Microsoft to mark illegal copies

Microsoft to mark illegal copies
Written by VRiO
26.04.2006
Source:*bugsforum.com/
Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of local PC users running pirated Windows operating systems will soon face the shame of being reminded of their illegal action every time they switch on their machines. The feature will be added to the operating system by Microsoft Corp from tomorrow and cannot be erased. It will nag the guilty users and can be awkward if it shows up on corporate PCs. Current users of PCs running pirated Windows will find their machines “tattooed” the next time they update the operating system.
Basically, a message stating “This copy of Windows is not genuine …” will be permanently affixed to the operating system’s login screen, and a similar message will randomly pop up on the desktop whenever the machine is in use.

The anti-piracy move is being kicked off in five countries tomorrow – the United States, Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia.

Users whose machines have been affected will only be able to get rid of the tattoo if they install a genuine copy of Windows. Prices range from RM320 for a copy of Windows XP Home (OEM version) to RM510 for Windows XP Pro (OEM version).

“Or they can put up with being ‘nagged’ by the pop-up message every time they use their computers,” said K.T. Ng, group manager for Windows Client solutions at Microsoft Malaysia.

If they were businessmen or corporate executives, it would be embarrassing if their clients saw the tattoo indicating that a pirated copy of Windows was being used, he said.

According to Ng, the move was aimed at better serving Microsoft’s genuine users.

For example, he said, counterfeiters had been able to reproduce Microsoft product packaging to the point where consumers were unable to tell genuine from imitation.

“The pop-up message would immediately alert consumers to counterfeit copies of Windows, such as when they buy a new notebook or PC,” he said.

If a user has unknowingly received an illegal copy of the operating system, he will be able to report the vendor concerned by clicking on the “Get Genuine” button at the login screen.

Machines that have been tattooed will still be able to receive software updates for the operating system, but will not be allowed to download Internet Explorer 7.0 (IE7) and Windows Defender.

IE7 is the new, more secure version of Microsoft’s web browser while Windows Defender is an anti-spyware program.

B

Yaawwwn.....all the above untill somone creates a hack

yea i also think this is only till some one creats a patch for that

S

In true indian spirit . We will never mind them .

who cares , someone will find a workaround for sure, as it happens always .

even if there is not a workaround then also, who cares if we can save more than Rs. 5000

H

chill guys,
the piracy gurus are also reading this!

Stupid idea, will only persuade the user to opt for greener pastures, rather than buy a genuine one and spend half his time activating and passing Windows Activation... and whats with the pop up, a System Mechanic Pop-up Blocker blocks system windows as well as internet windows, so its of no use

I think Resource Hacker & regedit will do the job

Edit: fatbeing
Please don't help the pirates. Let them figure it out on their own.

so is it like only if u update this patch, then your system goes down the drain... and wad about reformatting...??? could anyone pls explain how thisiz gonna work.....

V

Another stupid MS idea!!!!!!!!!! Microsoft never learns from lessons. I think Ms should reduce cost of Windows to make it affordable so everyone will be able to buy it. Or every PC maker decides to bundle windows with their PC. No use of this stupid ideas......

its a nutty idea. MS night have thought that hackers wont spare this. and what about Win 98? i thought they have stopped support?

They better get Vista running than trying to catch the pirates( or stop them)...if they go abt like this, we arent gonna c vista till the next decade

K

hehehehe... the giant is still in its slumber!!!!!!!!!!11

N

IE7 and Windows Defender sucks so even if MS blocks us from downloading it no problemo.... this is a very bad idea...and it will have no effect on their falling sales of Windows XP....We don't care....!!!

D

Well, as there was there will be a workaround for that and ms cannot defeat india in its pirated copies.

This thread is posted on 26th and since today is the 28th I guess the crack for this has already been posted on the Crack Sites

kayote said:
hehehehe... the giant is still in its slumber!!!!!!!!!!11

LOL, dont let good ol' Bill read this

seems he is more busy with Origami....so he is doing stupid things around with XP

well i agree , i think even if this will happen people will not face ashame here because everyone around me will carry that massage , ya the people who won't carry this massage will b in our country may b laughed at because of the extra bucks they have spend for IE7 . lol

D

sknowonweb said:
In true indian spirit . We will never mind them .

I like your spirit.

