David Lazar, from the Windows Genuine Advantage programme, has been speaking to BetaNews about the tough time Microsoft has with product piracy.
If you're not familiar with WGA, you will be soon. If you've been to download DirectX, or Windows Media Player 10 recently, you'll have noticed a box asking you to verify your copy of Windows. This checks the integrity and serial of your Windows installation, making sure you're not running a warezed version.
Currently, the integrity check is optional. By the middle of this year, it won't be.
Why this extra check? Doesn't Product Activation, introduced with Windows XP, work any more? The interview includes some great quotes from David.
"There are a couple of reasons that WGA is helpful. Number 1 is kind of the reminder thing. Sometimes you take things for granted and forget the value of the good things that you have in your life, so Microsoft comes back with a reminder to check and see if you are running genuine software."
Sometimes we take for granted the good things in our life? Shall I run a Girlfriend Validity programme too?
"The next thing is that there are holes in activation. For example, in Russia, they have figured out how to hack Windows to get around activation - so end users could end up with a copy of Windows that does not have to activate."
A copy of Windows XP that you don't have to activate? OH NOES!
Of course, this only happens in Russia, obviously.
If you want to read more of the hilarity, you can do so at BetaNews, here. Alternatively, if you think Microsoft should stop overcharging for Windows, why not let us know your point of view in this discussion thread in our forums?
If you're not familiar with WGA, you will be soon. If you've been to download DirectX, or Windows Media Player 10 recently, you'll have noticed a box asking you to verify your copy of Windows. This checks the integrity and serial of your Windows installation, making sure you're not running a warezed version.
Currently, the integrity check is optional. By the middle of this year, it won't be.
Why this extra check? Doesn't Product Activation, introduced with Windows XP, work any more? The interview includes some great quotes from David.
"There are a couple of reasons that WGA is helpful. Number 1 is kind of the reminder thing. Sometimes you take things for granted and forget the value of the good things that you have in your life, so Microsoft comes back with a reminder to check and see if you are running genuine software."
Sometimes we take for granted the good things in our life? Shall I run a Girlfriend Validity programme too?
"The next thing is that there are holes in activation. For example, in Russia, they have figured out how to hack Windows to get around activation - so end users could end up with a copy of Windows that does not have to activate."
A copy of Windows XP that you don't have to activate? OH NOES!
Of course, this only happens in Russia, obviously.
If you want to read more of the hilarity, you can do so at BetaNews, here. Alternatively, if you think Microsoft should stop overcharging for Windows, why not let us know your point of view in this discussion thread in our forums?
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