Saturday, June 03, 2006

Counterfeit Windows

Starting today (Apr 27), the software giant will permanently flag personal computers that are not running a genuine copy of Windows. This move affects the six million Windows users in this country, as well as those in the United States, Britain, New Zealand and Australia.

Industry sources informed In.Tech that the software giant is giving Windows the ability to tell if a user's PC is running a genuine or pirated version of the OS, via an update patch that becomes available from [today]. The patch takes effect if a PC user has opted to automatically update Windows the moment he goes online. It will also take effect should a PC user manually download the latest Windows updates.

If the OS is an unauthorised copy, a pop-up dialogue box will appear on the Windows login screen, informing the user that his copy of the OS is counterfeit and that he should get a genuine copy.

Courtesy of J-walk