Microsoft irks China clients

By ASSOCIATED PRESS | The Washington Times
November 03, 2008

An anti-piracy tactic by Microsoft Corp. that turns some computer users' screens black has set off a wave of indignation among Chinese consumers, posing renewed problems for the software maker in the huge China market.

A pirated copy of Microsoft Windows XP is seen in Huaian city, east Chinas Jiangsu province, 16 October 2008.

Microsoft launched its new strict anti-piracy measures in China on October 20 to fight against pirated Windows XP Professional and Office software. Microsoft China released two new important updates which include the genuine advantage notifications of Windows XP Professional and Office. The two notifications will be automatically downloaded in users computers through the software update. After the software is updated, computers with unauthorized Windows XP Professional will show a black screen when starting the computer and the users have to reset the background to realize normal use, but the black screen will reoccur every 60 minutes. In addition, when logging into the pirated system, there will be a notification at the right corner, saying You May Be A Victim Of Software Piracy. For users of unauthorized Microsoft Office software, they need to shift to a genuine version or the menu bar of their Office programs such as Word and Excel will be marked with an obvious pirated software sign in 30 days.

In the week since Microsoft deployed an updated anti-piracy tool here, some Chinese have fumed about what they see as an invasion of privacy. Users of legitimate software have been turning their own screens black in protest. One authorized user complained to the police.

"It's a crime," said Beijing lawyer Dong Zhengwei, who filed a complaint against Microsoft with the Public Security Ministry. The ministry hasn't responded. "The black-screen plan implies that Microsoft can hack all its users, not just the pirates," Mr. Dong said. "That's not fair."

At issue is Windows Genuine Advantage, a tool Microsoft uses to assess, over the Internet, whether a PC has one of the pirated copies of Windows that flourish in developing countries. The tool was developed after Windows XP was released, but has since been added to updated copies of the operating system. The technology was built into Vista, the latest edition of Windows, from the start.

As the tool scans for pirated copies of Windows, it logs certain information about computers, notifies users if it detects illegal copies or counterfeits - and urges them to get a legitimate copy.

Windows Genuine Advantage has been in use worldwide for several years. The update that started to affect Chinese PC users last week did exactly what it was intended to do: get people's attention.

Now when the tool detects a fake copy of Windows, it turns the PC's desktop black, replacing the user's background image. Although the user can override the blackout, it reappears every 60 minutes.

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