Slashdot Mirror


Bing Recommends Piracy Tutorial When Searching For Office 2019 (zdnet.com)

aafrn writes: Microsoft is sending users who search for Office 2019 download links via its Bing search engine to a website that teaches them the basics about pirating the company's Office suite. This happens every time users search for the term "office 2019 download" on Bing. The result is a Bing search card (highlighted search results) that links to a piracy tutorial that teaches users how to install uTorrent, download a torrent file, and install an Office crack file. Fortunately, the torrent download links are down, but experts believe the link was used to spread malware.

45 comments

  1. It's not obvious how you get Office by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It doesn't come with any install media. Visiting the Office website, you get strung along through a bunch of pages trying to sell you Office 365 subscriptions. At the end of your rope, you then ask a search engine to find it and eventually you get in the back way (through the Microsoft Store, not the Microsoft Office official website). Working as intended.

    1. Re:It's not obvious how you get Office by dohzer · · Score: 4, Funny

      At the end of your rope, you then ask a search engine to find it

      You're only "at the end of your rope" once you've tried all the other search engines before being forced to use Bing.

    2. Re:It's not obvious how you get Office by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yep. Same is the problem when one buys a second hand machine which has been wiped. The machine has a sticker with the license number, but MS actively tries to make it hard to use. Likely they hope to sell the license again. Perhaps they should consider their strategy again, as once people find out the piracy way, their next office license number will not be made by MS.

    3. Re: It's not obvious how you get Office by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is not obvious. Keep searching

    4. Re:It's not obvious how you get Office by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      believe it or not bing is better than google to search for porn since it doesnt filter the results. Google tends to filter the results and not even give you a hint of it. I tell that for "educational" purpose of course.

    5. Re:It's not obvious how you get Office by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      It's not 2004 any more. Search isn't the disaster area it once was. Bing is fine. Moreover Google actively censors it's results so you're not getting the whole story. Plus they've gone evil.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    6. Re:It's not obvious how you get Office by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Visiting the Office website, you get strung along through a bunch of pages trying to sell you Office 365 subscriptions.

      Visiting the Office Website gives you a big button that says "Get Office" on it. Clicking that button puts you on a page that gives you the option of "Office 365 Home", "Office 365 Pro", and "Office 2019 for Home or Education". There's a separate button for business.

      If you can't find Office then maybe this complicated computer thing isn't for you.

  2. uptime by KiloByte · · Score: 2

    As much as it sucks, I guess it still has better uptime than Office 359. But don't worry, Microsoft innovates, so that'll change too.

    --
    The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
    1. Re:uptime by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Psst -- amateur, here's my system :: uptime
        06:32:49 up 1 days, 2:18, 12 users, load average: 1.13, 1.12, 1.16

      That's right, it wrapped around. And it wrapped around, not once, but twice!

      CAP === 'bolsters'

  3. Stop calling it piracy! You support crime! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nothing is taken away from anyone, and nobody is murdered or raped! It is a hate speech word by the organized crime, to shame those, that do not let the criminals steal from them!

    This is Slashdot! People here are expected to know that "intellectual property" is a lie and a crime!

      If anyone is a pirate, then those who think they can make mere copies of the work of others (like programmers), "sell" them and get real money ... not copies of money ... in refurn! Even though we have to work for the money each time, while their programmers only worked once and they themselves did not work *at all* in return!

  4. download LibreOffice running under Linux instead by najajomo · · Score: 4, Informative

    I don't know why this deserves a whole slashdot article and you didn't even provide links to the alternatives!

    LibreOffice is a powerful office suite

    Distrowatch | put the fun back into computing

  5. Disingenuous by Excelcia · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This isn't "Microsoft sending", this is Bing's algorithm categorizing that search result. This is not news. If I were to list all the "_________ download" searches that listed a torrent or instructions for how to find something for free as the first item, this would be a long post.

    This is a non-story. Why am I even bothering to take the time t

    1. Re:Disingenuous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's true, we need more cmdrtaco posts !

      caption : unlike

    2. Re:Disingenuous by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      So ... in other words, it's just that Bing noticed this is what most people want to find when searching for Office 2019.

      Yup, makes sense.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re: Disingenuous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It (the software) didn't notice anything. Computers aren't sentient, despite what you might feel.

    4. Re:Disingenuous by geekmux · · Score: 1

      This isn't "Microsoft sending", this is Bing's algorithm categorizing that search result.

      I'm assuming you are not aware of who created, owns, and maintains Bing and its algorithms (Hint: it starts with "Micro" and ends with "soft")

      This is not news. If I were to list all the "_________ download" searches that listed a torrent or instructions for how to find something for free as the first item, this would be a long post.

      I think the reason this justifies an article is the comedy of errors that I've already highlighted. It's rather pathetic when the same company who maintains the search engine algorithms cannot properly police some of their own flagship product search results. One would think that a search like "office 2019 download" would be damn near hard-coded in Bing to provide the proper source, making it a hell of a lot harder for a pirate site to rise to the top of search results.

