Microsoft gets serious about Windows piracy
Microsoft has been battling piracy since the beginning. But it seems as though they have finally had enough. In one of the more recent Windows Updates, Microsoft deployed what they feel is a step in the right direction for preventing the theft of their software.
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6.11.2008 Windows Vista and protection from malware
On November 30, Sophos issued its monthly report on the top ten threats reported to them in November of 2006.
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20.12.2006 New Windows 7 Anti-Piracy Features
Windows 7 will not reinvent the anti-piracy wheel for Microsoft. Instead, the next iteration of the Windows client will be based on Windows Vista's Software Protection Platform, especially in regard to the activation and validation experience.
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7.5.2009 Windows Vista Copy Protection Cracked
More than a year after Windows Vista was introduced, hackers have finally developed a clean crack of Windows Vista.
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5.3.2008 Windows Vista Content Protection - Twenty Questions (and Answers)
A conversation has cropped up since the recent publication of a paper scrutinizing how Windows handles digital rights management, especially for HD video. I've since looped back with Dave Marsh, a Lead Program Manager responsible for Windows' handling of video, to learn from him the implications involved and to learn to what extent the paper's assertions are accurate.
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23.1.2007 Microsoft CEO Sees Less Piracy With Windows Vista
Microsoft expects software piracy, which costs the company billions of dollars every year, to ease with the introduction of its new Windows Vista operating system and Office 2007 software suite, CEO Steve Ballmer said Thursday
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2.12.2006 Antispyware Protection – Is It Really Possible?
The last few days came with an impressive avalanche of threats, obviously targeting your computer and aiming to steal or harm the data stored inside the system.
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19.11.2007 Microsoft Kills Windows and Office Validation Assistant Anti-Piracy Efforts
Microsoft's anti-piracy efforts will undertake a major overhauling. The Redmond company plans to take down both the Windows Validation Assistant and the Office Validation Assistant.
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5.7.2007 Vista's User Account Protection: one click and it's gone
Vista's biggest security enhancement is "User Account Protection" (or "User Account Control" ) which pops up and asks for user authentication before software can make any administrative changes to the system.
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9.9.2006 Microsoft Previews New Malware Protection Center
Microsoft may be a desktop software powerhouse, but when it comes to security tools it is still bulking up.
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27.4.2007 Antivirus protection worse than a year ago
The effectiveness of antivirus software has fallen off, and more and more pests can now slip past these barriers. This is the sobering conclusion the german computer magazine c't comes to in issue 1/08 with a test on 17 antivirus solutions.
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23.12.2007 Data Protection Manager 2010 Beta
On September 29, 2009, Microsoft released the beta version of the third generation of System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM), previously called “DPM v3” or “Zinger”.
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30.9.2009 Blu-ray BD+ Copy Protection Cracked!
It would seem that there's absolutely nothing out there, no type of copy protection system that can resist the hard efforts of ingenious "security researchers", especially when the respective system is designed to protect valuable multimedia content (namely, movies).
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31.10.2007 Europe votes on anti-piracy laws
Europeans suspected of putting movies and music on file-sharing networks could be thrown off the web under proposals before Brussels.
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8.7.2008 Microsoft & Samsung's Patent Deal Includes Linux Protection
Microsoft Corporation and Samsung Electronics have agreed to a broad, cross-licensing patent agreement covering Samsung's existing and future product lines.
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20.4.2007 Microsoft to offer code protection, validation to other software developers
Microsoft is planning to deliver on October 1 to third-party software developers a set of technologies that will allow them to add code protection and activation mechanisms to their own software.
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13.7.2007 Network Access Protection for XP SP3 and Vista SP1
Network Access Protection is designed to permit a high degree of control over client computers across a network.
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13.10.2008 Microsoft Offers Vista Preview to Fight Piracy
Want to try Vista before you buy it? Microsoft now has a free online "test drive" of its Windows Vista operating system in its latest effort to fight software piracy and counterfeiting.
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23.1.2007 Russian Judge Dismisses Any Penalty in Piracy Case
MOSCOW, Feb. — A Russian judge convicted a provincial school headmaster on Thursday for using pirated Microsoft software in school computers, but declined to impose any penalty, saying that Microsoft’s loss was insignificant compared with its overall earnings.
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19.2.2007 Russian teacher fined in Microsoft piracy case
Putin has described the case as "utter nonsense" and former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev even asked Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to intercede on the teacher's behalf.
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8.5.2007 BSA Raises the Stakes in Fight Against Software Piracy
The Business Software Alliance (BSA), the global organization representing the nation’s leading software manufacturers, today announced that it will intensify efforts to battle software piracy in the workplace by increasing its current rewards incentive from $200,000 to $1 million from July to October 2007.
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3.7.2007 WGA notches win for Microsoft in piracy bust
Microsoft’s anti-piracy effort may be annoying to some Windows users, but it has notched a big win catching the bad guys.
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25.7.2007 Microsoft Helps Nab $900M Piracy Ring
Microsoft is telling the tale of a major software piracy investigation that weaved through 22 countries, hoping would-be pirates will think twice if they know how far the company will go to protect its computer code worth billions in revenue each quarter.
