up from abroad and try to sell shit, had one ask for my dad to sell life insurance like 2 days ater he died and they do this shit from abroad like the states to the UK coz they can avoid blacklisting and then wonder why telco's have there exchanges rewritten over there the assholes.
Charity is when your left hand does not know what your right hand is doing. Public Relations is when EVERYONE knows what you are doing. This is PR. and for chump change they are getting lots of folks to think good things. How about fixing Exchange so it does not blow.
I'd mod the AC up, but can't:
"Here is the first Google hit. This is just one grant for one particular project, they've gotten several more."
"When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
Perhaps using the 5 million to hire an external company to audit and fix all the security holes they can find in Windows and other MS software would help prevent crime in a more useful way?
should be just about enough for the police to buy legal licenses for windows.
which means they can keep getting "genuinely advantaged" patches.
which is actually very helpful.
It's a dupe. All this info was in the previous post (yesterday? day before?) recently.
What I still don't know, is whether the 5 million really exists, and has been paid or will be paid.
TFA indicated the corporate shell was ready to file bankruptcy. Big judgments against spammers aren't news. Actually collecting is news. Get back to us with proof the money has been paid, and that would be a followup, not a dupe.
Fact is, seven million is what's in the tissue after Bill Gates blows his nose.
You're a retard. 0.01% is the approximate percentage of Microsoft's revenue this year represented by the $2M they're "just keeping of the $7M. Jerk.
--
make install -not war
Redundant story.
6 13256&tid=109&tid=111&tid=123&tid=98
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/09/1
from the article dated Tue Aug 9:
Smith said that Microsoft will reinvest all of the money, after legal expenses, including $5 million that will go to increase Internet enforcement efforts and expand technical and investigative support to help law enforcers to address computer-related crimes.
You must have done something. Have you never copied a tape or taped some radio, back when everyone did?
# cat
Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
Moderation -2
100% Offtopic
The topic is Microsoft's spending $5M of the $7M they got for their users' damage by spammers. On "fighting crime", security holes and other spammer opportunities to work with Microsoft for mutual profit. So TrollMods hit me with "Offtopic", because supposedly that mod doesn't have the same cost when metamod time comes around, while maybe you're reading this message. For great justice, metamod down a spammer TrollMod.
--
make install -not war