Microsoft Denies the Windows Kill Switch

WindozeSux writes "Microsoft has denied that WGA will kill pirated copies of Windows. According to Waggener Edstrom,"Microsoft anti-piracy technologies cannot and will not turn off your computer." Microsoft also says that WGA is a necessary part of its campaign to catch those illegally using Windows XP which leads one to think what WGA really does then."

Comments

Are You Stupid???

[Anonymous Coward]

which leads one to think what WGA really does then.

Are you stupid? WGA verifies whether your copy of Windows is legal or not, on a daily basis, and reports its findings back to Microsoft. Why so often? It is done so often to ensure that you don't Ghost a genuine install to thousands of illegal machines.

Now, my question, which I asked a few days ago, is why did it take you "geeks'/dorks so long to find out about it. Surely you paranoid technologists are monitoring your Windows installs with sniffers at all times to keep Microsoft and the malware in check?

Re:What does WGA do?

[DerekLyons]

If MS would offer whitebox builders the same price that they offer to the big OEMs like Dell and Gateway, they'd probably see a lot less for-profit piracy.

That's an interesting argument - "it's not the whitebox vendors fault that they cheat and steal and behave dishonestly, evil Microsoft holds a gun to their heads and forces them!".
 
 

As it stands, the small shops can put together good quality hardware and come out slightly ahead of the big companies, but the moment they add in software (including Windows and Office), they end up being forced to offer the complete system at a very uncompetitive price.

Any time I encounter a small shop trying to compete with the big boys on price - I run from them as fast as I can go. Trying to compete on price is a flashing sign ten meters high "WARNING: THE PROPRIETORS OF THIS SHOP ARE CLUELESS".

Re:The real question is..!

[WilliamSChips]

No, experienced sysadmins tend to use a WM that's not so bloaty.

Re:Please, this was never going to happen

[say]

Bah, they can't help you when the key you get from the OEM (Dell or whatever) doesn't work. I've run into that problem dozens of times when installing many desktops at the same time in an office. Of course, I can use a key from one of the other PCs, but this WGA thing makes me wary to do so.