Pirated Vista may be useless, Microsoft says
Microsoft said supposedly pirated copies of its new Vista computer operating system "will be of limited value" to those who use them.
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15.11.2006 Half of pirated Vista is malware
Alleged "cracked" versions of Vista appearing on peer-to-peer networks often turn out to be Trojan horses. About half of the downloads claiming to be free versions of Microsoft's Vista operating system are actually malicious Trojan horse software, security vendor DriveSentry warned Thursday.
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26.1.2007 Why pirated Vista has Microsoft champing at the BitTorrent
As Microsoft Corp. gets ready to launch Windows Vista and Office 2007 to consumers, it claims a formidable new foe it lacked at its last major consumer software launch five years ago: the popular filesharing network known as BitTorrent. This third-generation peer-to-peer (P2P) service, already used by tens of millions of Internet users to swap digital music and movies for free, is becoming a popular mechanism for those looking to obtain pirated software.
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26.1.2007 Does Microsoft Actually Want Windows Vista SP1 to Be Pirated?
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is currently in its final stages of development in Redmond Utero, and heading for the first release candidate stage.
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6.12.2007 Why buy a genuine Windows Vista when pirated is easier and better?
Recently Microsoft had a 50% price cut for Home Basic and Home Premium Editions of Windows Vista. The price cut is mainly targeted at China which has the 2nd highest software piracy rate in the world after Vietnam. Thanks to thepodest for this post on the blog.
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8.8.2007 Windows 7 Already Pirated, Not Even Out
Just came back from our usual family weekend outing when I chanced upon a stall in one of the supermarkets here in the Philippines.
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2.3.2009 Pirated Windows 7 Just $3
Windows 7 might officially be just two days away from becoming available for purchase to customers worldwide, but fact is that the operating system is already available for free, almost free, or at a reduced price compared to what Microsoft is charging for the product.
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20.10.2009 2 Year Old Pirated Keys Defeats WGA
On July 18, Microsoft's WGA team promised to send me a disk with a product key from their blocked list. It was supposed to arrive via overnight service, but it was never sent.
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9.8.2006 22% of Windows Installs Pirated, 2.6Million of that Genuine?
Microsoft's anti-piracy tool, aka Windows Genuine Advantage, launched in 30 months ago in 2005. Since then, 512 million have tried to validate their copy of Windows and 114 million users, or 22.3%, were labeled by Microsoft as pirates.
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24.1.2007 Microsoft files 52 suits over pirated software
Microsoft is ramping up its fight against counterfeit software, this time targeting people alleged to have sold pirated versions of its programs on online marketplaces.
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14.12.2007 Microsoft to Kill Pirated Windows XP Professional
Having dealt with the SoftMod Windows Vista activation crack, Microsoft will start hunting down and “killing” pirated copies of Windows XP Professional, the flavor of the operating system labeled by the company as most popular with pirates.
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25.3.2009 Microsoft Planning Own Music Player?
Microsoft confirmed on Thursday that it was looking into building its own competitor to Apple's iPod, which controls nearly 75 percent of the MP3 player market. For years, the company took a hands-off approach, allowing its partners to build the players and only offering the software.
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28.1.2006 Warner makes music with YouTube
WARNER Music Group has agreed to distribute and license its copyrighted songs and other material through online video trendsetter YouTube.
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25.9.2006 MSN Music Shutting Down For Zune
Microsoft has announced that its MSN Music service will be discontinued. The announcement comes a few days before the official US launch of Microsoft's Zune player and its associated Zune Marketplace.
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5.11.2006 Warner To YouTube: Stop The Music!
As the battle between YouTube and publishers such as Warner Music Group heats up, increasing numbers of video content publishers are finding that their videos have been stripped of their background music--or they've been removed entirely from the site.
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24.3.2009 China gets free music from Google
According to Reuters, Internet-users in China will be able to download for free approximately 350,000 licensed songs--soon to be more than a million--through Google.
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30.3.2009 Microsoft: Turn Pirated Windows Copies into Genuine Products!
Microsoft is providing users with the means to turn their pirated copies of Windows into genuine products. However, the offer is only available for Windows XP, and not for Windows Vista.
