Microsoft’s pursuit of software counterfeiters begins in Dublin, at one of the company’s 10 crime labs.
Donal Keating, a physicist who leads Microsoft’s forensics work, has turned the lab into an anti-piracy playpen full of microscopes and other equipment used to analyze software disks. Flat-screen monitors show data about counterfeit sales, and evidence bags almost overflow with nearly flawless Windows and Office fakes. Mr. Keating serves as the CD manufacturing whiz on what amounts to Microsoft’s version of the A-Team, clad in business-casual attire.
The undercover operative of this group is Peter Anaman, a lawyer who was born in Ghana and educated in England; he taught hand-to-hand combat to soldiers during a stint in the French army and then taught himself how to write software. […] Through three online personas — two female and one male — Mr. Anaman chats with and sometimes befriends hackers in Russia and Eastern Europe who use stolen credit card numbers to set up hundreds of Web sites and offer products from Microsoft, Adobe and Symantec. “It is part of gathering human intelligence and tracking relationships,” Mr. Anaman says.
[…]
“We used to remove 10,000 links a month,” Mr. Anaman says. “Now, we’re removing 800,000 links a month.”He describes the groups behind these sites as “part of the dark Web,” saying they have links to huge spam, virus and fraud networks. Microsoft’s tests of software on some popular sites have shown that 35 percent of the counterfeit software contained harmful code.
Getting rid of the links is not enough. For a couple of bucks you can get a cracked disk versions of anything in most countries.
And it’s not some kid in a basement with a DVD writer — the disks are screen printed with full color sleeves. The governments obviously don’t care that America’s intellectual property is being ripped off. Yet they whine and complain about America’s trade policies.
Poor little 3rd world countries have always done this – http://tuxdeluxe.org/node/157
#1,
I whine and complain about the USA profit margins on goods that should be < 1/2 the price.
The fun part is the WTO..its a back door into controlling Everything.
EXCEPT, that the USA does not ADHERE to the WTO. The WTO has told the USA that they can NOT restrict offshore gambling, but the Gov. has blocked/restricted it.
Another point for the topic..
Counterfeiters ARE not pirates..
but Pirates can be counterfeiters.
#3 Yeah, why would anyone ever pay for Office? Most of the update features are dubious at best.
/Yawn
“We used to remove 10,000 links a month,” Mr. Anaman says. “Now, we’re removing 800,000 links a month.”
This guy is so full of fail, he doesn’t even understand what those numbers really mean. I imagine he expects an “‘atta-boy” and a bonus.
BTW, it is entirely possible to download all Microsoft software for free under current US law using “creative methods”. Sure it isn’t morally right but then again neither is DRM locked software and copyright extended terms to 95/120 years or life plus 70 years.
Current copyright law in the USA is basically theft of our culture. Pretending it is protecting IP and calling downloaders thieves is one of the biggest crocks of sh#t perpetrated on American Society since the British taxed the lands without representation.
Now counterfeit software pretending to be a real product is criminal. Yeah you heard that right.
Totally bogus!!!
This story is totally bogus.
Yeah, the physicists and foreign country stuff makes for great drama. But that must be just for show.
M$oft’s piracy efforts must certainly aimed 100% at dolts like me. I have 5 legit windows installs here at home and I get questioned and accused of piracy at least 10 or 20 times per month.
I wont get into ACTA, WTO, and other things happening that you MAT not want to see..
For any PRODUCT..a 10% theft margin has to be maintained. ITS GOING TO HAPPEN. There is NO 100%..
According the Music and movie industry, they WANT to be paid for EVERY man/woman/child that LIVES..
Points to PONDER..(pTp)
MS does not want games on THEIR OS.
they want you to buy a CONSOLE
(unlike the Atari 2600) they want to CONTROL your programs ON THE CONSOLE.. They want Every penny they can GET, from ANY SALE from that console.
They want the CONSOLE to be your ALTERNATE computer, for everything ELSE..
The computer, is for OFFICE..less graphics, Less power, LESS HEAD ACHES. NO GAMES.
IF MS could LOCK you into their OS, they WANT to LOCK you into OFFICE and ONLY their software.
#7 The amazing problems that Vista had with games on launch, were I think intentional. Drive people to the 360. It might have had an unforeseen side effect of decreasing security.
As the the casual gamers moved to the console the desktop gamer holdouts got more hardcore. I’m sure people have heard of bot-nets, these are often derived from tools written to auto-pilot WoW accounts.
RHQQ2
Now add some guys with bullets.
what is this windows and office that you speak of??
It is not worth the potential pain to try and down load cracked software at least to me. To much of it contains malware.
I’d rather install Linux and go that way if my current windows systems fail and I had to look for free options.
FUD