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Microsoft Talks Daily With Your Computer

Posted by samzenpus on Wed Jun 07, 2006 09:20 PM
from the what-could-go-wrong dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft Corp. acknowledged Wednesday that it needs to better inform users that its tool for determining whether a computer is running a pirated copy of Windows also quietly checks in daily with the software maker. The company said the undisclosed daily check is a safety measure designed to allow the tool, called Windows Genuine Advantage, to quickly shut down in case of a malfunction." The EULA is suppose to disclose this daily call-in feature. Lauren Weinstein, who is co-founder of People for Internet Responsibility, was one of the first people to notice the daily communications to Microsoft. Report from Yahoo.com"
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  • by ScrewMaster (602015) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:24PM (#15491593)
    ... quickly shut down in case of a malfunction.

    So Genuine Advantage needs to contact the mothership in order to be told that it's broken and needs to terminate?

    Please.
    • by caitsith01 (606117) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @10:32PM (#15491913) Homepage Journal
      Whilst I generally agree that it is indeed bullshit, it is possible to imagine the scenario in which, for some reason, there is a bug in Genuine Advantage which leads to a denial of access to the Windows Update service for legitimately registered users.

      I have often wondered whether Steam has a similar feature - if Valve goes bankrupt, for instance, does it release you from the (ridiculous) copy protection/licensing arrangements put in place when you install Half Life 2 and other products?

      The best way to do any of this would be to simply check if the parent company's server is still there and able to provide authentication/updating. If it is unavailable for some reason the local software should function autonomously, as it always should, but without the need for approval from the parent.

      Of course the *real* best solution is to stop trying to monitor usage on a micro-level and just make good products at a reasonable price. As has been demonstrated over and over again, this is the way to stop piracy.
    • I hate that tool...it seems like it is the only update that gets pulled down regularily. It pulls itself down and gets installed when I finally relent to it (since I am in no hurry to update it, even though updates come out all of the time) but then it wants me to restart. That's all fine and dandy, I'll let it do its business the next time I feel like restarting.

      Oh, whats this? It pops up every 10 minutes asking me to reboot and gives me no option like "remind me tomorrow"

      Come on microsoft...dont force me to sit through this shit on nonessential updates

      • Re:Old News (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:49PM (#15491719)
        WTF? This isn't old news. Every time I have downloaded this to do installations on the computers we setup at work it says very clearly it performs a "one time check". When did "one time check" become every day? Microsoft is fucking scum.
  • Whoa! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rahrens (939941) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:24PM (#15491594)
    Just one more reason NOT to use Windows as my operating system!
  • by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:25PM (#15491598)
    *wraps computer in tin foil and duct tape*

    BRING IT ON!!!
  • by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:25PM (#15491601)
    XP Phone Home!
  • Ethereal anyone? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by caryw (131578) <carywiedemann@NoSPaM.gmail.com> on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:26PM (#15491602) Homepage
    Anyone sniff out the offending packets yet? I'm sure they can't be too hard to identify. Probably simple HTTP posts.

    If nobody has I'll sniff anything going to Microsoft's Class B (207.46.*.*) later tonight.
    --
    From Northern Virginia? Visit Fairfax Underground [fairfaxunderground.com]! (Just added: Fairfax County wiki, need submissions)
    • Re:Ethereal anyone? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Crazyscottie (947072) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @10:08PM (#15491822)
      Or better yet, you can just prevent those packets from ever reaching their destination.

      The DOS command route -p add 207.46.0.0 mask 255.255.0.0 [192.168.0.254] (replace the address in brackets with a random address on your current subnet) will permanently route all would-be "phone home" packets to the random address that you specified.
       
      ... You could also, of course, use a firewall, but where's the fun in that? ;-)
    • Re:Ethereal anyone? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Billly Gates (198444) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @10:15PM (#15491852) Homepage Journal
      Its been known for years since NT4 about the Windows Update manager.

      I have seen it with the NT Server Network manager (I think that was it?) that sniffed out the packets. I remember reading how to enable your firewall to block it. ITs been awhile since I read about it but its old news.
  • Ooops! (Score:5, Funny)

    by kozumik (946298) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:28PM (#15491612)
    I guess they forgot to disclose that in the EULA. Honest mistake, stuff happens. Now let's go back to not worrying about DRM or Net Neutrality because Big Bussiness is looking out for our best interests.
  • by Entropy (6967) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:31PM (#15491630)
    TFA says "your computer", but aren't all Windows installs "my computer" on the desktop? Shouldn't it say "your my computer"? Or is it "my your computer"?