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2.10.2007 Microsoft Backs Off Exclusive Music Deals
Microsoft, already under government scrutiny over its behavior toward competitors, told manufacturers of iPod-like portable audio devices that they were not allowed to distribute rivals' music player software...but then pulled back after one company protested.
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Music Sales Climb 25% In Canada
It's an advocates dream come true. News that sales have never been better in a country where the record industry associated with labels like EMI is in a "moral vacuum."
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9.10.2006 Last.fm debuts free music service
Social music site Last.fm has launched what it describes as the world's biggest free music service.
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23.1.2008 Bypass Zune 3 Play Rule for Shared Music
One of the early complaints about the WiFi sharing ability on the Zune was the rule that limits playback to 3 days or 3 plays on shared tracks.
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17.12.2007 DRM-Free Music Plays for Microsoft. Sorry, Apple
Apple CEO Steve Jobs is getting exactly what he asked for nearly a year ago: industry movement away from DRM music. But the DRM freedom he wanted is looking more like DRM freedom from Apple.
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8.1.2008 Microsoft Backtracks, Allows MSN Music Access Until 2011
After taking some heat for its April decision to shutter its MSN Music servers, Microsoft this week backtracked and decided to allow access until the end of 2011.
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21.6.2008 Genuine Windows Vista vs. Pirated Windows Vista
Enlarge picture
Essentially there is absolutely no difference between a genuine and pirated copy of Windows Vista in terms of functionality. Sure, there is a very good chance that the counterfeit version of the operating system would contain malicious code and that the user experience would be gravely diminished because the fabric of the platform has been tampered with in the cracking process.
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12.9.2007 Yahoo Music continues DRM-free download experiment
Yahoo put another music track without DRM (digital rights management) on sale through its Yahoo Music service Tuesday.
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6.12.2006 Microsoft set to launch a music streaming service this month
The Telegraph is exclusively reporting that Microsoft is planning to launch a streaming music service, similar to Spotify, later this month.
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13.7.2009 MS to unify MSN, Xbox and Zune with Ignition music platform
Microsoft Corp. today announced the launch of Ignition, a new program that gives recording artists with new releases a unique channel to reach tens of millions of consumers, whether they are browsing music online, playing games or catching up on the latest news.
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6.6.2007 Microsoft patents watermark technology that may lock down DRM-free music
Microsoft has won a patent for a digital-watermarking technology that could be used to protect the rights of content owners even when digital music is distributed without DRM protection.
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12.9.2007 Vista Most Secure OS
Microsoft has applauded Vista from the get go as the most secure Windows platform, but according to a comparison put together by Jeff Jones, Security Strategy Director in Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing group, the status quo is also valid for rival operating systems.
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23.6.2007 Microsoft Must Turn To Virtual OS After Vista
Microsoft can't afford five-year gaps in between major operating system releases, Gartner says, and the way around the delays is with modules.
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8.9.2006Pirated Vista may be useless, Microsoft says
Microsoft said supposedly
pirated copies of its new
Vista computer operating
system "will be of limited
value" to those who use them.
Microsoft responded Tuesday to
reports that some Web sites
have been circulating pirated
copies of Vista and the Office
2007 applications suite.
The pirated Vista
comes with a product key that
users can enter to activate a
version of the products on
their computers without paying
for them, according to a
report on the Web site of The
Sydney (Australia) Morning
Herald newspaper. A product
key is a unique serial number
tied to each package of a
software product.
A second download, called an
"activation crack," can then
be applied that bypasses the
activation process intended to
guarantee that the Vista OS
being downloaded is
legitimate, the Herald
reported. Pirated copies of
Office 2007 can be downloaded
just with the product key with
no second activation code
required. But Microsoft said
in a prepared statement that
those pirated copies of the OS
won't work for long.
neowin.net -
16.11.2006Black screen of darkness to haunt Vista pirates
Microsoft Windows' infamous "Blue Screen of Death" has become synonymous with an operating system crash or freeze, but that's nothing compared
with what users of pirated copies of Vista worldwide can expect from now - a black screen of darkness.
In an e-mail to a large
Windows Vista OEM distributor titled "Pirated Vista - A darkness descends!", a local Microsoft representative made it quite clear what Vista pirates
can expect to happen to their unlicenced installations.