I think it can not last long. Every problem has solution or say every solution has a problem!!!!

has anybody got this message already please post the screen shot, it will be fun to see how the future of my computer will look like

ok, breaking news someone did it just in three days, :lol:

*labnol.blogspot.com/2006/04/workarounds-to-disable-non-genuine.html

S

Those MS guys are really fools to mark the windows Genuine advantage files to be marked as wga*.dll,exe etc . this can make even someone who just entered the field to identify and stop the process .
They must appoint pirates to curb piracy, not in the other way

tarey_g said:
ok, breaking news someone did it just in three days,

*labnol.blogspot.com/2006/04/workarounds-to-disable-non-genuine.html

R

champ_rock said:
has anybody got this message already please post the screen shot, it will be fun to see how the future of my computer will look like

Only the login screen displays a message like "You may be a victim of software counterfeiting" at the bottom of the screen.

This too can be disabled legally by changing the notification settings and ticiking the option that "I understand that I have blah blah .... thing installed and I am a victim".

Truly a victim of Micro$oft monopoly.

T

Why cant you guys just pay for it...typical Indian attitude!!!

A

microsoft is serious this time ppl. the programme titled "Feet on the street". it is said that in the UK itself the are going to check around 800 establishments in and around Middlesbrough were piracy is at its peaks. and then why not India

--news source Computer Active UK Edition 06

A

yes u r right
just do not install that particular patch

I'm Using Original Copy Of windows Xp Home and think i'll not get any kind of messege . but i think i've made a world record for reinstalling it because it never run better for more then 25 - 30 days either the window corroupts or it become o slow that .............. but i like linux

i'm presently using linux and no such type of problem is detected

and this all happen because of windows update after that the windows become unstable

well even i have original windows xp home with updates on and have never faced any problem. Its hard to believe but havnt reinstalled it since i purchased my PC last july05 and neither has it crashed(ok it crashed once).

it all depends on the hardware.WinXP(sp2) is the most stable ver of win till date.

Edit: FatBeing
STOP discussing how to get around this! Helping people hang on to their pirated copies is tantamount to piracy itself.
This in spite of my editing a post in this thread before.

If M$ can install popup generator, they can also shut down the installtion after 7 days' warning!! Why don't they do that? Simply because they know that people will not buy original copies by all these tricks!! They will look for alternative like Linux or install a patch. They know that piracy is giving them more business indirectly

and are now trying pschycological tricks like these. They assume people will get embarassed and pay. But in India these "pirated" logos will be flaunted with pride

If someone won't have it on his machine, he will be considered silly to have paid for it :))

Ms should use practical options and bring down the price of the OS which is too high for the Indian market.By the way, Well said Tuxfan.

till someone dosnt actualy update their system this wont happen rite?
how many pirated copy users actualy update regularly.

2ndly simply instaling a system which can do this or shut down illegal copies will create a vunarability. what if an attacker causes genuine copies to act as ms wants pirated copies to?

Instead of such hypothetical situations MS should apply a practical approach.
1>lower prices
2>Hire a strong guy, give him a strong stick, tell him to go on the road and kick the streetside blackbeard's backside.

tuxfan said:
But in India these "pirated" logos will be flaunted with pride

Yeah i use styles xp with the "Windows xp pirated edition bootup screen"

As 4 my previous post, i was trying to explain abt a bug in ms's wga program, and it mite help any ms officer who visits this site to rectify this mistake. And btw since i didnt use any cracks n keygen, i blive itz not illegal to talk abt this. MY apologies if u still blive dat i broke the rules

Look guys...!!!! The posts here are being edited by Mods, so I can't say much.
But I am sure enough to say that nobody is going to feel guilty. May be microsoft is serious this time but piracy is simply not going to stop. They may sell some more legal copies of their OS to corporate but they must understand the fact that we the Indian wouldn't change.....!!!!

B

I think is whole thing is a fake. i mean it has been almost 20 days since this thread was started & did anyone get the pirated warning on startup?.

Its true and not fake!
The reason is no1 will want to say that he is using pirated windows

or the members r very clever here and they just didnt d/l that particular update...

itz true and i got a warning which i later got rid of . Just beta-testing

B

Lets be Indian and take up the challange of finding a hack for this nag screen. (By the way I have already found a site that offers a hack for this screen)