Microsoft drops 'killswitch' from Windows Vista
updated 12:10 pm EST, Tue December 4, 2007
Vista 'killswitch' removed
Bowing to pressure, Microsoft will soon remove an anti-piracy measure from Windows Vista that cripples the software, say Reuters and BBC News. Vista Service Pack 1, which should be available in the first quarter of 2008, will strip away software that renders Vista all but unusable if the Windows Genuine Advantage tool deems an OS illegal. The difficulty, Microsoft has admitted, is that it in numerous cases the tool has misreported copies of Vista, locking legitimate users out of their own purchases.
Instead, says Microsoft VP Mike Sievert, Genuine Advantage will merely scan systems occasionally, checking to see whether they are properly activated. Invalid copies will trigger notices with a link to purchase a legal copy. "It's worth re-emphasizing that our fundamental strategy has not changed," Sievert notes.
Reflecting this, the Pack will also close two loopholes used by pirates: one which lets pirates simulate activation, and another which artificially extends the time limit between installation and mandatory registration.










Genuine Disadvantage
12/04, 12:56pm reply
From the first time I saw Genuine Advantage it was obvious that this would only result in legal copies being disabled.
If I know my copy is legal, there is only a disadvantage to have this software on my system.
I held out as long as possible to keep this off my XP install, and would have opted-out if I could have for Vista.
ClevelandAdv
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Joined: Jul 2004
Doing a favor
12/04, 12:58pm reply
I'd say Microsoft was doing the user a favor by triggering the kill switch.
(Come on, it had to be said!)
jimothy
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Joined: Sep 2000
assholery
12/04, 01:10pm reply
once again, Microsoft shows how user un-friendly they are.
Mac OS X? You SHOULD purchase one copy per computer... but there is no snitch software included. Yet another reason to get a Mac.
climacs
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Joined: Sep 2001
Re: assholery
12/04, 01:20pm reply
Mac OS X? You SHOULD purchase one copy per computer... but there is no snitch software included. Yet another reason to get a Mac.
Not now. But who's to say what Apple will be putting in there, esp. with Apple getting oh so popular. Hey, they do it with their pro apps...
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
re: re: assholery
12/04, 01:24pm reply
What Apple pro apps have kill switches?
koolkid1976
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Joined: May 2003
Apple won't need to
12/04, 01:44pm reply
…include a snitch feature with their OS because they make the computer too. Steve Jobs has always been about the hardware with the OS just part of the whole. If he had taken the software more seriously he would have got a patent on the OS before showing it to Billy boy and having him rip it off. Hence, we wouldn't even be talking about this Vista problem today.
Apple is glad you bought the computer and if anything wants to make sure you will buy another soon. The OS is a carrot on a stick and if more people scam it then maybe more people will want to get the computer that comes with it.
manleycreative
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Joined: Sep 2005
testudo strikes again
12/04, 02:00pm reply
for the love of FSM give your knee-jerk anti-Appleism a rest.
climacs
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Joined: Sep 2001
re: re: assholery
12/04, 02:02pm reply
"Not now. But who's to say what Apple will be putting in there, esp. with Apple getting oh so popular. Hey, they do it with their pro apps..."
And maybe Apple will start selling eight different versions of OS X, and maybe the sky will fall, and maybe Bush will tell the truth for once in his life.
climacs
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2001
Kill Switch
12/04, 02:35pm reply
No Apple pro apps have "kill switches." I believe some have the same mechanism that Photoshop uses, where if it spots another copy on the network with the same SN it will require you to quit one.
jumbojet
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Joined: Aug 2002
FM pro 9
12/04, 02:43pm reply
Filemaker pro 9 has an "iTunes-like" DRM copy protection, it works ok and offers enough freedom to work with. I'm convinced iTunes and its fairplay DRM can and will be used for software copy protection.
That said, this has nothing to do with the protection itself, it's MS trying to make Vista more appealing over XP. If they drop this protection it makes Vista more open than XP.
Peter Bonte
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Joined: Aug 2001