Microsoft Antipiracy Detection Tool for Office

An update for Microsoft's antipiracy tool for Office hit a snag when it was distributed too widely and under a "critical" label that's usually reserved for important software fixes.


Microsoft Bungles Antipiracy Detection Tool Update

An update for Microsoft's antipiracy tool for its Office software suite hit a snag last week when it was distributed too widely and under a "critical" label that's usually reserved for important software fixes.

Last week, Microsoft said it would add a notification component to Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) , which warns people through pop-up messages, dialog boxes and other visual cues if their copy of Office is unlicensed.

OGA was widely launched around October 2006. If the tool identifies a copy of Office as unlicensed, it blocks free downloads from Microsoft's Web site such as templates, available to customers with valid software.

Microsoft meant to push out the OGA notifications update only to customers in Italy, Spain, Turkey and Chile. However, the update was published on April 15 to users outside of those countries via Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), which distributes patches and security updates for the company's server products and other software.

The update was available for about 24 hours before it was removed, according to the WSUS blog. Some users had problems with the tool.

The update was labeled "critical," as "OGA notifications are designed to alert customers who are using non-genuine software, and are thus more vulnerable to activation exploits and the risks of counterfeit," the blog posting said.

The labeling of the update seem odd considering the trouble Microsoft had with its other pirate software detection tool, Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) Notifications. The company got into trouble in 2006 for classifying WGA Notifications, which detects unlicensed Windows operating systems and warns users, as a "critical" update and bundling it with other true security fixes.

Users complained that the WGA tool did not provide a fix for a security problem, and labeling it as critical was misleading. People can now opt out of downloading WGA, which is designed to nudge those with a rogue version of the company's OS to buy a licensed version.

Apple's WGA

Apple has filed an updated application to the US Patent & Trademark office for a product activation similar to Microsoft Windows Genuine Advantage.

Apple Readies Anti-Piracy Patent
Apple Inc has filed an application with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for a product activation and anti-piracy technology that would give it the same kind of control over its software, similar to what the often criticized Windows Genuine Advantage from Microsoft provides.

The patent application 20070288886, titled "Run-Time Code Injection To Perform Checks" and dated Dec. 13, spells out a "digital rights management system" that would "restrict execution of that application to specific hardware platforms."

In the application, Apple noted the ease with which digital information can be copied and the just-as-easy way users could break promises not to illegally distribute copies of that data. It also admitted that, in the end, copy-protection schemes such as dongles or encrypting software wouldn't stop pirates on a mission. "There is very little, however, that these approaches can do to thwart a determined user," the patent filing stated.

"Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a mechanism to restrict the execution of one or more applications to a specific hardware platform that is transparent to the user."

Apple currently does not have any copy protection over its Mac OS X operating system, or provides a check to tie a specific copy of the OS to a given notebook or desktop Mac.

The patent relies on a scheme where a cryptographic key generated before the actual hardware reaches the user. When an application opens, the system would insert a code into the execution code stream, generate data that's sent to a digital rights management module, then compare that signed data with the key. If they match, the application continues to open. If not, it's stopped in its tracks.

Such checks could be done on a very frequent basis, said Apple's patent application.

"In general, the selected time period should be small enough to prevent significant use of an unauthorized application or system, yet long enough so as not to degrade system performance," the filing read. Apple used an example of a check every five to ten minutes, which is much more often than Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) technology. In June 2006, Microsoft took heat, then modified WGA, after users found out it was "phoning home" to the company's servers daily.

Patent application 20070288886 isn't new, the December filing noted, but rather builds on other applications, including one first filed in mid-2005 but not publicly posted until early January 2007.

Windows Genuine Disadvantage?

Thousands of Windows users went berserk after Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) system crippled their system, accusing them of conterfeit software. In Windows Vista SP 1, Vista cripples WGA.


WGA - Change or Go Away
Back in August, a glitch in Microsoft's servers for Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) accused thousands of users of counterfeit copies of Windows. Users, who paid for their software, were inconvinienced by the fact that WGA crippled their Windows machine, especially Vista. Microsoft has announced that Windows Vista SP1, shipping early next year, will end the kill-switch measure that cripples every aspect of Windows Vista except limited Web browsing if it believes you to have a pirated copy of the operating system

Windows Genuine Advantage is Microsoft's way of determining whether you have an original, genuine copy of Windows, or just a counterfeit copy. The system is installed during Automatic Updates or when you try do download a software off the Microsoft website that requires WGA validation. What it does is scan your system, mainly the product key of Windows, to generate a code that it sends over to Microsoft. If the servers in Microsoft determines your copy of Windows is counterfeit, it tells WGA to run Windows in Reduced Functionality Mode.

With Windows XP, nothing much is changed except for occasional message that your copy of Windows did not pass the WGA test, on your system tray or in the log-on screen. In Windows Vista, however, the effect is more severe. Failing the WGA test on Vista will disable key features, such as the Aero interface, ReadyBoost, and a limited time of using the computer (you are automatically logged off after an hour).

Microsoft has reduced the impact of WGA on Windows Vista users, and it does this with SP 1. It no longer disables the Aero interface or any other features. Instead, it will only annoy them with messages accusing them of piracy. It'll also change their wallpaper, and it'll give them a dialog box that makes them wait until they can postpone activation.

Killing the kill switch is a good start, since it'll reduce the chances that Vista will mistakenly prevent deny functionality to paying customers. But it doesn't represent fundamental change to WGA. In fact, Microsoft VP Mike Sievert says that "It's worth re-emphasizing that our fundamental strategy has not changed. All copies of Windows Vista still require activation and the system will continue to validate from time to time to verify that systems are activated properly."

Still, a lot of users have no confidence with Microsoft's WGA. Of course, that includes those innocent Windows users who were accused of counterfeit software when they were in fact, genuine copies. Users say that either Microsoft has to change WGA to be integrated perfectly with Windows, or better yet, make it go away.

For years, the Microsoft monopoly made it very hard for anyone to opt out of using Windows. Thanks to the resurgent Mac OS X and ever-improving Linux--neither of which are burdened with copy protection--that's no longer true. WGA remains a significant argument against choosing Windows, and will be one until it gets far more seamless or simply goes away.