Activation and software piracy
When you hear those two terms together, don’t you usually think about how the first decreases the second? Yeah, right. That’s what Microsoft and Macrovision want you to believe. Let me give you one real-life example of why product activation does not decrease software piracy, but, in fact, increases it.
The other day I needed a recent copy of Microsoft Office on Nighthawk. The only copy of Office that I own is a copy of Office 97 that came with my first computer. I had a working copy of Office 2003 on Scribus, but I needed it on Nighthawk. So I zipped out my iPod and copied the installers for Office 2007 Beta 2 and its “technical refresh” over from the openSUSE partition. Before long I had everything installed. But there was one problem.
It refused to activate.
I don’t mean that my product key was illicit or anything…it’s the same key everyone else has been using. And it’s the same key that I got through the Microsoft Beta Experience program. But the Microsoft activation servers failed to respond. Since I really needed Office to activate, I decided it was time to try a less out-in-the-open route.
I went on a few torrent sites (not gonna name names here to keep myself out of trouble but Google is your friend) and quickly found a keygen for Office 2007 Enterprise Edition – and the corresponding ISO image. Soon I had downloaded both and happily bypassed Office Product Activation. And what’s the kicker? Microsoft can’t tell where my Office copy is among the soon-to-be millions of Office Update users. So, as far as I know, I have the Office Genuine Advantage without even having the “Genuine” part. I really have no regret for doing that, and if the FBI shows up at my house then who cares. I tried taking the legit route, and Microsoft failed me. So I really had no choice.
There’s your one example. If you don’t get the point, then let me make it painfully obvious: If the product activation system in the beta version of Office had (a) worked properly, or (b) not been there in the first place, then I would not have had to crack the release version of Office. (And I tried the keygen’ed key on the beta release of Office as well.) Any comments/excuses, Microsoft?