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Microsoft tweaking Windows Genuine Advantage to boost
anti-piracy
6 February, 2005
by Mark Cox
Microsoft makes another anti- software piracy announcement,
declaring that it will be enhancing its anti-piracy engineering,
education and enforcement efforts through the expansion of
the Windows Genuine Advantage program, which checks the authenticity
of a user's software and provides software updates.
The Windows Genuine Advantage program began as an optional
pilot program available to users of English-language versions
of Windows in September 2004. Microsoft has stated publicly
that the program's primary purpose is to protect consumers
who have inadvertently purchased counterfeit software from
an inferior computing experience. The forthcoming changes
announced now are not major ones, but are intended to deepen
the program further, and prepared user for a shift from the
voluntary opt-in system that exists today to a compulsory
system that will be introduced later this year.
"In the second half of 2005 we will make authentication
required," said Elliot Katz, senior product manager,
Windows Client, Microsoft Canada. "It will be required
that people have their machines authenticated to access Windows
updates and the download centre."
One of the changes involve other languages being brought
into the program. Twenty new language versions of Windows
XP, including Canadian French, will be added to the pilot
program on the Microsoft Download Center at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads
Users in three languages will be required to participate
in the pilot program -- Norwegian, Czech and Simplified Chinese.
That's not related to any connection between users in these
countries and piracy, Katz said.
"The idea is to get a broad sample of languages, for
test authentication in the pilot, to see if things work properly."
The other new element announced is new software incentives
to entice Windows users to take part in the program, including
Microsoft Photo Story 3 for Windows, Winter Fun Pack 2004,
thirty per cent off the new Microsoft Office Outlook Live
service, and for the business user, a six-month trial of Microsoft
Office OneNote 2003 and a SharePoint services hosting offer.
"The announcement is essentially a goodwill message,"
said Michelle Warren, analyst at Evans Research Corporation.
"It builds on Microsoft's commitment to CAAST (The Canadian
Alliance Against Software Theft) and is aimed at educating
-- mainly consumers, but also the commercial market."
With the plan to make authentication compulsory in the second
half of 2005, Warren suggested that deepening the program
at this time was also being done in part to lessen the shock
value some users may experience.
Microsoft is also emphasizing that even after the voluntary
system ends, all users will still receive critical updates,
particularly those relating to security, to try and prevent
threats from getting a strong foothold.
"Even when we go compulsory we will still allow critical
updates for everybody," Katz said.
Katz said that response to the pilot so far has been positive.
"We did not expect the acceptance we are getting,"
he said. "We expected the numbers to be much lower and
the negatives much higher." He added that most Microsoft
partners have been pleased with the measure.
"The legitimate channel is very supportive of this.
It puts the playing field back where it should be. Unscrupulous
resellers use counterfeit software to their advantage in a
price-competitive marketplace."
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