Microsoft vs. Pirated Software; Get Net Safe Tour; Word Flaw Remains Unpatched

Dec 10, 2006 10:47 GMT  ·  By

On Monday, Microsoft decided that it was the perfect time to take legal action against people that are using or distributing pirated versions of software solutions provided by the company.

In an announcement posted on the official website, the giant said that the lawsuits were filled in 25 cities across the U.S., from Riverbank, Calif., to Melbourne, Fla. It is quite an important decision because it is well known that Microsoft's products are probably the most counterfeited software solutions on the market.

"No one would want their newly purchased computer or software to be laden with problems caused by incomplete code, worms, viruses, spyware and other risks. Aside from a fight to protect our intellectual property, we are working to protect our partners and customers who buy computer software in good faith, expecting to get genuine Microsoft Windows and end up being exploited and defrauded by software pirates," said Mary Jo Schrade, senior attorney at Microsoft.

The company also published a list with the filled lawsuits, one of the most important being represented by Microsoft Corp. vs. Family Education Center (Downey, Calif.), alleging distribution of infringing Windows XP Professional and Office XP Professional software that was filled in California.

"Ultimately, our goal is straightforward: To make sure that fair business practices prevail and that consumers get what they pay for and what they deserve when they purchase Microsoft software," John Ball, general manager for U.S. Local OEM Business at Microsoft, concluded.

On Tuesday, the company released the first community technology preview of the Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, an application that offers functions for scorecarding, analytics and planning functions. The software solution bundles ProClarity technologies and Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005.

Even if the second community preview is scheduled for the early 2007, Microsoft plans to release two more additional test versions before the final version of the product in mid-2007.

"We continue to invest in our business intelligence solution to bridge the gap between people and the information needed to drive business success. Today's milestone brings us one step closer to our goal of enabling decision support and superior performance management across the enterprise," Chris Capossela, corporate vice president of Microsoft Business Division, sustained.

If you want to test this first community preview of Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, you should follow this link, sign in with your Windows Live ID and read the information provided by Microsoft.

On Wednesday, Get Net Safe, a tour that was designed to teach people how to protect themselves on the Internet and browse more safe and secure, arrived in Orlando. The tour was meant to visit 12 cities to help people increase their online security, Orlando representing the final stop of the event.

"The Get Net Safe tour has been a tremendous opportunity for us to reach people face to face and help them learn how to protect themselves, their families and their PCs on the Internet. Part of our goal for the Get Net Safe tour was to empower people to use the information and pass it along to others. The people who committed their time and energy to attend the events to learn something new underscores the need for this type of information and education about safe Internet practices," said Kristin Johnsen, senior director of security outreach for the Security Technology Unit at Microsoft.

The tour that was a result of a Microsoft and 10 companies partnership included conferences and seminars about online privacy and security in different cities and schools.

On Thursday, the giant published a security advisory on its official website to announce the upcoming updates that are released as a part of the monthly patch cycle. The giant said that five updates affecting Microsoft Windows with the maximum severity rating "critical" will be available, most of them requiring reboot of the computer. The company also added that one security bulletin for Microsoft Visual Studio is rated as "critical" and will also require a restart of the computer.

"Microsoft will release an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services and the Download Center," Microsoft added. As you can see, no update to affect Microsoft Word will be released, a flaw that produced many headaches for the giant's employees.

On Friday, the giant's attorneys issued a statement to thank the U.S. Department of Justice for the legal action taken against people that defended pirated software. "Microsoft applauds the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan for the conviction of three individuals involved in a scheme to defraud Microsoft of millions of dollars by obtaining discounted software under false pretenses. The conviction of these individuals is a significant victory for the software industry, its partners and customers, and all who value fair and ethical business practices," the statement said.

As you know, Microsoft is a target for an important part of the cyber-attackers, the giant's software solutions being patched every week with updates that are meant to fix the flaws discovered by hackers from all around the world. "Microsoft is extremely grateful to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, the San Jose Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Customs Service, the Fremont Police Department, and the Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team Task Force (REACT) for the support of its intellectual property rights," the giant concluded.

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