A copy of this e-mail was obtained by Computerworld:
Good Afternoon, As of this week, Microsoft have
activated a function in Vista called 'Reduced Functionality'. This is a specific
function in Vista which effectively disables non genuine copies of Windows. Therefore, anyone who has a pirated copy of Vista will
experience...
winbeta.org - 11.09.2007
Pirated Vista May Be Useless
It looks like Microsoft was
prepared for a leak of their
upcoming OS, and has
officially stated that they
can easily render the pirated
copies useless.
"The copies available for
download are not final code
and users should avoid
unauthorized copies which
could be incomplete or
tampered. This unauthorized
download relies on the use of
pre-RTM
activation keys that will be
blocked using Microsoft's
Software Protection Platform.
Consequently, these downloads
will be of limited value,"
the statement said.
jcxp.net - 20.11.2006
Study: EU Kids Ignore Risks of MP3 Sharing
A European Commission study
has found that children in the
EU know that downloading
pirated music is illegal,
however they justify it with a
wide variety of excuses. Among
the most popular were that
everyone was doing it;
downloads were for their use
only; and that CDs and DVDs
are too costly. Many didn't
believe that downloading harms
the artist at all.
The threat of legal
repercussions is not what is
stopping many from downloading
pirated MP3s. In fact, many
cited the risk of infecting
their computers with a virus
as a bigger deterrent. Almost
all polled said they also
planned to continue
downloading music.
winbeta.org - 13.08.2007
Warner CEO Admits His Kids Pirated Music
According to Reuters,
Warner CEO Edgar Bronfman
recently admitted that his
kids stole music.
When asked whether any of
his seven kids stole music.
"I'm fairly certain
that they have, and I'm
fairly certain that they've
suffered the
consequences."
"I
explained to them what I
believe is right, that the
principle is that stealing
music is stealing music.
Frankly, right is right and
wrong is wrong, particularly
when a parent is talking to a
child. A bright line around
moral responsibility is very
important. I can assure you
they no longer do that."
Great, but what did he
do to them?
"I
think I'll keep that within
the family."
Doug
Morris of Universal Music
Group calls iPod owners
theives and now we have the
Warner CEO admiting that his
kids have pirated music!
neowin.net - 05.12.2006
Three Indicted in Huge CD
Piracy Bust
Three men were indicted on
Wednesday in what is being
called the biggest pirated-CD
ring in U.S. history.
Altogether, some 325,000 music
and software CDs were
produced, which contained
Latin music and Symantec
security software. All three
have been released on bail and
await trial, scheduled for
October 27...
betanews.com - 14.10.2005
IFPI to Sue Yahoo China for
Music Piracy
A record industry group said
Tuesday that it planned to sue
Yahoo China over copyright
infringement, saying the
service was making pirated
copies of music available for
download from its Web site.
The site is a partnership
between Yahoo and
Chinese-owned company
Alibaba.com...
betanews.com - 05.07.2006
Mac Trojan hits pirated copies of Adobe Photoshop
Although Apple's Macintosh environment has long been touted by its fans as "more secure" than Windows, a Trojan enabling remote control of
Mac machines struck a second time this week.
Earlier found only in illegal copies of Apple's iWork Suite, the Trojan has now turned up in
pirated copies of Adobe Photoshop for Mac OS X. Actually, the Trojan doesn't even exploit any OS vulnerability. Instead, it disguises itself as part
of the installer package for the application, so it is installed along with the application. Once installed, the malware launches a back door program,
thereby allowing an attacker to remotely conduct misdeeds such as copying data.
A tool for detecting and removing specifically this Trojan is
now available from SecureMac.com...
betanews.com - 29.01.2009
US Gov't Cracks Down On Pirated Games
The US Goverment said
Wednesday that it had executed
32 search warrants in 16
states as part of a crackdown
on devices and chips which
allow pirated games to be
played on gaming consoles...
betanews.com - 02.08.2007
AT&T to target pirated content
AT&T Inc. has joined Hollywood
studios and recording
companies in trying to keep
pirated films, music and other
content off its network the
first major carrier of
Internet traffic to do so.
The San Antonio-based
company started working last
week with studios and record
companies to develop
anti-piracy technology that
would target the most frequent
offenders, said James W.
Cicconi, an AT&T senior vice
president.
