Microsoft to lock pirates out of Vista PCs

update Windows Vista will have new antipiracy technology that locks people out their PCs if the operating system isn't activated within 30 days after installation.

If Vista is not activated with a legitimate product registration key in time, the system will run in "reduced functionality mode" until it is activated, said Thomas Lindeman, a senior product manager at Microsoft. In this mode, people will be able to use a Web browser for up to an hour, after which time the system will log them out, he said.

The new technology is part of Microsoft's new "Software Protection Platform," which the company plans to announce on Wednesday. It will be part of future versions of all Microsoft products, but debuts in Windows Vista and Windows Server "Longhorn," said Cori Hartje, director of Microsoft's Windows Genuine Software Initiative. Vista, the successor to Windows XP, is slated to be broadly available in January.

Microsoft has escalated its battle with software pirates during the past two years through the "Genuine Advantage" add-ons for Windows and Office, its biggest cash cows. The company is now expanding its push by baking antipiracy features into its new products and taking more drastic action when it finds that a product was illegitimately acquired.

Many users shouldn't be confronted by Vista's antipiracy technology, however. People who buy a PC with Vista installed from companies such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Gateway, for example, should find the operating system activated already.

"Everything is going to be good to go right out of the box," Hartje said. "This is more for those who install after the fact."

Those who install Vista themselves, for example on existing PCs, will have a 30-day period to activate the operating system and validate with Microsoft that they have a legitimate license. "During those 30 days, you get warning messages, it counts down. During the last three days they get very frequent," Lindeman said.

If ignored, after 30 days Vista will display four options. The first will allow the user to activate online, the second is to run in reduced functionality mode, the third is to enter a product key and the fourth displays instructions to activate by phone, Lindeman said.

"In reduced functionality mode, we will let you use your browser for periods of up to an hour before we log you off," Lindeman said.

Barring people from using their PC is a significant change from the antipiracy features that Microsoft bolted on to Windows XP with Windows Genuine Advantage. In XP, the piracy-busting features only put a block on downloading additional programs from Microsoft's Web sites.

Windows XP also included product activation, but people could still use their machine in "safe mode" if the operating system was not activated. Moreover, no activation was required if a volume license key was used, the most popular way of pirating Windows. Starting with Vista, Microsoft will no longer give out those types of license keys, which are typically used by larger organizations.

"Piracy is one of the most significant problems facing the software industry," Hartje said. More than a third of all software installed last year was pirated or unlicensed, she said, citing figures from the Business Software Alliance, a software industry group.

Microsoft will continue to check if Vista was legitimately acquired, even after activation. This happens, for example, when downloading additional Microsoft programs. Should a license key be deemed illegitimate, the user will be given another 30-day grace period to acquire a legitimate license key, Microsoft said.

During this grace period warnings will be displayed and Vista will block access to the Windows Defender antispyware tool, ReadyBoost memory expansion feature and Aero advanced graphics option, Microsoft said. Also, a persistent text will display in the lower right hand of the screen: "This copy of Windows is not genuine."

If Vista is not validated after the 30 days, the user will again be locked out.

As part of the increased effort to make it harder to pirate its products, Microsoft is also changing the way businesses license its software. New licensing systems will replace the current volume license keys, which have been widely abused, Hartje said. "Fifty percent of the piracy, we think, uses keys issued to volume licensing customers," she said.

Volume license keys are registration codes for products that Microsoft gives out to large organizations in plain text. One key can be used to activate and run an unlimited number of copies of the product, for example Windows XP or Office XP.

Starting with Vista, Microsoft will offer two different types of keys and offer three different ways to distribute them within an organization. In all cases, some more work will be required on the part of the technology department at a company.

"They will just need to do a little extra planning," Hartje said.

The first type of product key to replace the current system is called "multiple activation key," or MAK. An IT pro at a company can install a key on a machine that will then need to be validated online. Alternatively a proxy can be set up centrally to activate multiple systems at once, according to Microsoft.

The second licensing option is called "key management service," or KMS. This requires the organization to set up a KMS service on the corporate network that will activate client machines. The Vista PCs will silently find the KMS service and activate, according to Microsoft.

It may seem like businesses will have to count all their licenses, but it's really not as bad as it sounds, said Michael Silver, an analyst with Gartner.

"It has nothing to do with license counting right now, but companies will need to expend time and effort and some money to administer this, in the name of helping Microsoft recoup revenue lost to piracy," he said. "There needs to be more of a benefit (for customers). Linux and Mac communities will try to make hay with this, but this will not be the tipping point."

[rcrusoe]

"They will just need to do a little extra planning,"

Great, the cost of operating Windows computers is going up again.

And MS thinks businesses are going to adopt Vista faster than they did XP?

[Raemir]

Why would anyone....

want to "upgrade" to an OS that requires even more to work to do less? I have yet to see any "feature" in Vista that I actually want, let alone need--and if I'm going to have to work harder.... Microsoft is just shooting themselves in the proverbial foot.

Microsoft grew to be a market leader because their software was easily obtainable and useable. But, there is no reason to believe they'll stay a leader when their software is hard to obtain and use.

I know I won't be upgrading to Vista and I'll find ways to keep my current version of XP working as long as I need to. And, this is what I'll be suggesting my employer do as well, since all Vista would do is steal company resources we could much better employ elsewhere.

[PCCRomeo]

Windows is forever in "reduced functionality mode"

...I give it 3 days 'till after Vista's release to be hacked......

