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Anti-Piracy Windows 7 Update Phones Home Quarterly
Lauren Weinstein sends in news of a major and disturbing Microsoft anti-piracy initiative called Windows Activation Technologies, or WAT. Here is Microsoft's blog post giving their perspective on what WAT is for. From Lauren's blog: "The release of Windows 7 'Update for Microsoft Windows (KB71033)' will change the current activation and anti-piracy behavior of Windows 7 by triggering automatic 'phone home' operations over the Internet to Microsoft servers, typically for now at intervals of around 90 days. ... These automatic queries will repeatedly — apparently for as long as Windows is installed — validate your Windows 7 system against Microsoft's latest database of pirated system signatures (currently including more than 70 activation exploits known to Microsoft). If your system matches — again even if up to that time (which could be months or even years since you obtained the system) it had been declared to be genuine — then your system will be 'downgraded' to 'non-genuine' status until you take steps to obtain what Microsoft considers to be an authentic, validated, Windows 7 license. ... KB971033... is scheduled to deploy to the manual downloading 'Genuine Microsoft Software' site on February 16, and start pushing out automatically through the Windows Update environment on February 23. ... [F]or Microsoft to assert that they have the right to treat ordinary PC-using consumers in this manner — declaring their systems to be non-genuine and downgrading them at any time — is rather staggering." Update: 02/12 02:08 GMT by KD : Corrected the Microsoft Knowledge Base number to include a leading 9 that had been omitted in the pre-announcement, per L. Weinstein.
I wonder how many false positives this will generate? The thing is, for every person who pirates Windows 7, there is a fairly decent chance that they will be doing so with an activation code which a genuine user may have purchased. I wonder if MS has figured out some way to deal with this issue? I wouldn't bet on it.
WAT? WATTF!
Like serial numbers, product keys, and activation before, automatic auditing like WGA is proving not to be as effective as Microsoft would like... this is surveillance plain and simple. Looks like I'm going to need to update my article on problems with non-free software... (Free Software or: How I Learned...).
I wonder how many false positives this will generate?
Probably no more than Windows XP, whose "Windows Genuine Advantage" module has the same behavior.
I have a machine, purchased by my employer that has to be validated against the key server at the office.
The machine however is at my house. The only way to make it validate is to ensure that I'm connected to the VPN when it attempts to find its key.
Does this mean once a quarter (if I have this update) my machine will downgrade itself, make me hop on the VPN, revalidate etc.?
That's just damn annoying. I'll probably end up cracking my legit install to stop this stupid behavior. When the cracked version of your software is less obnoxious than the legitimate version you have a problem.
I don't see how this is in any way news or shocking. WAT = rebranded WGA.
The only major question I would have, is if it's only calling back every 90 days, how many false positives will it get from people doing major hardware upgrades over that three month span. (I'm assuming it compares the system specs with the license key as WGA did to determine if it was actually the same computer or not)
And at least they just downgrade you - they could instead just shut your system down for a suspected license violation and prevent any log-ins.
Ok, conspiracy theorist point of view here, apologies... but... I mean, they can basically disable/cripple anyone's computer for any reason without notice.
Think of what governments would like to do with this little feature, during wartimes, etc...
Do you really trust Microsoft that much? Do you really want them to have that much control over your computer at any point in time? Your ability to communicate online?
Come on, this is really getting ridiculous.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
You could manage to avoid WGA by unchecking the checkbox when it asked to install via update, then making sure it didn't mention un-selected updates. I wonder if judicious users can keep an eye out for this and do the same?
Windows Annoyance Technologies.
Someone who needs application software for which there is no reasonable Linux/Unix equivalent. Such software includes mid-range accounting systems and point of sale systems.
Windows would be so much better without Microsoft.
My webcomic
The false positives will turn into real positives. When a machine gets marked as non-genuine, it stops receiving updates. Which means is WILL get 0wned by the next zero-day attack.
They are basically just manufacturing more spambot machines with this strategy.
And this is a nice little wake up call to those folks, telling them to get busy on their Linux port. Again yet more poor strategic planning.
Steps like these need to be taken because, well, people pretty much can not be trusted to do the right thing without the fear of a reprisal looming over their head.
The problem with steps like these is that they will mostly cause problems for people who tried to do the right thing by buying Windows 7 legitimately but now Microsoft identifies it as a pirate key (either because they got it from a shady character who was selling illegal copies with some pirated key, or because the legitmate key they got has since been pirated--or at least identified as pirated). People who knowingly are using a pirated copy will either have developed a work around that avoids this problem, or will be expecting this to come up and have a plan in place to deal with it.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Who in their right mind would use Windows on a server any more?
