Thousands of computer users’ screens went black across the mainland yesterday as they felt the impact of the newest step in Microsoft’s global anti-piracy push. Mainland netizens vented their anger.
Users of illegal copies of the Microsoft XP operating system and Microsoft Office software fell foul of software patches known as Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) and Office Genuine Advantage (OGA), which they unknowingly downloaded and installed recently through XP’s automatic update facility.
When they switched on their computers yesterday the software scanned their system to see whether they were using genuine or illegal XP.
The screen wallpaper of those using a pirated operating system vanished to be replaced by a plain black desktop, and a persistent error message appeared warning: “You may be a victim of software counterfeiting.”
Assurances from a Microsoft China spokesman that the patches were aimed only at improving user experience by promoting copyright awareness did little to placate computer users, with some calling the act a declaration of war by Microsoft.
Lin Congwu , Microsoft China’s marketing director for consumer products, said last week that the program would help uninformed users identify whether or not they were using genuine software.
He said installation of the programs was not compulsory.
Hours after the Microsoft announcement, posts began to surface on the internet teaching people how to bypass the check by cancelling the automatic update or changing a registration key.
But information-technology expert Lin Feng said it was not as simple as that.
“If you choose not [to update], you will be barred from all security updates, and hackers and malicious software could easily break into your system through known loopholes,” Mr Lin said.
“Microsoft has hijacked us and given us freedom to pay a ransom or die.”
Some IT experts claimed the software giant was threatening China’s national security.
Ni Guangnan , a leading software expert and member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, wrote in his weblog: “If you cannot fully control the computer, you are not the owner. If Microsoft can blacken your screen today, what else can it do tomorrow?”
An opinion poll conducted by Sohu.com attracted more than 100,000 voters and more than 90 per cent of the respondents - some of them users of genuine software - disapproved of Microsoft’s action.
Li Xiaolei said he used a legitimate pre-installed copy of Windows XP but Microsoft had deeply hurt his feelings as a consumer.
In response, millions of users have dumped their pirated versions of Microsoft Office and turned to mainland software companies that are offering legitimate, localised and free office applications for functions such as word-processing.
Zhang Xuefeng , product line manager of Kingsoft, a Hong Kong-listed mainland software company, said downloads of its WPS office processing software by individual users had risen by a staggering 50 per cent since Friday.
“It’s not only individual customers who are becoming more interested in domestic software. We are also receiving a big increase in phone calls from various industries about our products,” Mr Zhang said.
“It would be a good opportunity for Chinese software companies to reclaim lost territory.”
1 comment:
Screens go black as XP patches strike fakes
Anger at Microsoft anti-piracy move
Stephen Chen
22 October 2008
Thousands of computer users’ screens went black across the mainland yesterday as they felt the impact of the newest step in Microsoft’s global anti-piracy push. Mainland netizens vented their anger.
Users of illegal copies of the Microsoft XP operating system and Microsoft Office software fell foul of software patches known as Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) and Office Genuine Advantage (OGA), which they unknowingly downloaded and installed recently through XP’s automatic update facility.
When they switched on their computers yesterday the software scanned their system to see whether they were using genuine or illegal XP.
The screen wallpaper of those using a pirated operating system vanished to be replaced by a plain black desktop, and a persistent error message appeared warning: “You may be a victim of software counterfeiting.”
Assurances from a Microsoft China spokesman that the patches were aimed only at improving user experience by promoting copyright awareness did little to placate computer users, with some calling the act a declaration of war by Microsoft.
Lin Congwu , Microsoft China’s marketing director for consumer products, said last week that the program would help uninformed users identify whether or not they were using genuine software.
He said installation of the programs was not compulsory.
Hours after the Microsoft announcement, posts began to surface on the internet teaching people how to bypass the check by cancelling the automatic update or changing a registration key.
But information-technology expert Lin Feng said it was not as simple as that.
“If you choose not [to update], you will be barred from all security updates, and hackers and malicious software could easily break into your system through known loopholes,” Mr Lin said.
“Microsoft has hijacked us and given us freedom to pay a ransom or die.”
Some IT experts claimed the software giant was threatening China’s national security.
Ni Guangnan , a leading software expert and member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, wrote in his weblog: “If you cannot fully control the computer, you are not the owner. If Microsoft can blacken your screen today, what else can it do tomorrow?”
An opinion poll conducted by Sohu.com attracted more than 100,000 voters and more than 90 per cent of the respondents - some of them users of genuine software - disapproved of Microsoft’s action.
Li Xiaolei said he used a legitimate pre-installed copy of Windows XP but Microsoft had deeply hurt his feelings as a consumer.
In response, millions of users have dumped their pirated versions of Microsoft Office and turned to mainland software companies that are offering legitimate, localised and free office applications for functions such as word-processing.
Zhang Xuefeng , product line manager of Kingsoft, a Hong Kong-listed mainland software company, said downloads of its WPS office processing software by individual users had risen by a staggering 50 per cent since Friday.
“It’s not only individual customers who are becoming more interested in domestic software. We are also receiving a big increase in phone calls from various industries about our products,” Mr Zhang said.
“It would be a good opportunity for Chinese software companies to reclaim lost territory.”
Post a Comment