Microsoft: Mystery trio thwarts pirates
293493
(InfoWorld) - Microsoft Corp. has clarified the identity of the mysterious trio on the installation disks for the business version of Windows Vista. And no, you can't play the installation DVDs backwards and hear the devil talking, either. The tiny photo of three grinning men -- less that 1 mm in size -- is one of several images incorporated into the hologram's design intended to make it harder to replicate a Vista DVD, according to Nick White on Microsoft's Vista team blog. The men in the photo worked on the team that designed the hologram. The disks also have images of art works now in the public domain. Magnification is required to see the images. "The real story is interesting, but conspiracy theorists will be disappointed to learn that it is not the result of a deliberate attempt to deceive," White wrote. Microsoft never intended to make the images impossible to find, White said. Holograms are hard to reproduce, he wrote, but the inclusion of photos adds another level of complexity to thwart piracy. Various blog postings speculated the image was the work of a rogue trio, reminiscent of when Microsoft and other software vendors used to plant images or games within other programs, a practice known as adding an "Easter egg." Nonetheless, pundits couldn't pass up the opportunity for a bit of humor at Microsoft's expense. "Apparently a blogger named Kwisatz has uncovered a 'secret' photo embedded into the hologram that encompasses the Windows Vista Business DVD," wrote Paul Miller on the tech blog Engadget. "This being Microsoft, the photo naturally depicts three total nerds grinning excessively at their own cleverness."ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!
333100
Paying customers may not get their hands on Windows Vista Service Pack 1 for weeks, but pirates can download the brand-new code today.
24216
UK users will be able to replace pirated versions of Windows that they have purchased. Software pirates&#39; increasing skill at creating counterfeit versions of Windows XP has prompted Microsoft to introduce
589724
Microsoft is pointing to a server error that caused a weekend snafu in which legitimate customers were accused of stealing software. Thousands of legit copies of Windows XP and Vista were identified by Microsoft&#39;s Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation system as pirated.
553705
Microsoft has said it is trying to track down the people behind a pirated copy of the forthcoming Halo 2 game. A version of the eagerly awaited Xbox game has appeared on net piracy sites and newsgroups, almost a month before making it into the shops.
103983
BBC Click investigates free security software and finds out who will protect PCs when Microsoft launches Vista.
98461
Microsoft is investigating the appearance of a pirated copy of the eagerly awaited Halo 2 game online.
266105
Microsoft fixes a critical flaw in the Windows operating system that could be used by criminals to create a self-copying PC worm attack.
230610
Microsoft Corp. has quietly begun giving some of its largest customers early warning of security problems with its products. Under the free program, some customers get three business
227875
Microsoft effort is designed to wean people off pirated software and the open-source Linux OS.
430359
LicenseWise and Windows Vista Hardware Assessment help users navigate Microsoft offerings.
386875
Microsoft Corp finally, it seems, has something in common with Linux: the mutual threat to market share posed by pirated copies of Windows in emerging markets.
49277
Avast! Microsoft is taking action to thwart a possible hole in its Vista anti-piracy measures.â¦
387750
Hackers have come up with a way to get around one of Microsoft's antipiracy mechanisms for Vista.
24254
What hope then for Vista toughness? Some, or maybe many, Microsoft volume license customers were told on Monday and Tuesday that their PCs were running pirated software.â¦
108366
Leak casts light on controversial tactics that may have been employed by the anti-piracy company.
89583
A Microsoft UK replacement scheme for pirate copies of Windows XP suggests the company is testing the waters to see how feasible it is to convert sections of its unlicensed user base to legitimate users.