Who in their right mind puts windows on a server anyway? Crazy people and masochists, that's who.
Enjoying WGA that much, eh?
Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
Funny how this is happening right after Microsoft won that lawsuit regarding WGA.
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
clearly you don't understand - it has nothing to do with "proprietary doing better" and everything to do with DirextX (and it's focus on all gaming) being owned 100% by Microsoft.
When does DirectX release new versions? Shortly after when wine cracks the full functionality of the existing DirectX.
Brilliant, give more people yet another reason to switch to Apple. WTG MS.
In a word, yes. Microsoft is concentrating entirely too much on a market that is simply not as large as they think it is - namely, the people who a) currently pirate Microsoft software and b) would pay for Microsoft software if pirating it was too difficult. This is a vanishingly small group of people, and in order to get these people to buy Microsoft software they are adversely affecting everyone who buys Microsoft software.
Further, this means of verifying that Windows 7 installations will simply not work. Microsoft is being nice and packaging it in one update, which means that what this update does and how it works will be easily reverse engineered. Once the pirates know how it works, there are a ridiculous number of ways to circumvent it at every step of the process - it would be relatively easy to intercept the downgrade command coming from the server, or change the downgrade routine so that it does nothing, or spoof the current signature with a known-good one (and if Microsoft bans that, they'll be banning every single legitimate user with that signature), or to do any number of other things that would be come apparent after reverse-engineering the update.
So yes, Microsoft shouldn't do anything - because doing nothing is better than wasting money and goodwill on something useless.
Essentially we don't buy anything anymore. Everyone out there seems to have control of my computer but me. Yes I can spend the time and disable some of the functions but it's constant cold war of disabling the latest functions only to get hit with the next round. I want to use software not fight OSs. Also I'm tired of fighting software licensing, period. I'm not from the camp that wants free software I pay for every piece, except I do love some open source like Open Office. The point is why do I constantly have to deal updates? My bloody HP Printer driver constantly demands to be updated. I'm not stupid and I know they aren't releasing updates that fast. Many of pay thousands of dollars just for our desk top let alone software and yet everyone insists they should have control of our machines at all times. 10, 15, 20 years ago this was not the case. 15 years ago due to corruption issues I used to reinstall my OS and all software once a month. The machine ran better and the software crashed less. It took me a couple of hours and gave me a fresh machine each time. These days I live in terror of redoing a machine. I have a lot of software and at best we're talking days and generally it's weeks before I can get all the licenses squared away again. It's reached the point where I dread buying a new machine.
Video gaming on Linux has come a long way thanks to Wine. I tried TF2 a few versions ago and was surprised how well it ran and how free it was of any graphical glitches. Only thing it was missing was DX9 support. The performance was almost as good as under XP.
I am sorry but there are many other reasons. Linux audio is a pain for game developers. The tools are lacking. OpenGL standards developers sided with CAD companies thereby screwing over game developers. I know I'll be downmodded for saying things that are meant to be brushed under the carpet on Slashdot but I don't care about karma.
It nags the non computer-elite into picking up your tab, and hating your for it.
93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
"Voluntary patch" ...And what happens if one does not choose to accept this "voluntary patch"? Do I lose access to other system updates, am I locked out of other Microsoft services? ... And is this "voluntary patch" going to be included in the next Windows 7 Service Pack as a mandatory component for non-corporate installs?
Who in their right mind would use Windows on a server any more?
Folks who've spent their entire lives working on a Windows GUI and can't imagine a computer without a Start menu or a C: drive.
We're a Microsoft shop... That's generally what we sell and install, including servers. Myself, I don't much care what we run. I'm familiar with various flavors of *nix and support them as well. My boss, on the other hand, can't deal with anything non-Windows.
You should have seen his face the first time he sat down in front of a machine running XenServer. He had no freaking clue what to do with it. He kept shaking the mouse around and looking puzzled.
"Work is the curse of the drinking classes." -Oscar Wilde
You'll be skipping the service packs, then.
Hail Eris, full of mischief...
E pluribus sanguinem
Three words: False Positive Lottery. As a legit customer who has already been stung by WGA during a hardware upgrade, I don't want to even think of it being an every 3 month thing.
There is a war going on for your mind.
You license it on the condition that you agree to the EULA.
