Vista's EULA Product Activation Worries

applejax writes "SecurityFocus is running an article regarding some concerns about Vista's activation terms. Do you have the right to use properly purchased but not validated software? What happens if Microsoft deactivates your OS that was legally purchased? The article goes into some detail about Vista's validation and concerns." From the article: "The terms of the Vista EULA, like the current EULA related to the 'Windows Genuine Advantage,' allows Microsoft to unilaterally decide that you have breached the terms of the agreement, and they can essentially disable the software, and possibly deny you access to critical files on your computer without benefit of proof, hearing, testimony or judicial intervention. In fact, if Microsoft is wrong, and your software is, in fact, properly licensed, you probably will be forced to buy a license to another copy of the operating system from Microsoft just to be able to get access to your files, and then you can sue Microsoft for the original license fee."

Comments

never get that far

[mikesd81]

In fact, if Microsoft is wrong, and your software is, in fact, properly licensed, you probably will be forced to buy a license to another copy of the operating system from Microsoft just to be able to get access to your files, and then you can sue Microsoft for the original license fee."

I'd be willing to bet that it would never get this far and MS would just take care of it. They wouldn't be afraid of someone suing them over a license. That's petty to them. Maybe if a company sued because their software was legal and got a false positive on being illegal and it caused down time, now that's something to sue about. It's a shame that Microsoft doesn't care about their customers enough to make sure things like this wouldn't happen.

Legalese isn't the only problem

[Rob T Firefly]

I wonder about the software functions which are there to enforce these bits of the EULA. How secureare they? How easy do you suppose it will eventually become for anyone to point a script at a Vista box owned by someone they don't like, and send instructions for the box to shut down with extreme prejudice and turn the user's data into chunky salsa?

My stuff on external drive.

[47001foo]

I have learned some valuable lessons regarding my data. I keep all my stuff on my external drives. Hope it will not be affected in case I decide to use Vista.

O rly?

[voice_of_all_reason]

and then you can sue Microsoft for the original license fee.

I thought the new vogue in EULAs nowaways was a clause stating that by using the software, you give up the right to any litigation?

Re:Upgrade

[nine-times]

Same here. Does anyone want to start an official boycott or anything? No Vista or Office 2007 until Microsoft gets rid of some of these anti-consumer "features"?

To be honest

[Maxo-Texas]

I see having two (three) computers going forward.

1) A linux box that I use for important data - tax records, personal documents, any think like mp3's, etc.

2) A windows box that I use for entertainment (certain games) and at large companies. Since computers have been powerful enough for home use since about 2000, I can't see paying more than $499 for this and then $200 for a video card. The hardware would cost me $400 to scratch build (and $200 for the card) so I guess the OEM is splitting the $99 with Microsoft. Going forward, i'm less and less likely to use Windows computers for anything important. I'm too concerned about snooping, losing access to my own data, etc.

3) And a console for pure gaming on my big screen TV.

---

To reach this point, I've converted about 99% of my software to java, open-source applications.
Openoffice
Audacity
Gimp
Azureus
Firefox
and a few other minor programs.

I have two documents that I have to use Word for. I'm considering splitting them down into smaller documents.

Re:To be honest

[VENONA]

"If you are a programmer, and are in it to make money..."

Both of these conditions are not always satisfied. The rest of this reply relates to those cases where they are.

A lot of people are financially compensated for writing free software. Or to admin infrastructure systems (build, download, mailing list hosts, etc.). The people picking up the tab obviously realize a bottom line benefit, so this will likely increase.

And even financial compensation comes in other forms than a direct revenue stream. For instance, I'm close to releasing two pieces of software. Originally, they were both written to scratch local itches, and they get the job done. They could be better, but once they were good enough, progress on them slowed. If either piece attracts any developer interest, I'll end up with better software, for what I think will be a minimal investment of my time. Giving it away is simply the most sensible approach, from a ROI viewpoint. Even though I'm unlikely to see a revenue stream from either project, any success for either project will, on balance, save me time and effort. Lower overhead is a Good Thing.

Another win from the same example is that both of these pieces of software are something solid to point to, which is directly related to my field, most of which is NDA'ed to death. That's probably a Good Thing as well.

Unauthorized deactivation?

[camperdave]

What happens when somebody in the Redmond Bunker mistypes something and deactivates Sally Jones instead of Wally Jones? Or what if some enterprising young hothead cracks his way into the validation servers and starts deactivating people at random? What if they go out of business? What happens to my data then?

I won't allow some company in some foreign country to control whether I have access to my data or not.

Re:because it doesn't

[RealSurreal]

Of course you're not locked in to OS X. You're quite to welcome to move to another OS and take your data with you. Where are you imagining this DRM?

And don't start whinging about not being able to reinstall your copy of OS X on new hardware, you can't do that with an OEM copy of Windows either.

Online games have had policies more draconian...

[Il128]

Than this for years. The problem with licensing software is that eventually the customer will under the license they areee to have no rights at all. Most online games already have the right to take your money and give you nothing in return. Many online games already do that "take your money and good-bye" on a whim. See the latest rounds of bannings from World of Warcraft as an example. I'm sure some of those people were innocent and had just forked over $175 for a six month subscription. "No refunds and no software because we can." - the future of software licensing.