http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/08/microsoft_expands_office_anti-.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter
Microsoft Expands Office Anti-Piracy Program Microsoft expanded its anti-piracy program this week, shipping a new software update that checks whether Office users are running a licensed or pirated version of the productivity suite. Windows users who have Automatic Updates turned on probably have by now noticed at least one new update available from Redmond. The patch represents the next phase of the Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) anti-piracy pilot program Microsoft launched last year. Microsoft says the update is being gradually rolled out to different countries, so the update will not be available to everyone at the same time. The program checks against Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2007 installations. Even users who have Automatic Updates set to download and install patches for them will need to approve a license agreement before the OGA patch will fully install. That's a good thing, too, because according to Microsoft, this patch cannot be removed once it is installed. Also, there is no option to temporarily stop the nag messages, should a system fail the anti-piracy test. If the validation program thinks an installation of one of these titles is not legit, it will display a message saying: This copy of Microsoft Office is not genuine. Please excuse this interruption. This copy of Microsoft Office did not pass validation. Click Learn More for details and for help identifying the best way to get genuine Microsoft Office. In addition, the OGA checker will add a toolbar with a similar message to Office XP and Office 2003 versions that are detected as unlicensed, and a ribbon with an alert to that effect on Office 2007 systems. My installation of Windows Vista also let me know about another non-security related update: Microsoft says this update changes the Windows time zone data to accommodate daylight saving time (DST) changes in several countries. By Brian Krebs | August 26, 2009; 10:22 AM ET Categories: From the Bunker , Latest Warnings , New Patches , Piracy | Tags: office genuine advantage oga anti-piracy Share This: E-Mail | Technorati | Del.icio.us | Digg | Stumble Previous: Businesses Reluctant to Report Online Banking Fraud Next: U.K. Govt: Spammers Before Downloaders? Comments The black hats out there are no doubt putting together a "patch" that will eliminate OGA. Of course, in exchange for this favor, you will receive a package of Trojans, backdoors, and other malicious software. As OGA is killed, the real payload will install behind your back. At some point, I can see OGA being upgraded by Microsoft to "Office Genuine Removal and Enforcement" or O.G.R.E. If OGRE detects an unauthorized Office installation, the pirated copy is removed and a special registry key added to prevent reinstallation. Posted by: taskforceken | August 26, 2009 3:56 PM | Report abuse Why on earth would anyone install this or WGA? This is exactly why I approve all updates manually. It doesn't take long, and I unchecked this one and checked "Don't remind me again" hours ago, before I had a chance to be forewarned. Posted by: MaxH | August 26, 2009 4:30 PM | Report abuse I also do a custom installation of ALL updates, least WGA or now this new OGA get downloaded by accident. Again, my machine came with a genuine version of Windows XP Home and one of my employers installed 'their' corporate edition of XP Pro. Then along came WGA and back then I was automatically downloading AND installing updates. Microsoft advised me after I called about my 'less than genuine' copy of XP Pro that apparently the employer had either over-installed the product, or some had copied it and the copies had been installed on a clearly excessive number of machines. I had allegedly 2 choices, namely pay up for a 'genuine certification' or remove XP Pro and do a complete reinstall of EVERYTHING. The third option of system restore [that wasn't mentioned] fortunately removed WGA. My updates this morning were supposedly only 2 and neither indicated anything to do with genuine anything. I would simply go ahead and pay Microsoft the $160 [or whatever it was] but at some point I will probably have to purchase a genuine copy of Windows 7, along with a new machine to run it on. After reading all the comments about Apple vs. Microsoft, including those of IT Pros that work with Windows, Linus, etc. all day long, but who enjoy the ease of having an Apple to go home to, I guess that could be a possibility, as is Ubuntu 9.04, but for some reason the copy that I downloaded of the Ubuntu Web site would not install correctly, so for now its XP Pro. Posted by: brucereal...@gmail.com | August 26, 2009 6:38 PM | Report abuse //continued// Obviously I meant Linux, not Linus above. Posted by: brucereal...@gmail.com | August 26, 2009 6:39 PM | Report abuse Using Microsoft's stuff is a matter of free choice. Alternatives are available. Microsoft's legitimate customers, who paid for the advantage that Microsoft's quality software gave them, have seen that advantage eroded by pirates enjoying the same quality for free. Piracy of Microsoft Office has also robbed the free-of-charge OpenOffice.org of the mindshare that fuels its plodding improvement and slowly-growing acceptance. Thus, while the public should applaud the restoration of a fair market, it is not clear that Microsoft will put a bite behind the bark. Posted by: amturnip | August 26, 2009 6:47 PM | Report abuse [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
