Microsoft's not-so-generous Windows deal
You've been burned by a crook who sold you a counterfeit copy of Windows. Microsoft says they want to help you out. But a closer look shows the deal isn't all that generous.
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Ed Bott
Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications.
Latest Posts
Quiz: How much do you know about Microsoft licensing?
How much do you know about Microsoft’s licensing policies for its two flagship products, Windows and Office? You might think it’s an academic question, but you’d be wrong. Licensing issues affect your budget and your ability to qualify for upgrades and support from Microsoft. A lot of conventional wisdom about Microsoft licensing is just plain wrong. See how many of the following questions you can get right.
MS: 20% of WGA failures not caused by pirated keys
Microsoft isn't interested in answering detailed questions about how Windows Genuine Advantage works. But via e-mail, they acknowledged that 20% of Windows users who fail the validation test are not using leaked or stolen keys. No wonder so many people are up in arms.
No WGA "kill switch," says Microsoft
A new statement from Microsoft's PR agency denies the rumor that the Windows Genuine Advantage validation tool will be used to shut off computers running "non-genuine" copies of Windows. But the new statement still doesn't settle the question.
IE7 gets closer to its official debut
The browser wars are back. Microsoft has released another public beta of Internet Explorer 7. Beta 3 for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 has a few new features and is as polished as most final releases. Here are the details.
The WGA fiasco continues
When it comes to Windows Genuine Advantage, Microsoft appears to have the reverse Midas touch - everything they touch turns to lead and crashes to the ground with a thud. The latest episode? A set of instructions for removing one of the buggy WGA modules has errors that would embarrass a rookie tech editor.
Maybe Firefox doesn't have a security edge after all
On his blog, a Firefox evangelist takes a months-old quote from a Microsoft security expert completely out of context and tries to convince his readers that Firefox is still more secure than Internet Explorer. Trouble is, that might not be true any more. Why the desperate, distorted attack? Are Firefox fans beginning to realize that IE has the upper hand on security issues these days?
Is Microsoft about to release a Windows "kill switch"?
Windows Genuine Activation is a mess. And according to one published report, it's about to get even messier. If Microsoft's online check determines that your copy of Windows isn't "genuine," will it shut you down completely? Microsoft says that just might be in their plans. Uh-oh.
Did Microsoft just leak the name of its next server?
One well-connected Windows watcher says that Longhorn Server - the current codename for Microsoft's 2007 server release - will "definitely not be called Windows Vista Server." He might have to eat those words, judging from the text that inadvertently leaked into a Help file for a new Windows Vista component. I've got the pictures to prove it.