Back in June, I took a bunch of heat from Microsoft when I reported that the company was planning to roll out a Windows “kill switch” this fall.
Microsoft denied it.
Now, today, comes an announcement of the Software Protection Platform for Windows Vista, which sounds pretty damn close to what I wrote about in the first place.
If your copy of Windows Vista is “identified as counterfeit or non-genuine” you’ll be kicked into “reduced functionality mode”, which Microsoft describes as follows:
[T]he default Web browser will be started and the user will be presented with an option to purchase a new product key. There is no start menu, no desktop icons, and the desktop background is changed to black. The Web browser will fully function and Internet connectivity will not be blocked. After one hour, the system will log the user out without warning. [emphasis added]
Sounds like a kill switch to me. Go read the article and tell me what you think.
Ed Bott 
Ed, you have been all over WGA for months. Are the Vista-related problems getting so bad that a workstation user like me should reconsider switching to Vista when it is released next year — that is, unless Microsoft fixes the problem?
I currently intend to purchase a retail copy at my local computer store when Vista goes on sale. I would hate to do this, but I have been running XP Professional without any problems whatsoever for years. I love new and improved operating systems, but I don’t like headaches and I certainly don’t like being treated like a presumptive software pirate. I’m one of those rare people who actually purchases separate licenses when I want to run software on more than one computer.
Ken, Microsoft appears to be gearing this program to favor corporate installations and people who buy computers with preinstalled copies of Windows from OEMs like Dell. It appears that it will penalize small computer makers and hobbyists who want to build their own PCs.
I think the odds of someone like you being flagged as a pirate by WGA/SPP are small, and you’ll be able to resolve it fairly quickly because you keep up on the subject. I’ve stayed on this story not because I think WGA is a bad idea, but because Microsoft has implemented it very poorly. There’s still time to fix it, and even in its current state it will probably be a non-issue for you.
Gives hackers something to shoot for. How about a worm that goofs with the system’s licensing, enabling the WGA kill switch on thousands of PCs at once?
Just to clarify for the security paranoid, I’m not offering to make such a worm, just speculating on the possibility.
Ed,
I wish you hadn’t been misleading in the headline. For one thing, this is for Vista, not XP, therefore I and many others don’t have to care. In any case, this is not a kill switch you’re talking about, not imo. Moreover, MS may decide to change its tune again before Vista is out, or later on. In any case, I felt the title was a bit alarmist.
LunchTime,
Don’t be so sure that it won’t affect you. The SPP can be used with any Microsoft software, so there’s no reason it couldn’t be backported to XP.
Ed, thanks for the response. For what it’s worth, I have never had a WGA problem myself, but I don’t fall into any of the risk categories you write about.
Wow, so if Microsoft is going to treat me like a criminal until I prove otherwise every time I boot my computer, then maybe I shouldn’t disappoint them and just use pirated copies of the Ultimate Edition from the start.
Or just stick with my safely validated copy of XP for a few years. The balance of bad news for potential Vista users appears to outweight any advantages I could gain. With Vista I get to buy new hardware (I will anyway) and spend a lot of money. Or I can just stay put and still do what I do anyway: write, read, and surf.
SPP != WGA. It’s different technology, different code, a different team inside Microsoft. Much more robust.
All I can say is..wow
WGA is already a rather large pain in the rear, this latest move turns me off to Vista even more.
If Microsoft continues down this path, they’re going to open doors from the public’s viewpoint for newer operating systems. Something that is as compatable as Windows would be able to replace the industry standard in no time.
Does this mean Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows Server registered users (application authors running on Windows) will be provided with additional tools aimed to stop and prevent their developed and distributed applications from crack, illegal intrusions, reverse engineering, illegal copying and use?
Thank you in advance for your answer it it’s possible
Kidest regards,
StrongBit Technology authors of EXECryptor anti-crack and anti-reversing application protection and licensing solutions.
http://www.strongbit.com