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11.2.2008 Enable Vista-Native Network Access Protection on XP SP3
Network Access Protection (NAP) is one of the few features that were actually added to Windows XP SP3.
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13.5.2008 Microsoft pre-paid cards to check software piracy
Check piracy of its software, Microsoft on Wednesday announced that it would launch pre-paid cards in India before this year-end.
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17.9.2006 Worldwide Software Piracy Rate Holds Steady at 35%
A new study reveals that 35% of the software installed in 2006 on personal computers (PCs) worldwide was obtained illegally, amounting to nearly $40 billion in global losses due to software piracy.
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16.5.2007 Microsoft to beef up anti-piracy checks in Vista SP1
Microsoft will change the user experience of its automatic anti-piracy checks in Windows Vista and also make it harder for hackers to bypass the system in the first service pack for the OS due out early next year.
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4.12.2007 Microsoft Denies Having Updated Vista's Anti-Piracy Platform or the WGA
Microsoft denied having introduced any sort of updates to the anti-piracy platform built into its latest operating system, Windows Vista or to the Windows Genuine Advantage mechanism designed to safeguard over the legitimacy of the copies of the operating system.
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12.9.2007 Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2006 Service Pack 1 Released!
Microsoft® System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2006 Service Pack 1 (SP1) enables you to protect more types of file servers..
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24.10.2006 Windows 7 Migration Tool to Move From Windows XP to Windows 7
In past we had covered guide on upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7. Unfortunately there is no direct upgrade path from Windows Xp to Windows 7 and you have to use Windows Easy Transfer utility if you want to move your user and program files from XP to Windows 7.
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22.11.2009Ex-RIAA Chiefs Start
Anti-Piracy Firm
Two former RIAA leaders, Jay
Berman and Hilary Rosen,
announced Thursday that they
were partnering to form an
anti-piracy consulting agency.
The two plan to focus on
intellectual property
protection, digital media
technology, international
trade issues and anti-piracy
strategies...
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02.02.2006Microsoft Takes Aim at Piracy and Outlines Windows 7 Anti-Piracy Experience
Q&A: Joe Williams explains how customer feedback has driven anti-piracy features for Windows 7 to ensure an optimal user experience and help protect
customers from the risks of running counterfeit software...
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07.05.2009MS Strengthens IP Protection
for Mobile Partners
Microsoft on Thursday
strengthened its intellectual
property protection for its
partners developing devices
based on the Windows Embedded
and Mobile platforms. The
expansion now offers these
OEMs comparable IP protection
to those offered for other
Microsoft products...
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09.02.2006Microsoft Steps Up Anti-Piracy Effort in China
Microsoft is trying to fight piracy in China by ensuring that more new computers in the region come with genuine copies of Windows pre-installed at
the factory...
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07.11.2007Microsoft to beef up anti-piracy checks in Vista SP1
Microsoft will change the user experience of its automatic anti-piracy checks in Windows Vista and also make it harder for hackers to bypass the
system in the first service pack for the OS due out early next year. Once Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) is installed on a PC, that computer will
no longer go into limited functionality mode if a user or administrator fails to activate Vista on that system in 30 days, or if the system fails
Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation, which checks to see if a version of Vista is pirated or counterfeit. In Vista, WGA is
called the Software Protection Program feature.
In limited functionality mode, a computer will shut down after 60 minutes and then allow
only browser use. Now, instead of going into that mode, a version of Vista that has not been activated in 30 days will start up with a black screen
and a dialogue box that gives users the choice of activating Vista now or later, said Alex Kochis, a group product manager at Microsoft.
Read full story.....
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04.12.2007Beta Test CA Protection Suite for Vista
CA is looking for participants
to join the beta program of
the CA Protection Suite r3.1
for Windows Vista. Protection
Suite is designed for small
and mid-sized businesses, and
includes a range of integrated
solutions to minimize risks
and prevent downtime...
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08.05.2007Microsoft: Vista piracy rate is half that of XP
Microsoft said Monday that it's seeing piracy rates for Windows Vista that are half those of Windows XP.
Now cyncial me wanted
to write this up as "even pirates prefer XP two to one over Vista," but that wouldn't be fair. In reality, the decline in piracy rates is largely
due to the fact that Vista is much tougher to fake than XP.
"Piracy rates are lower because it's harder," Microsoft Vice
President Mike Sievert said in an interview Monday.
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04.12.2007MS to Ship Malware Protection
Utility
Microsoft introduced on
Thursday a new program that
will help to combat viruses,
maiware and spyware in the
corporate environment, as well
as provide stronger protection
for current and emerging
threats. Called Microsoft
Client Protection, the new
service could be seen as new
competition for McAfee and
Symantec...
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06.10.2005US Asks WTO to Stop Chinese Piracy
The US signaled that its
patience was wearing thin with
China on Monday, as it asked
the World Trade Organization
to crack down on piracy within
the country...
