Tag: Computer World

Microsoft to beef up anti-piracy checks in Vista SP1

Paul

December 03, 2007 (IDG News Service) — Microsoft will change the user experience of its automatic anti-piracy checks in Windows Vista and also make it harder for hackers to bypass the system in the first service pack for the OS due out early next year.

Once Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) is installed on a PC, that computer will no longer go into limited functionality mode if a user or administrator fails to activate Vista on that system in 30 days, or if the system fails Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation, which checks to see if a version of Vista is pirated or counterfeit. In Vista, WGA is called the Software Protection Program feature.

In limited functionality mode, a computer will shut down after 60 minutes and then allow only browser use. Now, instead of going into that mode, a version of Vista that has not been activated in 30 days will start up with a black screen and a dialogue box that gives users the choice of activating Vista now or later, said Alex Kochis, a group product manager at Microsoft.

If users choose to activate now, the screen prompts will lead them through the proper activation system. If users choose to activate later, all the usual functions of Windows will start up, but with a black screen in the background instead of whatever customized background screen a user had set for the system.

Then, after 60 minutes of use, a balloon dialogue box will appear on the screen reminding the user to activate Vista. It also will reset the background to black even if a user had replaced the black screen with a customized view

Well I knew that was going to happen sooner or later. Microsoft is worried about hacks. Go check out the full article in Computerworld.

FAQ: Giving up on Vista? Here’s how to downgrade to XP

Paul

October 02, 2007 (Computerworld) — Microsoft Corp.’s decision last week to delay the end of Windows XP sales five months means users have just that much longer to jilt Vista and return to the older — and some say more mature — operating system. But even with XP’s reprieve, few PCs come with anything but Vista. Even if you wanted to take advantage of the wider window of XP opportunity, you might not know where to start.

I thought this was a real good article on downgrading to XP from Vista. I’ve been thinking about doing this with the system and I have been debating it for quite sometime. Go check out the article yourself and let me know what you think!