Forget the “blue screen of death,” users running bootleg copies of Windows Vista are soon to get screens to total darkness.
Never one to take piracy lying down, Microsoft apparently sent an e-mail to a large Windows Vista distributor telling them point blank what will happen to bootleg Vista installations.
Titled “Pirated Vista — A darkness descends!,” the e-mail says that it has up to now had a hidden nuclear device of sorts that will detonate in “nongenuine versions” around the world.
It reads:
“Good afternoon, as of this week, Microsoft has activated a function in Vista called ‘Reduced Functionality.’ This is a specific function in Vista that effectively disables nongenuine copies of Windows. Therefore anyone who has a pirated copy of Vista will experience:
A black screen after one hour of browsing.
No start menu or task bar.
No desktop.
Please communicate this antipiracy initiative from Microsoft to your resellers — note this function has only just been activated in Vista worldwide and therefore any issues with nongenuine versions will start to arise from now onward.”
It’s been well publicized how Microsoft spent some $6 billion USD to make Windows Vista, even going so far as to consult the NSA on security considerations, but to purposefully embed a nuclear option smacks of heavy handedness, especially when many are already hesitant to upgrade as it is.
The e-mail apparently also also includes some details of a pending anti-piracy initiative it refers to as “Don’t let this happen to your customers.” It warns that users of pirated copies will lose access to key features, have limited access to updates, and thus risk attack from viruses, malware and spyware.
“If Windows Vista is not activated with a genuine product key, your customers will experience reduced functionality,” according to the ad. “The blocking of nongenuine product keys is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. To help protect honest partners and fight piracy, Microsoft will continue to block product keys that are determined to be pirated, stolen or otherwise deemed nongenuine.”
The ad concludes with “Don’t risk it!” and “make sure your customers always get genuine Windows Vista preinstalled.”
So from this it seems confusing as to whether “reduced functionality” or a “black screen of death” is in store for pirated Vista users, but one thing is for sure and that’s that as usual Microsoft has some sneaky tricks up its sleeves. Plus, considering that pirated copies of XP was such an issue for so many years you can be certain that it went to great lengths this time around to fight back.
Either way, it’s just one more reason why I’m sticking with XP for the time being.
**UPDATE:
According to a story update on ComputerWorld, an e-mail warning of increased anti-piracy protections, i.e. a new initiative in which users of pirated versions of Windows Vista encounter a so-called “black screen of death,” has turned out to be false.
The e-mail said of course, that the “black screen of death” would remove the start menu, task bar, desktop, and then limit users to only one hour of internet browsing before the screen turned a nice shade of black.
A spokesperson for Microsoft apparently told ComputerWorld that the e-mail was “inaccurate” and that it had not deployed the “…update that includes reduced functionality mode in non-validated copies of Windows Vista this week.”
Everything sounds like it’s back to normal, right? Wrong.
For Microsoft did say that “…the anti-piracy measure is still on its way in the form of a Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) update.”
Figures.
“An announcement regarding the timing of this update will be made when appropriate,” the spokesperson said.
What’s also interesting is that Microsoft’s own video on Genuine Windows Vista anti-piracy protection clearly states that it can “identify and block keys at any time.” Copies then deemed “pirated” will then receive a 30-day countdown timer which. when expired, Vista will enter a “reduced functionality mode” that includes: black desktop background, no start menu or task bar, use of teh default internet browser(IE yuck) for 1hr intervals.
So when it comes down to it, they Microsoft has the ability to unleash the “black screen of death” en masse as part of a future software update, but seems to be waiting before it releases the proverbial hounds, as Mr Burns would say.
(THX “Ourthing2″ for the heads up)
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Thank God for OSX is all I can say.
I wonder about that though Bill Gates has sent letters to me about some doom that was going to happen if I didn’t do this or that and nothing ever happened.
This is a hoax. Read this:
http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=9987&catid=1
Credit to winbeta and keznews
Microsoft is power hungry but I don’t believe that they would be THIS stupid! Something like this would cause a mass migration to Mac or some other operating system (at least by serious computer users…the public at large might take any shit that’s handed to them.) Legit or not Microsoft wants the world to be using THEIR operating system. This definitely would be more detrimental than helpful in their achieving their goal of Domination of World Computing.