[GrandpaN1947]

Linnux is a failure

and Microsoft knows it. Otherwise they wouldn't get away with this crap. Now, more than ever, we need an alternate OS. For the immediate future we may see more multiple boot configurations so other OS's will do what Vista won't.

VISTA: Defective by design

[W2Kuser]

Gates - "Golly, why are Vista sales slow?"

What an extraordinary disaster in the making.

Vista already has my vote for "biggest disaster of the decade".

Brilliant marketing moves like this just add to the highlight film...

[jones_8099]

Taking Bets?

I bet the online activation is hacked on the same day as the official
public release. After-all XPs online activation was hacked before
the official public release date so I am willing to say MS is a little
smarter now thats why I'm saying it will take until the release date
this time.

[Mallardd]

This may be a good thing

If Windows wasn't as widely pirated as is
currently the case, then perhaps more people
would be using something different. Piracy has
actually helped Microsoft immensely with pushing
their products while displacing the competition.
People may be more willing to consider or at
least try alternatives such as Open Office or
Linux if they they actually had to pay for
Windows or Microsoft Office. Piracy is wrong
anyway... I could go on but I won't.

[PhilMacD]

Activation Existed in Windows XP as well

Guess you kinda overlooked that tho.

[ballssalty]

Once again CNET misreports

XP does the same freaking thing! If you install XP you have 30 days to register either over the Internet or over the phone. This is no different.

[FusedAndCondazed]

You guys don't get it

The activation model in XP was in previous versions of Office (2000). It was basic, and it was easy to get around once you figured out the process. Vista is a whole new monster. Think of it as the difference between using a network trace to sniff for clear text passwords vs. encrypted passwords. Which one is going to take seconds to get vs. one that takes hours or even days?

Just by making it a little harder, its more revenue. Truth is, if people didn't want to run Windows, they have other options. They are just either too lazy to try them or too stupid to figure out how to do the same thing on another OS.

[thomaskray]

SOunds like some of you are pirates

Some of you complain about having to activate your software. Well that makes me think you're wanting something for free. If you were in Gates's position, I bet you wouldn't want to give away your software for free either. While Linux is free-as-in-beer, it wouldn't be for long if it was widely adopted.

[jeffhesser]

1 week before release!

I would put my money on it being hacked with near perfection at least a week before the public release. All M$ has done is give the crackers an excuse to avoid sunlight for a few extra weeks.

[thomaskray]

That's my point...

MS wants to stop users like you who look for ways to beat the system. If you invented Windows, you would do the same thing that Gates is trying to do. Sure, free unlicensed computers for everyone would be nice but this is not utopia.

[josephatshop]

HOW LONG?

Good for them and I hope it lasts but realistically speaking. It's only a matter of time till the Chinese etc hack it and someway bypass these security features. The only way which will help curb the counterfeiting is only for their governments to enforce copyright laws once and for all!!!!!

[john55440]

I don't care what MS does to pirates -nt

no text

[pchesels]

MICROSOFT ALLOWED THE PIRACY

M$ allowed the piracy of Windows NT server for years to gain market share. If you remember, Novell had the major share of the Network operating system market until M$ came onto the scene and offered windows NT server. How did M$ win over the 70% difference from Novell? Novell used to charge people for CAL's that you had to purchase and was sent to you on a floppy. M$ decided that they would offer their NOS and allow users to add CALS freely and the "Pay for them later" honor system. Obviously it was the IT folks who gave M$ the market share by piracy, but for M$ to allow piracy then to gain total control of the NOS market then start cracking down on piracy is lunacy. Call the kettle black. The only reason why M$ has what it has today is because of piracy and m$ thieving other peoples ideas and software. Now they want to critisize other people for doing exactly what they did and got away with. Shame on you M$!

[Amazingant]

Ok,

So it sounds like a good idea. But what about all those crazy people who have no internet connection? If they can't connect to the internet to prove it's a paid for copy, then they just waisted money on a computer they can only use for 30 days.

[Jonathan]

More Power to 'em

I tried out RC1 for a month. Utter garbage. The UI is a fricking mess. Go and try to modify your network settings. I dare you. It will take you 20 minutes. Just try and find how to change the computer?s name. Its nothing like XP/2K?s. The new graphic subsystem? A joke. Windows own screensaver crashes once a week or so. FireFox crashes once a day. Right clicking in some apps crashes the app until you scale the UI back from Aero to ?classic?. If this is what the ?final? version of Windows Vista is supost to be MS can keep it. I know they have done a good job on the undercarriage of Vista but I?d pull out my hair if I had to use this GUI on a day to day basis. So MS can do whatever they want to getting pirates off their OS. I wouldn't touch this OS with a 10 foot cattle pro or at the very least a new version release. Maybe Vista 2010.

[palapaquete]

To risky to use hacked software version.

The number of bad hackers is on the rise. They will hack windows vista and release it to the ?public? along with back doors and spy ware built in. They do not work for free. You get free software, they get free hardware. I installed an illegal Photoshop copy from bittorent. My antivirus did not find any virus or something wrong, but the firewall started to complain about Photoshop trying to reach the net? and it was not trying to call adobe. If they can hack the program to bypass registration, why not add extra lines of code to do something else? And what best way to infect a machine than this one?

So my days as a pirate are over.

[chuchucuhi]

casual

The activation probably won't stop the hardcore pirate but may put more of the kabash on the "casual pirate" which I think is what they are going for.