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Microsoft encourages piracy (and malware/viruses).

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:29 am
by xan_user
so my gf got my old pc. transferred all her stuff over to my old comp, but she needs her copy of office 2010 moved over as well. it was purchased online as a download. no problem, ill just use a lic key finder and download an installer from M$ and we'd be golden. Right?

Wrong! when i go to download office, it asks me for lic key. ok no problem. then it wants me to log into her m$ account... heres the catch, no one can remember the email address, as it was four years ago, and honestly we dont remember ever signing up for m$ email. so we started an @outlook email address for her, so we could get the download. now we get an error from the m$ server saying that the lic key is associated with a different email address and we must login to the old one to get download!

spent about an hour trying to recover the old m$ account, but its hopeless...we dont even know if it was @msn @live @outlook or @whatevereleseM$usesforemailservers.com

now I have to hit the torrentz and worry about malware viruses. jeez what a complete waste of time. my first download was crawling with malware...

FTR- I use open office, mainly to avoid issues like this.

Rant over (for now). feel free to add your own. (or send me a copy of office 2010 installer ... :mrgreen: )

Re: Microsoft encourages piracy (and malware/viruses).

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 10:07 am
by edh
If you have a licence they can't legally take away from you your right to use the software. You are in the US of course so the licencing laws are very much biased against you but I can't see them having any argument to stand on if they wanted to take you to court.

Re: Microsoft encourages piracy (and malware/viruses).

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 10:14 am
by andyb
I have been saying this for years, although its not "piracy" the use of this term is a deliberate attempt to make the "crime" seem far more damaging than it really is. Piracy is when someone hijacks your water going vessel with violence as the primary tool, followed by kidnapping and ransoming.

"Piracy" in terms of software, music, video's etc is "copyright infringement" which is a very different thing and is no where near as damaging as the claimants make out.

Anyway back on topic, I have had this issue several times in the past with various versions of MS Windows, the license keys have either rubbed off, or the license sticker has been ripped or damaged in some other way, and if the matching needs a re-install and you can actually log into windows and run a keygen to find the license key that's already installed its never the same, and its down to pure luck as whether or not that key will work, or whether you need to get a different disc to use to install it with as most OEM's use a totally different license key to the one on the machine.

At which point I am left with the options of telling the customer that I either need them to cough up a heap of money for a new license for a product that they already own, or I breach (on their behalf) the "copyright" and use a "dodgy" copy, either way MS is entirely to blame and they DO force their customers to infringe copyrights.

I don't have anywhere near as many problems with Office, as if they don't have a license I simply install LibreOffice, and if they need Outlook they then get Thunderbird, job done.

As for virus/malware free copy's of Windows if you don't have the disc but DO have the license key, they are easy to find, as for others they are also easy to find. FYI I have never got a copy of Windows that has had viruses or malware in it, so you must be looking in the wrong places and on dodgy websites (which there are hundreds of.


Andy

Re: Microsoft encourages piracy (and malware/viruses).

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:34 am
by xan_user
the whole point is "what then, are we paying them for?"

-when we have to jump though so many frigging hoops to "do the right thing", why bother?

Re: Microsoft encourages piracy (and malware/viruses).

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:46 am
by andyb
Many enthusiasts simply don't bother because you can upgrade your system often enough that you can no-longer reactivate your legal license, so many people armed with this knowledge simply don't bother, I am very much looking forward to looking at SteamOS as an alternative, as the only reason for me to use a MS OS is to play games, everything else can be done with free software e.g. Linux.


Andy