quote:As part of a broad move to reduce the amount of counterfeit Windows software in use, Microsoft said its Windows Update service, used to deliver fixes for insecure code among other things, will only be available to owners of genuine installations.
Brilliant! Obviously, Microsoft has been deliberately shipping buggy and unstable operating systems, so that they can force customers to cooperate with them in exchange for fixes!
posted
I have to say, I'm not necessarily against this particular attempt to reduce software piracy... it's a lot less draconian that some of their other attempts. However, I do think it's hilarious that fixes to the OS could possibly be so important to the customers that it would force unauthorized owners to go out and buy it. I usually buy and install the latest big splashy version of Mac OS X, the named ones that get big parties thrown for them, but that only happens about once a year now, at most. I do no other software updating. But Windows, man, it's like crack! You just have to keep updating, and updating, and updating.... or boom, your computer bursts into flames! Posts: 1681 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
So how do they determine if an installation is real or not? It's all installed in the same way from the same discs, right?
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
It sounds like you have to register or something with their "Genuine Advantage" service, which somehow verifies your license.
Posts: 1681 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
"You just have to keep updating, and updating, and updating.... or boom, your computer bursts into flames!"
Unlike, say, Apple's Software Updates tool, which only fixes problems that no one really cares about? Note that if you haven't downloaded those updates in a while, you're almost certainly suffering from three OS vulnerabilities, two really embarassing crash situations, and incompatibility with non-Apple networking. So while it might be true that you haven't updated in a while, I wouldn't brag about it.
The Windows Critical Updates tool is no different, Poly. And IMO, it works better, since it doesn't require that an admin log into the machine to manually activate the updates by default.
posted
I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing, Tom... I'm saying that, on my computer, if I don't do any updating for, say 5 years, it will very likely continue to work just fine as is. Whereas if you don't update your Windows box every time they release another critical vulnerability fix, it's just a matter of time before you're hit by some sort of attack.
Edit: Oh, well, you edited. I submit that the "vulnerabilities" you've mentioned are insubstantial.
posted
Several articles have made clear that even unofficial versions will have access to security updates. Here's one:
quote:Users of pirated copies of Windows will still be able get some updates, such as security patches, but will not be able to get other add-ons for Windows, the Redmond, Washington-based company said in a statement.
quote:The company said it will continue to make fixes available via Automatic Updates, the non-user-initiated version of Windows Update, to "help customers who may require more time to move to genuine Windows software".
The company did not specify when and if it will start restricting Automatic Updates in a similar fashion.
quote: Whereas if you don't update your Windows box every time they release another critical vulnerability fix, it's just a matter of time before you're hit by some sort of attack.
And out of interest, when you're installing your Apple Software Updates, do you know which ones fix security holes? It certainly doesn't tell you when you install 'em.
The idea that the Mac is somehow proof against a user's failure to do basic maintenance -- and therefore against any software vulnerability -- is a complete fiction.
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"The company did not specify when and if it will start restricting Automatic Updates in a similar fashion."
I seriously doubt they will, for the same reason that Apple is unlikely to take this step.
posted
You know, if a whole lot of people didn't spend a whole lot of time trying to point out "security holes" in Apple's software, I don't think anyone would ever notice one. While the "security holes" on Windows are, shall we say, pretty hard to ignore.
It's just frustrating to keep hearing that Windows is the way to go, even though you can't leave it on a network for 5 seconds without running hours and hours of patches and updates, because Macs have "security holes" too. When the "security holes" on the Mac tend to be things that you would need root access and the owner's mother's maiden name to "exploit". Posts: 1681 | Registered: Jun 2004
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quote:You know, if a whole lot of people didn't spend a whole lot of time trying to point out "security holes" in Apple's software, I don't think anyone would ever notice one. While the "security holes" on Windows are, shall we say, pretty hard to ignore.
Yes, it's easy to ignore the flaws in software with what, 3% market share? If that?
posted
I'm not saying they're easy to ignore, I'm saying you have to work pretty hard to find any at all.
And I believe that OS X would be just as solid if it took up 95% of the population. Go tell your friends to buy Macs and we'll find out. Posts: 1681 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
No kidding? I hadn't made that connection, myself.
Seriously, I think that Apple ships an OS that could take that kind of abuse. Microsoft obviously doesn't. Unfortunately, my theory won't be proven until the rest of the country comes to their senses.
Posts: 1681 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
Tell you what, Poly: you buy my college enough Macs to replace our existing PCs, coupled with the necessary software, and I'll implement 'em next month.
Heck, if you buy ME a Mac, I promise to use it until I get bored with its limitations.
But it seems silly to take you up on a "challenge" that would require me to spend money in hopes that a significant percentage of the country would follow suit.
Trust me, Poly, Macs are vulnerable. Heck, Linux and Unix are themselves pretty vulnerable to exploit, and most of their distros are considerably more secure than the default install of OSX.
(BTW, if anyone's hooking up a PC to a network unpatched, they're idiots. You can slipstream all the patches into a single install, which is really the only sensible way to go.)
posted
Actually, the way Microsoft figures this out is by your computer's unique ID number. This is a number that is generated through the combination of your CD key and a 48 number authentication key sent to a computer from microsoft. The majority of computers with pirated windows OS have a certain portion of the ID number the same. The most commonly pirated CD key was actually released BY Microsoft before XP was released so they could successfully do this. More often than not, the pirated OS is Windows XP Pro CORPORATE edition, which is slightly different from the normal versions of XP in that it doesn't require any authentication from Microsoft to install and run. There are already multiple hacks that replace the Unique ID with something that isn't listed on Microsoft's update blacklist. Also, the only updates that you cannot install if you have a blacklisted ID number are the big Service packs that come out once every other year or something like that.
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote: So if you have a pirated serial number, you won't be able to "activate" Windows. I would guess that Windows Update will only work on "activated" copies of Windows XP.
Windows update DOES work on computers that haven't been "activated". However, the OS will stop working after 30 days if it isn't activated, effectively working like a demo. Interestingly, replacing up to two of the following items: Hard Drive Motherboard RAM Will cause your activation process to fail and forces a lengthy call to Apu the Punjabi service technician to get a replacement activation number. Replacing further items often necessitates the purchase of a new copy of Windows. I am not a fan of Microsoft's anti-piracy laws because of this very requirement (I upgrade like mad).
[ January 27, 2005, 02:45 PM: Message edited by: Boris ]
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote: If you have a pirated serial number, you won't be able to "activate" Windows.
That's not entirely true. There are ways to activate the computer without hooking it up on the internet. You just need to get an activation generator and follow the instructions, and then you have pirated WinXP that's been activated, or, at least, thinks it's been activated.
And all the patches and updates work on it jus' fine.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Note that if you haven't downloaded those updates in a while, you're almost certainly suffering from three OS vulnerabilities, two really embarassing crash situations, and incompatibility with non-Apple networking. So while it might be true that you haven't updated in a while, I wouldn't brag about it.![[Wink]](wink.gif)