This has not been tested in court AFAIK. What if, for instance, I don't agree with their terms? I added a condition to the EULA stating that Steve Ballmer can come to my house and personally collect my copy if they disagree with my using their software under the amended terms. Oh, letting their program install on my computer signified their acceptance of the new terms.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
I run an old system with xp for nothing more than to act as a print server. All our computers and servers run a mix of different linux distros and have done for the last 4 years. Every system is licensed for XP or Vista and, after the first debacle with WGA saying that two of our legit XP installs were pirated, we ditched microsoft products altogether (except the print server). Any new systems we purchase are built in-house and we will never pay the microsoft tax again.
I will never, ever, allow any software package to be used in our organisation that can be disabled remotely by the company that wrote the software. Why run the risk of losing a major client, when you can't get that important document to them on time, because the software has locked you out. It's like cruising down the highway at 120mph with dodgy brakes and no seat belts.
While the printer does work pretty good when shared via samba, the only thing that seems to be missing in the linux drivers is support for the 600dpi resolution that the printer provides for. All I can seem to get using linux is 300dpi and any color images come out looking like something from the early 90s and blotchy as hell. I will eventually get around to opening up the source code and adding what we need.
I also don't run any kind of virus scanner or any other app on that XP system. The first job after hooking it up to the network was to block any traffic heading to/from that server on any port other than the ones needed for the printer. As far as I am concerned, windows should only be allowed to run with NO internet connection whatsoever. Yeah it's ugly.... but it works for me.
Oh, and way to go Albany High School here in Auckland, NZ. (was featured here on /. a few weeks back but I am too lazy to go hunting for links. Typing when tired is hard enough). Lots of kudos due for the way they set up their entire network using open source software. That alone makes their students much more employable in our eyes. I have declined many a person for job interviews based SOLELY on the fact that their resume had "qualifications" where the whole course was based on "the microsoft way".
I would really pick you up on your point (1) - I'm assuming this will be like Windows XP's "WGA Notification" patch which is also "voluntary".
In that you can avoid installing it, IF you (i) don't use Automatic Updates; and (ii) remember to click "custom updates", then find it in the huge list of patches that comes up on a fresh install, then realize what it is, then deselect it, then click the box saying "no I really don't want this, don't ever show it to me again".
Oh, and if you do have the bad luck to happen to accidentally install it, you can only uninstall this patch with a third-party crack.
All in all, I'd say this patch is less "voluntary" than a lot of malware trojans are.
This is not true. Go to parts of the world where system builders sell illegal copies of Windows along with their computers and you will see that normal non-technical people wouldn't know the difference. Microsoft doesn't go after individual pirates. Microsoft anti-piracy goes after those that profit from the reselling of pirated Windows.
Personally speaking, pirated software is how things like personally identifiable information is acquired in things like online indentity theft and organized crime.
Do you have any evidence to back up that statement?
i could send you evidence to all your concerns, but since you're an Anonymous Coward i'll just ignore you. :) Have a nice day!
Microsoft circa 2010 is very misunderstood on Slashdot. I also had my doubts before being assimilated by the collective.
Microsoft is fundamentally a different company now than in the 90s. We have to be due to competition, compliance, and regulation.
History is very important, but holding grudges only impedes progress. Even Linus Torvalds has said, "Microsoft hatred is a DISEASE."
I fully and wholly support Microsoft in this choice.
First off, they didn't take into account machines that are either behind a restrictive firewall, not on the internet (grandma's home PC), or laptops in an airplane (or the like). When it goes off for them, those users are totally screwed, aren't they?
Second, false positives. Excellent, tell people their computer won't work right because some company across the country screwed up.
Third, privacy concerns. Goodbye to them, as now Microsoft will know you use their software, and who's to say they can't execute some of the other aspects of their EULA and simply copy things from your computer.
All of this is WONDERFUL to those of us in the FOSS movement. To any who are ready to switch to a real operating system, where your computer, your privacy and what you do with it are totally your own, I'm here to help you install Linux :)
What happens when MS stop supporting windows 7 and turn the activation servers off?
Does that mean it will become useless 90 days afterwards?
What about for machines which aren't networked, or are on isolated networks which can't or aren't allowed to access the internet?
If they provide a corporate version which doesn't need to phone home, then pirates will simply pirate that instead, just like they did with the corporate versions of xp that didn't need activation.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
They stay for the same reason an abused wife stays with their abusive husband... they are afraid of the change more than they are afraid of the shit that they are used to putting up with.