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14.08.2007Mexico, EU ask to join piracy talks with China
By filing requests with the
World Trade Organization, the
European Union and Mexico have
shown their hope to join Japan
and Canada in helping the
United States add pressure
against China over increasing
piracy concerns. The requests
came just a few weeks after
the US Trade Representative
Susan Schwab filed two
complaints with the WTO in
which the US government cited
China's " inadequate
protection of
intellectual-property
rights ," despite the
country's recent promises to
crack down more heavily on
piracy. The results of those
promises, plus previous
efforts to pressure China into
taking IP protections more
seriously, have been decidedly
unimpressive from the United
States' point of view.
China reacted
negatively to the USTR's
complaint with the WTO:
" We will fight to the last
minute ," said Vice
Premier Wu Yi. Despite this
seemingly aggressive response,
she still added that the
Chinese government would be
" more resolute, adopt more
measures, and step up IPR
protection ." As per the
WTO's policy with new cases,
member countries have 60 days
to ask for permission to join
the talks. China can choose to
reject Mexico's and the EU's
requests, but cannot prevent
any of the WTO's members from
initiating their own
complaints.
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02.05.2007Microsoft Pushes New Piracy
Initiative
Expanding upon its Windows
Genuine Advantage program,
which requires customers to
verify their licenses before
downloading operating system
updates, Microsoft has rolled
out a new effort called the
Genuine Software Initiative.
The undertaking will combine
the company's anti-piracy and
counterfeit prevention
efforts...
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09.03.2006Microsoft Launches Piracy
Reminders
Microsoft on Tuesday said it
had completed the pilot phase
for WGA Notifications,
officially rolling out the
anti-piracy reminders to
Windows XP users worldwide.
The company has made minor
changes to the program in
response to customer concern
regarding its "phone
home" functionality...
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27.06.2006Microsoft Patents Proactive Virus Protection
Microsoft has just snared a U.S. patent for proactive virus protection, which is how security software helps secure your PC when it encounters
shape-shifting malware not already in its antivirus definition file. What I want to know is, what does this mean for all the other vendors -- like
McAfee,Symantec, Kaspersky, and Trend Micro -- that have been selling proactive protection software for years? Do they now have to pay Microsoft
protection; I mean, royalties?
Read full story.....
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22.05.2008Anti-piracy moves 'hurt sales'
Retailers are urging the music industry to drop piracy protection for online downloads after new figures showed the average Briton has bought fewer
than three digital tracks in the past three years.
Incompatible proprietary technologies, aimed at defeating rampant piracy in
the digital music era, are instead "stifling growth and working against the consumer interest", said Kim Bayley, director-general of the
Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).
Her warning comes as high street retailers and digital music specialists watch
pre-Christmas sales trends nervously. The music industry makes at least 40 per cent of its revenues in the fourth quarter, but the traditional sales
build-up has started later than usual.
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22.11.2007CEO says Sony must 'walk the
line' between consumers,
artists
Problems with an aggressive
copy protection program
attached to several CDs from
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
reflect the difficulties
balancing the needs of artists
and consumers, Sony Corp.
chairman and CEO Sir Howard
Stringer said
Thursday.
Clear
ly the perception out there is
that we shouldn't be doing
too much of that copy
protection stuff, Stringer
said at a news conference at
the annual Consumer
Electronics
Show.
Sony BMG, a
joint venture of Sony and
Bertelsmann AG, was sued last
year after 5.7 million of its
CDs were shipped with
anti-piracy technology that
required a new software patch
to plug a potential security
breach in computers used to
play the CDs...
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06.01.2006Pirate Bay Takes Over Anti-Piracy Domain
In yet another snub to anti-piracy efforts, infamous Swedish BitTorrent site The Pirate Bay has taken over IFPI.com, a domain formerly owned by the
recording industry group by the same name. IFPI, previously known as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, pushes for anti-piracy
enforcement in 75 countries...
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15.10.2007Microsoft, Autodesk lose piracy patent appeal
The two companies will need to pay Michigan-based z4 nearly $160 million in total penalties for infringing on the company's rights to patents
surrounding anti-piracy technologies...
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28.11.2007AOL Swaps Spyware Protection
Vendor
America Online has released
the second version of its
spyware protection software
for 20 million AOL members,
which is now built upon
PestPatrol from Computer
Associates. AOL Spyware
Protection 2.0 includes four
different scans for malware
which run in intervals ranging
from 60 seconds, 15 minutes,
daily and weekly...
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22.09.2005Bush Admin Puts 12 Countries on Piracy Notice
Twelve nations have been put
on a list by the Bush
administration to be more
closely monitored for piracy
violations as part of a
broader crackdown on the
problem by the US government...
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30.04.2007Trojan Horse Hides Using Sony
Rootkit
What security experts have
warned about Sony's DRM has
come to pass, with a new
trojan horse attempting to
hide itself using techniques
enabled by the company's
anti-piracy software. Dubbed
"Troj/Stinx-E" by
Sophos, the application copies
itself to a file called:
$sys$drv.exe, which is hidden
by Sony's copy protection...
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11.11.2005
