Friday March 29, 2024


Restriction on XP security patches coming to a computer near you
  Posted by: AceBHound on Jan 27th, 2005 1:16 PM
In its latest attempt to stop software pirates Microsoft will be denying security patches through Windows Update to users who do not authenticate themselves as having a valid license. Micorosft will be begin adopting the program, called Windows Genuine Advantage, over the next few months. In other news, this guy is out of a job.

By mid-2005, the program will become mandatory for Windows users to get virtually all updates, including security fixes available through the company's Windows Update Web site. But users who have pirated copies of Windows will be able to continue to get security fixes if they sign up to automatically receive security updates.

Russ Cooper, a senior scientist with Cybertrust Inc., said completely cutting off access to security fixes for pirated machines could cause a spike in malicious, Internet-based attacks. He lauded Microsoft for mitigating that problem by continuing to allow all users to get the automatic updates, regardless of whether they're running pirated versions.





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