dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
uniqs
19
psloss
Premium Member
join:2002-02-24

2 recommendations

psloss to blacksurfer

Premium Member

to blacksurfer

Re: People with fake keys can't protect from Sasse

Unless Microsoft can disable XP's built-in firewall on pirated copies, those can protect themselves from worms like Sasser by using it.

Philip Sloss
B04
Premium Member
join:2000-10-28

B04

Premium Member

said by psloss:
Unless Microsoft can disable XP's built-in firewall on pirated copies, those can protect themselves from worms like Sasser by using it.

Well, at least psloss makes a reasonable point.

Many of you others seem to be ignoring blacksurfer's concise, very valid point -- "THIS IS EXACERBATING THE PROBLEM".

In my opinion it was always rather stupid of MS to deny updates to pirated copies, for exactly this reason, which a lot of people saw coming (and discussed) a mile away.

1. MS does not have the, er, most admirable security history.

2. MS claimed a new security initiative, top priority, blah blah blah.

3. MS KNOWS FULL WELL that thousands (millions) of copies of all its software are pirated, and in many cases actively, if selectively, polices that. In addition they KNOW FULL WELL that people have gotten around their WPA protections in many cases. (It can easily be argued that one big factor to MS's overall success is the initial and continued widespread piracy of things like Office, but that's another thread.)

4. MS intentionally cuts off pirates (or more significantly, innocent users who MAY NOT KNOW that their vendor or geek has installed pirated software) from both feature AND security updates. This is petty and wrong, if ONLY because of MS's overwhelming dominance on the desktop and the Internet.

Does it cost MS extra bandwidth they are NOT obligated to provide? Sure, but that's a rather petty reason to provide yet ANOTHER path that allows UNCHECKED propagation of worms and spam and such.

I would not be entirely averse to MS tracking down those who try to get updates with pirated copies, but to refuse them entirely is bad policy.

No, I don't use or condone pirated copies of any software (that's why I root for free and "Free" alternatives for the cheapskates among us). Also, if you're a stickler you can replace "pirated" with "copyright infringed" all through the above -- I'm far too lazy for that.

-- B
KUppiano
Karl Uppiano
join:2003-02-02
Ferndale, WA

1 recommendation

KUppiano

Member

Microsoft is a business, not a frickin charity. If someone steals something, they aren't eligible for support for the stolen goods. Period. Therefore, they should be responsible for any consequential damanges caused by that situation.
xrobertcmx
Premium Member
join:2001-06-18
White Plains, MD

xrobertcmx to B04

Premium Member

to B04
My mother got nailed by one of those. She bought a computer from a local store in Rome, NY. Not only did it have a via in it, which he claimed was an intel chip, but it had an illegal copy of Win 98SE. And no disk was given to her.
She was told to just bring it in if she had trouble.
When I found out I hit the roof.
$700 for all of that. I built an AMD with a legal copy of Win XP for just less then that.

jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
MVM
join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA

jvmorris

MVM

said by xrobertcmx:
My mother got nailed by one of those. She bought a computer from a local store in Rome, NY. Not only did it have a via in it, which he claimed was an intel chip, but it had an illegal copy of Win 98SE. And no disk was given to her. . . .
Yeah, that's a clear indication of the group of users that I was concerned about. They don't even know that they've just gotten a pirated copy of Windows. So, ahh, maybe they try to run Windows Update and it doesn't work? (Are they getting any notification as to why that is? I think not.) They take it back to that friendly neighborhood Mom and Pop computer shop just down the street. The techs "fix" the problem in a matter of minutes. They go home.

Oddly enough, the shop no longer seems to be in that location a couple of weeks later, but there's a new shop just a few blocks down the road and Golly, gee whillikers!, the same techs are now working there!
xrobertcmx
Premium Member
join:2001-06-18
White Plains, MD

xrobertcmx

Premium Member

I have no idea what happened to her friend "Gary" who worked there, but he was gone last time I checked. I don't know if MS caught up with him or not after I let them know.

jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
MVM
join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA

jvmorris

MVM

said by xrobertcmx:
I have no idea what happened to her friend "Gary" who worked there, but he was gone last time I checked. I don't know if MS caught up with him or not after I let them know.
He's probably now doing the same damn thing, only under the name of Peter in the next town over.