The
nation's largest telephone
and Internet service provider
also operates the biggest
cross-country system for
handling Internet traffic for
its customers and those of
other providers...
winbeta.org - 14.06.2007
Rapidshare's future in doubt following legal defeat
The popular file-sharing service may be forced to shut down if it can not control the uploading of pirated music to its service after a German court
ruling...
betanews.com - 29.01.2008
aXXo's Pirated Movies Used to Promote the iMac
The DVD ripper aXXo is without a doubt one of the most popular DVD-rippers. Even though he hasn’t been active since November 2007, his rips are
still widely used, even by commercial outlets such as the John Lewis store. They must have thought, “Why use a real DVD if we can use a pirated
movie for free?”
Read full
story.....
neowin.net - 24.01.2008
Paid Zune Sharing: Patent Pending
A recently discovered
Microsoft patent application
titled "Off-line
Economies for Digital
Media" describes how Zune
owners can get paid for
sharing music. The Zune MP3
player has a unique ability to
transfer songs wirelessly from
Zune to Zune. According to the
patent, Microsoft would like
to erect a system by which
pirated music (yes the term
pirated is used in the
document several times) can be
transferred to other Zune
devices, and the sender can be
paid a sales commission. Of
course this would work with
legally obtained music also.
A common
misconception is that iTunes
is the 3rd largest distributor
of music overall and the
largest online distributor.
Unfortunately the truth is
that illegal download sites
distribute more music than
iTunes, Walmart, Amazon, and
Best Buy put together.
The technology proposed by
Microsoft would essentially
allow them to capitalize on
this by "encrypting" songs
transferred offline (in other
words Zune to Zune). The
person receiving the file
could use it three times, then
be forced to pay for the song.
Once the song is paid for
sales commission go to the
sender and Zune Marketplace
while the bulk of the money
would go to the copyright
holder. They system would
essentially convert illegal
music into legal music. It
would also give a strong
retail presence to Zune by
creating 1 million traveling
salesmen of all ages.
winbeta.org - 12.07.2007
Report: 1 in 3 Software
Installs Pirated
Software piracy worldwide
increased five percent last
year, costing the industry
some $34 billion during 2005,
research firm IDC reported on
Tuesday. According to the
study, one out of every three
copies of software in 2005 was
pirated...
betanews.com - 24.05.2006
Pirated Windows 7 Builds a Botnet With Trojan
Attackers pushing pirated, malware-laced copies of Windows 7 have been actively trying to build a botnet.
According to
researchers at Damballa, attackers hid a Trojan inside of pirated copies of the operating system and began circulating them on BitTorrent sites. The
company reported they shut down the botnet's command and control server May 10, however by that time infection rates had risen as high as 552 users
per hour.
winbeta.org - 13.05.2009
Microsoft Sues 26 Software
Pirates
Microsoft said late Monday
that it had filed 26 lawsuits
against dealers of pirated
software in seven states. The
companies are accused of
either offering pirated
material or installing it on
computers the defendants sold...
betanews.com - 18.07.2006
Yahoo China Loses Piracy Case
Yahoo's China arm lost a case
in a Beijing court that found
it had infringed copyrights by
allowing links to pirated
music on its search engine...
betanews.com - 24.04.2007
Desktop OS, Hold the Vista
Exclusive eWEEK research indicates that Microsoft's desktop Windows operating system is a rousing success.
Vista?
No, XP.
In a survey conducted by Ziff Davis Enterprise Editorial Research for eWEEK of enterprise IT professionals, just
2 percent of respondents said that Vista was the primary desktop operating system at their companies, while 92 percent indicated that XP was their
primary desktop OS.
The majority of respondents also indicated that the move to Vista will not be driven by any improvements the
new OS offers, but rather by new hardware.
winbeta.org - 14.03.2008
Make Beautiful Music with Windows Vista—at Home or On the Go
Columnist S.E. Slack explains
how to use Windows Media
Center in Windows Vista to
experience digital music on
your PC and portable device...
microsoft.com/windowsvista - 24.01.2007
Sony BMG accused of using pirated software
Small French software developer PointDev is suing Sony BMG saying it uses pirated copies of PointDev's Ideal Migration software...
betanews.com - 01.04.2008
