Microsoft sues more pirates

Microsoft has announced 63 new lawsuits against people the company is accusing of selling pirated Microsoft Windows products or Microsoft Office products on eBay and other auction sites.

The lawsuits are global and include pirates from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Belgium.

The apparent target of Microsoft is people accused of selling Windows XP or Office "Blue Edition", which are becoming more and more popular on auction sites as the company plans to phase it out.

Microsoft noted that the pirated copies pose a security risk to users as 43 percent "had tampered code that could create a backdoor into the person's computer."

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Dec 2008 21:51

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14 comments

borhan9

I have one query about this whole thing what happens if u have a legit copy of a Microsoft software and do not want to use it anymore or do not have a use for it why cant u sell the whole legit software. That way should be fine.

12.12.2008 04:41 #1

varnull

If it's legit and original there is no problem. Look on fleabay and see how much pirate software you can find for sale, usually bundled freeware (but not always) with some retarded disclaimer about the legality of the ownership and right to sell other peoples property without permission for profit. dvd copy software or decryptor/decrypter are good search terms XD

12.12.2008 05:28 #2

Mez

M$ only wants to see one computer with a license. They do not care how you got it as long as it is unique.

12.12.2008 07:32 #3

ZippyDSM

I would not be surprised if they sued Ebay and tried to get them to enforce the OEM rule on used software...

12.12.2008 11:06 #4

Mez

I would. See, they don't care how you aquired the license as long as it in unique. If not, they go after #2. If they 'legaly' purchased the software that are more than happy to drop the dime on whoever sold them pirated software. That is how they cleaned up ebay a few years back. You don't hear about that stuff anymore. Selling M$ pirated software as the real thing on ebay is guarenteed to get you in trouble in most countries.

12.12.2008 12:12 #5

maxikaz

i've never seen pirated MS soft on Ebay, i wonder if ebay allow for pirate auctions

12.12.2008 12:24 #6

ZippyDSM

Originally posted by maxikaz: i've never seen pirated MS soft on Ebay, i wonder if ebay allow for pirate auctionsOne generally finds out abotu such things after you get a bad copy...

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12.12.2008 12:25 #7

Mez

Yes, it looks good but you can't activate it because someone else used your activation code. Then you complain to M$. You still have a bad copy but the seller gets reamed.

That senerio doesn't happen much because the pirate usually gets caught. I often buy used software for learning. I let the seller know the activation code better work. I have had no problems. Often a company will go out of business of will update to a newer version. Often the license is not the same. This means you can resell the outdated version. You are upfront that the technical support has expired but the activation key is good. They sell for 10% of new. It is a good deal if you just want to play around with something expensive. It is far better than buying a book.

12.12.2008 12:46 #8

ZippyDSM

Originally posted by Mez: Yes, it looks good but you can't activate it because someone else used your activation code. Then you complain to M$. You still have a bad copy but the seller gets reamed.

That senerio doesn't happen much because the pirate usually gets caught. I often buy used software for learning. I let the seller know the activation code better work. I have had no problems. Often a company will go out of business of will update to a newer version. Often the license is not the same. This means you can resell the outdated version. You are upfront that the technical support has expired but the activation key is good. They sell for 10% of new. It is a good deal if you just want to play around with something expensive. It is far better than buying a book.I hate WGA and handicap it every chance I get >>

12.12.2008 13:17 #9

scorpNZ

I'd have some sympathy for ms if they were'nt pirates themselves,why the *$@%$%% should other's & i have to pay again for software that we already own, but can't use as it's tied to a fried mobo or the classic,x amount of hardware changes have been detected you must reactivate in 3 days,there's no excuse no matter how much legalise they throw at ya,not when they're prepared to flood 3rd world countries with cheap nasty software on cheap'n nasty pc's ,apparently it's all for a good cause,yeah whatever.

12.12.2008 15:58 #10

susieqbbb

This is Garbage.

First microsoft has no treatys with germany or belgium so just try to sue them they will just be thrown out of court.

Also most people can just download microsoft products on p2p and bittorrent.

why are you not going after them.

also which is most damaging is Vlc licenses or volume licenses sure the windows doesn't pass product validation but it still passes updates via windows update.

there are so many holes i am glad i own a mac.

13.12.2008 03:36 #11

tatsh

Originally posted by susieqbbb: This is Garbage.

First microsoft has no treatys with germany or belgium so just try to sue them they will just be thrown out of court.

Also most people can just download microsoft products on p2p and bittorrent.

why are you not going after them.

also which is most damaging is Vlc licenses or volume licenses sure the windows doesn't pass product validation but it still passes updates via windows update.

there are so many holes i am glad i own a mac.Glad I have an XP VL key (no I am not sharing it with ANYONE) and it passes WGA no issue. However, I refuse to allow the WGA watcher software to be installed. That's simply ridiculous. I even have the remover software that was made some time ago (still works great) that just unregisters the appropriate files and has a scheduled deletion (and uses undocumented Windows File Protection calls) on the next reboot. Works great every time. Microsoft had the developer take down the software. No way am I losing my copy.

13.12.2008 23:21 #12

Mez

scorpNZ, start a new. That is what I did.

MS does not like you changing HDs or computers.

This will tell you how to retrieve your key that you paid for. Mine was on the shrink wrap designed to be lost.

http://www.fredshack.com/docs/xpactivation.html

Then re install on top of the old. I made a note of my key where it wouldn't get lost. You can borrow any matching disk to instal and use your license key to activate it.

15.12.2008 14:48 #13

martin280

I'd be kind of worried if MS sued me. That must suck.

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15.12.2008 15:14 #14

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