Fake Windows News

[flameproof]

I just came across this article:

http://www.china.org.cn/business/2008-10/16/content_16619904.htm

In the lower part it said:

Microsoft China announced that starting October 20, all Windows operating systems (including Windows XP and Vista) found to have been pirated will have their desktop backgrounds turned black, replacing whatever desktop may have been set by the user. Desktops will be reset to black every 60 minutes, foiling users who would otherwise simply reset their wallpaper.

[roddy]

Hmmm. Microsoft will win eventually, but it'll have more to do with price competition and increased enforcement than black desktops. Now, if they prevented the installation of QQ and MSN . . .

PS To anyone else who had trouble parsing the headline: It's the Windows that are fake, not the News.

[gougou]

No kidding, all they're gonna do is turn your desktop background black? I used to have mine black by default, does that mean that I am encouraged to use fake software?

[ipsi()]

I'm sorry... How is this going to work? There's an awful lot of pirated systems out there that appear to be genuine, that pass WGA checks and all that. What else are they going to do? And how will that not also be hacked by the pirates?

[imron]

I think people should take it as a further warning that Microsoft is starting to take piracy in China more seriously now, and it's only going to ramp up efforts to cash in on its market dominance now that a) a large number of people can pay and B) those people are dependent on MS software. Recently there have also been several reasonably high-profile arrests of people releasing the pirated XP versions, including the guy who made the popular Tomato Garden distribution.

[roddy]

I just had a look at the article, and it seems to have been changed from when Flameproof quoted it:

Microsoft said yesterday that computers with Windows and Office that failed to be validated online would turn to a black screen every 60 minutes and warnings would flash from Monday.

Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) would help users detect copycat operating systems, it said. After that, users would see their screens go black every 60 minutes and a warning flash across the screen.

That's a much bigger hassle than resetting your wallpaper. Especially if the warning message includes a phone number to report your boss and earn a reward . . .

[liuzhou]

It's simple. Don't install WGA.

If I don't authenticate my pirate Office Suite, how are they going to make it crash every now and and again with black screens. Are they going to hack into my computer?

[Hofmann]

Linux will win.

[gougou]

If I don't authenticate my pirate Office Suite, how are they going to make it crash every now and and again with black screens.

In that case, they will use blue screens. That feature has actually been included since Windows 3.1 already; only drawback is they still haven't worked out how to target pirate copies only.

[flameproof]

I just had a look at the article, and it seems to have been changed from when Flameproof quoted it:

I used another link to another article first and then changed it to the one now. The pasted part is still from the first article.

I didn't bother to change the post since the information is more or less the same.

BTW, for our PCs in China we use Linux. If we would use Xp it would be only authentic stuff. But the problem with Xp is that staff plays too much with it and you have constant virus problems - Linux does not really have such problems.

No kidding, all they're gonna do is turn your desktop background black? I used to have mine black by default, does that mean that I am encouraged to use fake software?

Your desktop background image will change to "Hello Kitty", that will really teach you a lesson!

[HashiriKata]

Anyone's got further news on this? I only hope that any scheme like this by Microsoft will fail. Personally I think Microsoft are the "baddest" pirates of all. I normally use just one computer but I've had to pay Microsoft again and again for every computer I've bought for my own use. Does anyone think this is fair?

[imron]

Does anyone think this is fair?

Plenty of people, don't, which is why there are things like Linux. As for the current situation, in recent weeks/months Microsoft has really been stepping up its anti-piracy campaigns and has won several lawsuits, including one recently in Qingdao where they were awarded RMB 1 mln in damages.

[Shadowdh]

A quick question related to the whole making sure your windows is genuine thing, when you install sp3 doesnt it do the WGA thing to make sure its a real copy? I am sure when I installed sp3 there was something flashing up saying verifying your copy or somesuch...

[null]

i skipped the installation of WGA and OGA, so nothing has happened so far.

[adrianlondon]

I've had to pay Microsoft again and again for every computer I've bought for my own use

I think you can get the OS re-licensed if you change hardware. However, this is only if you bought a retail copy of Windows. If you got it with your laptop, then the fee is less and it's only licenced for that one laptop. The reasoning being that if you sell or give away the laptop, then someone else is using the OS. And if you bin it, then ... oh well.

[Prodigal Son]

I'm getting ready to ditch Windows completely in the near future. Recently I've gotten a netbook that runs OSX flawlessly and faster than Windows (right now it's dual boot). My desktop is a PC I built which already runs OSX albeit with some limitations (I'm upgrading some hardware to make everything 100% compatible). Linux is another option for people who don't want to use Windows but the limited range of software makes that a non option for me.

Anyway unless Windows 7 is a really dramatic step up from XP, Windows' market share will continue to decline in this landscape of better alternatives.

[jiangl]

If there's one thing I can guarantee about computer technology, it's the pirates will always, always, always be able to circumvent the latest anti-piracy methods. I wouldn't be surprised if this manuever -if it turns out to be anything at all- hurts legitimate customers the most. I prefer Windows to the alternatives after trying them, but I just wonder how long it's going to take before technology folks from all companies realize that excessive DRM is basically a "PLEASE PIRATE ME" sticker on the product.

[jbradfor]

If there's one thing I can guarantee about computer technology, it's the pirates will always, always, always be able to circumvent the latest anti-piracy methods.

Has the anti-piracy methods been broken for

• PlayStation 3
  
• XBox 360
  
• Apple "FairPlay" DRM
  
• Blu-ray DVD
  

And by "broken" I mean in the general case, like DVD's CSS was broken, so that it is trivial for a non-sophisticated user to defeat the copy protection on any media?

My point is after a number of embarrassing mistakes, anti-piracy technology has gotten better, so I can see why Microsoft would want to give it another try.

[jiangl]

* PlayStation 3

* XBox 360

* Apple "FairPlay" DRM

* Blu-ray DVD

PS3 piracy is prohibited more by the high cost of consumer bluray technology than the actual DRM - brilliant move on Sony's part, in my opinion. The lack of region-locking also counters a common reason for downloading without paying. Piracy definitely is possible, although it's more theoretical than practical. Last I read, some folks were working on a way to run games off the hard drive.

360 "DRM" has been broken for a long time. Heck, Fallout 3 for the 360 was downloadable and playable before it even hit store shelves.

Fairplay was reverse engineered by DVD Jon years ago.

Like I said above, bluray piracy is prevented not so much by the DRM itself but by several key factors. The high cost of writable bluray DVDs and burners severely decreases the amount of money saved by downloading and burning instead of legitimately buying. Again, only time will tell, but I don't think the days of widespread bluray pirating are far off, assuming the format ever becomes mainstream enough to merit it.

I'm not a pirate for the vast majority of media I use, and nine times out of ten I sincerely want to support the band/developer/movie studio. I just think the concept of draconian DRM as a legitimate anti-priacy solution is absurd. Look at it this way. I'm a Windows guy, but OS X is absurdly easy to pirate. There's almost no copy protection, and you don't even need to burn a DVD to update to the latest version. And yet you rarely hear Apple complaining about piracy of their OS. In my opinion, this is due to brand loyalty and the fact that OS X updates are significantly cheaper than Windows updates.

[imron]

Bluray was cracked ages ago. Trivial for a non-sophisticated user to defeat? Absolutely. Just visit any torrent site and you have a vast array of movie torrents ripped straight from Bluray to download in full HD glory. It might not be convenient to burn them and watch them on a Bluray player, but who cares when they can be streamed directly from the computer to the TV.