Roy Schestowitz wrote:
__/ [ Jim ] on Sunday 18 June 2006 04:06 \__
Roy Schestowitz wrote:
[IP] Another Windows Genuine Advantage screw up
,----[ Snippet ]
| I was not amused to find out that the reason it had stopped monitoring
| was that at 3am Windows Update had loaded the Windows Genuine Advantage
| module, then rebooted the system after installing it, then refused to
| allow the system to start up until someone clicked on the box warning
| that the Dell supplied Windows Xp was not genuine.
|
| How long until some critical system is screwed up by this?
`----
http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200606/msg00121.html
It was just a matter of time.
See the following as well:
Microsoft draws fire for stealth test program
,----[ Quote ]
| Millions of Windows users may unwittingly be test subjects for an
| unfinished Microsoft antipiracy tool.
|
| The software maker has been delivering a prerelease version of
| Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications software to PCs as a "high
| priority" item in the built-in update feature in Windows. The tool,
| also known as WGA Notifications, is used to validate the authenticity
| of Windows software installed on a PC.
|
| The move is a first for the software maker. Microsoft normally asks
| people to join test programs before it initiates the download of any
| such trial software.
`----
http://news.com.com/2100-1029_3-6083204.html?part=rss&tag=6083204&subj=news
So this test, which includes actual workstations that are *not* test
machines, could turn out to be devastating. The installation does not
require user intervention, either. As Mark Kent said, when the executive
panic, they are willing to make wild moves at the expense and to the risk of
their customers.
I figured this the other day after reading somewhere that the
registration keys for Vista Beta would be checked at EVERY bootup via a
call-home thing, and any keys found to be duplicated would be instantly
killed. No more desktop, just a large bubble prompting the user to get a
legit copy, and no way round it except to input said legit (read: new)
key. Now, if Vista is deployed in say, a call centre, where there are a
couple hundred machines which are shut down at the end of the day, what
happens at 9am when they're turned back on? That's right, a couple
hundred Vista boxen saturate the /network/ with phone-home traffic,
bringing it to a grinding halt. Thanks, Microsoft, you just cost that
call centre a bundle in time to fix the problem you yourselves created
in the first place.
--
When all else fails...
Use a hammer.
http://dotware.co.uk
Some people are like Slinkies
They serve no particular purpose
But they bring a smile to your face
When you push them down the stairs.
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