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more on How innocents can be penalized by Windows Genuine Advantage
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 10:12:28 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Matt Garland <mgarland () gmail com> Date: June 15, 2006 9:51:57 AM EDT To: dave () farber net, ip () sanction net, alberti () sanction netSubject: Re: [IP] more on How innocents can be penalized by Windows Genuine Advantage
>If Windows wants to provide me with a key-changing program, I would be>happy to try the code that came with my laptop. Maybe it will even work.
Here you go...http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/9/c/e9c73b60-bff1-4f03-b06f- d3cbe8f8d9f4/KeyUpdateTool.exe
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/purchase/UpdateInstructions.aspxI've used it and it worked for me with a Windows Product Key that I had from a sticker on the bottom of my laptop. Best of luck!
-matt On 6/13/06, David Farber <dave () farber net> wrote: Begin forwarded message: From: Robert Alberti <ip () sanction net> Date: June 13, 2006 7:26:16 PM EDT To: dave () farber net Subject: Re: [IP] How innocents can be penalized by Windows Genuine Advantage Reply-To: alberti () sanction net Here's how my laptop got on the list: I bought a Sony Vaio TX with a preinstalled version of Windows XP. I discovered when I opened the box that Sony does not provide any driver or OS DVDs with the machine - you can download all the drivers, or pay extra for them to mail you the DVDs. I did not like the configuration as delivered: tons of garbage demo software that I did not want was included, and the drive was partitioned in a manner I did not like. So I wiped my drive and used my own original windows XP disk to reinstall XP, including all service packs and Sony drivers that I wanted. I attempted to use the Windows key provided in the sticker on the bottom of the laptop, but for reasons I do not know the key would not work with my original version of Windows XP. So I used the Windows XP key that came with the disk, which I have always used for each of my laptops in turn - laptops which I wipe with secure erasure software when I move off of them (assuming the drives work, which is not always the case). Maybe being installed on several laptops in turn has gotten my key onto a list of "pirated" keys, or maybe some other criteria has failed. Regardless, when WGA was rolled out, my laptop did not pass. If Windows wants to provide me with a key-changing program, I would be happy to try the code that came with my laptop. Maybe it will even work. I'm not holding my breath. Robert Alberti, CISSP, ISSMP Sanction, Inc. http://sanction.net On Tue, 2006-06-13 at 18:34 -0400, David Farber wrote: > > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com> > Date: June 13, 2006 12:24:27 PM EDT > To: dave () farber net > Cc: lauren () vortex com > Subject: How innocents can be penalized by Windows Genuine Advantage > > > Dave, > > In the wake of the controversy triggered by my earlier discussions > regarding Microsoft's "Windows Genuine Advantage" (WGA) behavior, > > ( http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000178.html , > http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000179.html ) > > I've received a lot of e-mail from folks who assert that they are > being unfairly tagged by Microsoft WGA as having illicit systems, > with continuing warning messages and attendant future restrictions > on their ability to obtain non-critical updates. > > As I've noted previously, I have no sympathy for genuine pirates. > However, there is a common thread running through many of the > reports I'm seeing, suggesting that innocent users may easily end up > with "pirate" versions of XP without their knowledge, and with no > entirely clear and practical path to rectifying the situation. > > The scenario is obvious once you think about it. People start off > with the legit copies of the Microsoft OS that come pre-installed on > their computers (relatively few people ever install their own OS, or > would care to risk the process in any case -- most use what comes on > their machines). The OS copy is legal, authenticated, and paid for > as part of the system. > > Now the trouble starts. They have a disk crash or other serious > system problem. They take their computer back to the store's repair > depot, or to a third party computer repair entity. The computer is > fixed and seems to be fine again. Then suddenly, they start > receiving WGA piracy warnings. > > Why? It appears that it is *exceedingly* common for repair > operations to reinstall based on "cloned" or otherwise duplicated > copies of the Microsoft OS, rather than try to restore or > reauthenticate based on the original users' OS serial numbers or > authentication codes. Original restore disks and key information > cards/labels are frequently missing, making it difficult to > duplicate the original authentication environment. > > Service depots tend to frequently have a working configuration that > they can easily clone to repaired systems, and since the user > originally paid for one copy of the OS (with their computer, now > wiped out as part of the repair process), and ends up with a single > copy afterwards, it's not like there's now an additional copy in use. > > Once their systems have been flagged by WGA, users may have a > serious dilemma, even if MS is willing to provide clean versions of > the OS to persons who can demonstrate that they are unwilling > "piracy" victims. Most of these users don't have original "pirated" > disks to send over to MS. In fact, such users are likely not to > understand what is going on at all in this respect, since -- as far > as they knew -- their systems had simply been fixed and then were > working fine -- until WGA kicked in, that is. > > If MS could provide such users with a simple way to update their > authentication keys that might be one solution, but an alternative > such as having to completely reinstall a fresh copy of the OS > would be completely beyond the pale for most users. > > I have not yet received a response from officials at Microsoft to > e-mail I sent several days ago, asking specifically how they > intended to deal with these kinds of WGA situations. > > As Microsoft ramps up WGA enforcement, we are likely to see > scenarios such as these -- involving innocent users -- appearing in > potentially very large numbers. > > --Lauren-- > Lauren Weinstein > lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org > Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 > http://www.pfir.org/lauren > Co-Founder, PFIR > - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org > Co-Founder, IOIC > - International Open Internet Coalition - http://www.ioic.net > Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com > Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy > Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com > DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com > > > > ------------------------------------- > You are subscribed as ip () sanction net > To manage your subscription, go to > http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip > > Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting- > people/ > ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as mgarland () gmail com To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ipArchives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting- people/
-- Matt Garland | Deloitte Consulting, LLP ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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