Re: FBI tells the public to call their ISP for help

On Jun 15, 2007, at 1:23 PM, Kevin Day wrote:

> I've never tried it, but I've heard that they've been
surprisingly  
> helpful, even in cases where it was obviously not
Microsoft's fault 
> (directly, anyway). I'm not 100% positive that their
policy  
> explicitly allows OEM license holders to use that
number, but from  
> those I've talked to that have used it - they don't ask
for any  
> license information at all. After they've verified it
fits their  
> definition of a security problem, you're handed over to
a tech to  
> help you clean it up.

It is my understanding that they even support pirated
software in  
this context; they figure it's better to fix the stuff and
then  
figure out how to get the right stuff there than to wenge
about its  
pedigree.

* Fred Baker:

[Microsoft security updates]

> It is my understanding that they even support pirated
software in
> this context;

Their message on this message on this topic is rather
mixed.

The Office update used to display warnings that after a
security
update, pirated copies might cease to function.  And the
updates
claimed that you need the original CD, which did not appear
to be
true, but still.

For Windows Update, Microsoft has been quite successful in
creating
the impression that during the update check, your system is
examined
for pirated software.

And finally, a major source of malware are sites which
distribute
cracks and product keys. 8-(