October 29, 2006 at 05:47Microsoft makes anti-piracy check mandatory for everyone
Microsoft has introduced a mandatory license check for Office XP and 2003 software packages when working with update sites.
Starting on Friday, October 27th, all users of these packages in order to download updates and add-ons from the MS Office website must be checked for legality of the installed software as part of the Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) program. Since April 2006, such verification has been mandatory only for Office users in Portuguese, Czech, Greek, Korean, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish.
If the system detects that a “pirated version” is installed on the computer, the user will be notified where exactly you can get a legal copy. In some cases, the user may be provided with a free copy of Office.
Updating the programs of the Microsoft Office 2007 package, which will be officially presented at the beginning of next year, will also be possible only after checking the legality.
Updates that protect against vulnerabilities designated as “critical” will continue to be provided freely. A similar policy is used by Microsoft with respect to the Windows XP operating system. It is worth noting that the new version of Windows - Vista will use a slightly different policy regarding legality: if the validation code is not entered within 30 days, the user will be given the opportunity to use the "limited version", which will allow access to the Internet, but will restart every hour.
Starting on Friday, October 27th, all users of these packages in order to download updates and add-ons from the MS Office website must be checked for legality of the installed software as part of the Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) program. Since April 2006, such verification has been mandatory only for Office users in Portuguese, Czech, Greek, Korean, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish.
If the system detects that a “pirated version” is installed on the computer, the user will be notified where exactly you can get a legal copy. In some cases, the user may be provided with a free copy of Office.
Updating the programs of the Microsoft Office 2007 package, which will be officially presented at the beginning of next year, will also be possible only after checking the legality.
Updates that protect against vulnerabilities designated as “critical” will continue to be provided freely. A similar policy is used by Microsoft with respect to the Windows XP operating system. It is worth noting that the new version of Windows - Vista will use a slightly different policy regarding legality: if the validation code is not entered within 30 days, the user will be given the opportunity to use the "limited version", which will allow access to the Internet, but will restart every hour.