    5. Re:Disingenuous by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      I think the reason this justifies an article is the comedy of errors that I've already highlighted. It's rather pathetic when the same company who maintains the search engine algorithms cannot properly police some of their own flagship product search results. One would think that a search like "office 2019 download" would be damn near hard-coded in Bing to provide the proper source, making it a hell of a lot harder for a pirate site to rise to the top of search results.

      No, there should be a page that's popular enough and well-linked enough to get bumped to the highest position organically. If they have to hard-code hacks into their search engine just to get their products ranked high enough to beat the piracy sites, then they've already failed to properly market their product.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

  6. But why stick to office at all? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Why are people sticking to office despite all the abuse?

    I guess this is the same sort of question as why people insist on using windows when that doesn't work very well either, will randomly stop working as poorly as it did and just throw fits from updates, and insists on making you an ad-viewing beta-tester while at it.

    Me, I use troff for writing letters, but there's plenty of clickibunti alternatives, free and paid, that people might try and even find better interoperability with other software at that. Because redmond isn't very compatible with itself, either. Sticking with them is, objectively speaking, a an expensive losing proposition.

    1. Re:But why stick to office at all? by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      LibreOffice and Google Docs, while excellent, do not have perfect compatibility with Office, and occasionally it matters.

      Personally I use Microsoft's Office Starter, which you can still download for free in various places. It's a stripped down Word and Excel package, and you can always do you real work in a full wordprocessor and then finalize the look in the official Microsoft application. But not many people are aware of Office Starter's existence (or where to download it) (nor the patch needed to make it install and run on Windows 10)

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  7. It's a Bing thing by TonyJohn · · Score: 1

    Sorry.

    --
    Owl tried to think of something wise to say, but couldn't.
    1. Re:It's a Bing thing by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

      Fuck you.

      --
      Wanna buy a shirt?
      https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  8. What's the difference? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can't tell the difference between Ubuntu, Plasma, Windows and macOS. Isn't it the same forked Unix, that has nothing to do with Unix anymore, but was designed exclusively for mentally disabled people?

  9. Fortunately? by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 4, Funny

    Fortunately, the torrent download links are down

    Slashdot has changed :-(

    --
    Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    1. Re:Fortunately? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slashdot never condoned people downloading malware.

      Torrenting Office could get you Excel and Word and if you're really unlucky, Powerpoint.

  10. Could be worse by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    For all MS cares this is still better than Bing pointing to a page detailing how Libre/Open Office is superior.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Could be worse by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      For all MS cares this is still better than Bing pointing to a page detailing how Libre/Open Office is superior.

      Not sure (for MS). Bing seeks credibility. These links help in this regard.

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
  11. Re:THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES NAZI FAGGOT KEN DOLL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You really need to get over this. Nobody else here gives a fuck about your endless ranting.

  12. Fake news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fake news, I just searched.

  13. Malware by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Funny

    "experts believe the link was used to spread malware."

    Nah, they were only distributing office, not windows 10.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:Malware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      office 2019 *requires* windows 10.

  14. Malware indeed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...Fortunately, the torrent download links are down, but experts believe the link was used to spread malware

    ...ie office 2019.

  15. Don't you mean Office 342? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Between ISP and Microsoft outages.

    There are a few weeks left this year. Bets on getting to Office 335?

  16. Office and other msoft products are evil now. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    With all the spying, requiring you to identify yourself to use Windows and a freaking Office product. Pretty shitty thing to do to your customers, er, um, cattle.

  17. Idiots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Itâ(TM)s apparently also a suit.

  18. PhpMyAdmin Crack by iTrawl · · Score: 1

    You know they're serious people when you find out that they even provide a crack for PhpMyAdmin. It's not free enough until you crack it.

    --
    "Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
  19. There's an old saying by Luckyo · · Score: 1

    "Microsoft doesn't really mind casual piracy of its products, because it hurts its competition far more than it hurts microsoft".

    People might suggest this as evidence for it.

  20. One question by jenningsthecat · · Score: 1

    However was this discovered? Who actually uses Bing? I'll bet even Microsoft employees use Google when they can get away with it. I hate Google as a company, and I often use other search engines, but I don't think I've used Bing more than three or four times, ever.

    Oh crap - I just realized how Linux-centric I've become. I totally forgot about IE and Edge and default search engines until just now. Never mind...

    --
    'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
  21. Re: download LibreOffice running under Linux inste by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LibreOffice is OpenOffice. The "Open" meaning "Free" or "Liberty". "FreeOffice" denotes cheap freeware in the U.S.A. LibreOffice maintains the "Open" part of "OpenOffice". This conveys its meaning that it is still OpenOffice, with its ugly interface that its core user base loves. "Libre" is not meant to increase the user base, but to appeal to an existing user base. This is an Open Source project, not a for-profit, unlike Apache or Oracle.

  22. Microsoft are safe... by SimonTheSoundMan · · Score: 1

    Surely anyone that uses Bing always searches "Google", then they use Google - they'd never see this. Microsoft has nothing to worry about.

  23. Bing! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For once, Bing finally provides information that is actually useful.