    Ah screw it! And screw Microsoft, too.
  • by creimer (824291) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:32PM (#15491635) Homepage
    I knew my PC was cheating on me after I got a Mac. But Microsoft...
  • by AWhiteFlame (928642) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:41PM (#15491678) Homepage
    Here at Microsoft, we care about the Customer Experience. As a result, we've taken the following measures to make sure your experience is as pleasant and beneficial to you as possible.

    - Our new operating system, Windows Vista, requires only the best high-end hardware so that, even on a system well beyond the power you should ever need, you'll still get the true Windows Experience(TM)

    - The new Windows Media Player 11 features all-new and exclusive DRM, or Degradation Resistment Technology by Microsoft, which not only provides wonderful sound in the new and improved WMA format, but protects your rights as well.

    - Our operating systems now report back with system information and other information which we feel should be collected from your system at any given time to improve your computing experience.

    Microsoft: Where do we want to take you today?
    • Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)

      by sweetooth (21075) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:37PM (#15491652) Homepage
      A safety feature that it doesn't need. Genuine Advantage only needs to be checked once. Upon verifying your Windows install it should never communicate with Microsoft unless specifically asked to do so. Doing anything else is highly suspicious and bad form. Failing to put this communication information in the EULA is also bad, but is likely an oversight on someones part so can probably be forgiven, we all make mistakes.
      • Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Agent Green (231202) * on Wednesday June 07 2006, @10:21PM (#15491870) Homepage
        Microsoft doesn't really give a shit about the single-use, single-pc key so much. The whole crux of the Genuine Advantage thing is to keep an eye on the corporate volume licensing keys.

        If a corp. license gets out into the wild, it's going to spread like mad (duh). With all those updated PCs phoning home on a daily basis, Microsoft should be quick to get wise to whose key just slipped out and put the kibosh on it.

        How many people had the FCKGW key before that got pulled in SP1? :)
    • Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)

      by collectivescott (885118) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:43PM (#15491687)
      Regarding point 1: My copy of windows checks time.nist.gov, not microsoft. In addition, however, I was asked before this function was enabled, and I can disable it at will.

      Regarding point 2: Where is the safety switch for internet explorer? I'm sure IE causes way more "computer explosions" than genuine advantage.

      Let's be honest here. A phone-home capability in genuine advantage is suspicious, given the function of the genuine advantage program. It makes people running pirated versions of windows especially nervous. The bottom line is, if it isn't a spy tool, there ought to be an option to disable it. If it is a spy tool, get it the fuck off my computer. Period.
      • Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)

        by StikyPad (445176) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @10:02PM (#15491782) Homepage
        It makes people running pirated versions of windows especially nervous.

        Boo hoo.. poor people running pirated copies.

        If they're too stupid/lazy/cocky to keep themselves isolated by a good firewall, then I have no sympathy.

        There are plenty of valid reasons why this "feature," or at least the lack of disclosure, is immoral. Protecting piracy is not one of them.
    • by oscartheduck (866357) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @09:37PM (#15491654)
      Just be aware that there's a piece of malware going around that performs this function also. It looks like a microsoft box, comes up before you sign in and claims that your copy of windows is not genuine.
      • by spectecjr (31235) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @10:30PM (#15491902) Homepage
        This happened to my Uncle's computer yesterday - Uncle Sam that is. The WinBlows PC that is my email machine popped up the "This copy of Windows is not genuine" tag yesterday. This is on a major DoD site that has Everything legit, monitored, and locked up. It locked the system down so that I could not access the system with either the CAC card/PIN method nor the username/password means.

        The Genuine Advantage tool doesn't lock your system. It just doesn't let you download cool freebies (at this time).

        You got hit by something else. Upthread someone said that there's some spyware which masquerades as the Genuine Advantage system, and *does* lock your system down.
    • Re:So what? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by BFaucet (635036) on Wednesday June 07 2006, @10:14PM (#15491849) Homepage
      A) They didn't tell anyone the software would do this.

      B) We are supposed to trust MS that this thing is only asking MS if it needs to be shut off? What the hell kind of reason is that to phone home?

      C) Why the hell does this software need to be running all the time? It's taking resources doing nothing but asking MS if it should be shut off?! Why can't it be started up and shut off only when needed?

      D) There have been false reports of pirated software. Will this software one day just decide you're using a pirated version and kill your machine? Some people depend on their computers to feed themselves. If this software screws up and kills a machine and the owner has several days of downtime who's going to compensate them?

      E) If you really think MS (or any large corporation for that matter) is above abusing phone home programs you got blinders on. Why should we trust large companies with our private informaton while not trusting actual people with our social security number?

      F) The reason megacorps and the people who run them are so successful is always a combination of luck, smarts, and ability to stab people in the back and laugh about it. I'm not saying large corporations should be ended, but they should be approached with caution. They will try to get away with whatever the hell they can. It's the consumer's job to keep them in check... Well it's the goverment's job too, but they seem to be doing a shit job to say the least.