I agree with Burd….THANKFULLY it was only a HOAX…according to Microsoft. That would probably do irreprable harm to peoples view of Microsoft if this ever did come true. But I DO think they have already thought of it….they probably just weighed it against how much damage it might do to their reputation and thought better of it.
Ehh if you use pirate software expect bumps every now and then. An OS is NOT something you want to skimp on. I myself do run pirate windows XP but I have paid for it before. Everyone wants to slam MS for wanting to make money on their OS that so lame and frankly RETARDED! Its a great product that has done more for the PC market and customers than anything else. If it wasnt for BIll everyone would still own computers that could not talk to each other and all the computer makers would still be like Apple segregated not wanting computers to work together! Gates is a freaking American Hero and all of you should get on your knees and suck him off!
First you admit to using pirated XP software then you want to act like is OK because you paid for it before?
Then you say everyone should not object to MS making money….regardless of if it shuts down their computers….because they should be making money?
Oh yeah and then you say everyone should treat Gates as a hero?
The things you are saying are retarded!
Well I think he’s a hero for being the one to bring computing to the masses even if his company is being weird about piracy now. Actually he has a lot of company the media companies who are working to movies music and TV less usable and less interesting.
@Boomer
I agree. Media Conglomerates have done more to restrict usability and portability than Gates could have ever even dreamed of. The iPhone’s a perfect example.
They wouldn’t do that bm some hacker will exploit the code
it will get hacked
Wow MelsSmiley knocked me on the floor again I thought he was going to say bow down to Bill..
Actually I’ve found more stability in pirate software than the junk (by comparison) that comes new Compaq and HP machines on the shelves. Shelf computers have so many extras that run when you boot or at random times that they are slow and crashy.
How many times have I seen ‘New updates from Installshild’ new updates from HP and some of them don’t do anything there aren’t any updates. I used a computer with someone’s build of Windows from India and it was great no annoyances like that at all. Still regular users don’t know that they should be able to get to their browsers quietly without having to click things away. As far as XP goes Windows made by other people is better. Just be sure to copy the whole offending OS to disks before you erase it so that all of your special board drivers are there.
This is bad……
The key defence against this is completely disabling “automatic updates” in Windows. People who load up a cracking version of Vista and then complain “I can’t use Windows Update Waaaaaah!!” really annoy me. Get yourself a proven release of Vista and never download an update again. Also get a Firewall and ensure it’s not phoning home to Microsoft either with anti-piracy apps.
Go to warez sites and forums which will surely have workarounds made for the most critical updates/services packs which you can download SEPARATELY and WITH CAUTION.
Also I wouldn’t really trust what MS said to Computer World. Black screen or not we’re talking about a complete lockdown of any cracked Vista copies which the user allowed to phone home (or allowed access to WUpdate).
And Mels Smileys you’re right.. BillG has done fantastic things for the computing industry. Windows is an excellent all-rounder OS. Steve Jobs of Apple has good products too but he has started the trend of locking down hardware and software with DRM and BS like that. I don’t know about anyone else – but I’m glad Windows/x86 is the dominant desktop computing platform and not Mac! Which it could easily have been! Win/x86 is just so much more fun..
that aero theme bit was a total rip of past linux frontends that required way less resources tho so it’s kinda hard to feel bad for gates at this point lol
If only the dominant platform were Windows/PowerPC or Windows/Alpha… both so much better architectures than x86…
This is a definite JOKE! as if. It this existed, the deprotectors out there would yet have another simple problem to solve….. It’s a game…
Besides just to let you all know. Do you think that Microsoft is that stupid to make simple copy protections / activations which are EASY to deprotect by cracking groups for nothing? They do it on purpose. They make it protected but NOt too hard so that the OS gets distributed more easily …. thus gaining more market share…. it’s all a strategy. Same goes with PSP’s / Playstations etc…. They are MADE to be hacked so when the sales of a new OS go down…. bootlegs come to the rescue thus increasing the widespread popularity of the product….. simple marketting strategy…