Microsoft Rumor... From my Uncle.

[BBen 0]

My uncle said Microsoft are going to be sending viruses out via Windows Updates, he said if you do not have a genuine computer and you validate it you may get a virus. He said someone from PC World told him.I'm not exactly sure so don't go crazy, but just to tell you it may be true, maybe not.

[beeseven 0]

Releasing viruses is a crime. If Microsoft sent one to every invalid Windows computer, the government would destroy them.

[electriic ink 1]

Of course, PC World would never want you to buy anything from their shop j/k

[serverph 0]

more likely a recent urban legend gone wild. a monster corporation with deep pockets won't even consider that idea as a corporate policy, even if unofficial. it's corporate suicide. there are much better ways to rout pirated windows out there, but this is not one of them, if the big bosses at microsoft have their wits still with them.

[brandon10092 0]

Then Microsoft would be contradicting themselves. <sarcasm>Of course it's not like Microsoft is big on viruses and such, seeing the many ways of how they try keeping all our computers safe. So surely they'd send out a virus (illegal) to everyone with invalidated Windows!</sarcasm>

[Bkag 0]

Maybe it is an exaduration, they could send out (theoreticaly) a "virus" which is actually just a warning telling people they know they have pirated software and **Disactivating** it if that is leagle. Obviousily this could be stroon through word of mouth to be "MICROSOFT IS REALEASING A VIRUS"Just my thoughts out loud

[Plenoptic 0]

Ya I'm pretty sure that couldn't be true. They would really be ruinning themselves if they were to do so anyway. People might file a law suit but they could always make up an excuse as well and end up making more money from people having to buy the computer or just lose all their customers by having them switch to Macintosh. It could cause lots of problems.

[osknockout 0]

or just lose all their customers by having them switch to Macintosh.

Lol, you're kidding right? Microsoft losing all its customers to the Macintosh? I don't think that would happen even if they did make a farce releasing viruses. Anyway, Microsoft has enough trouble handling viruses affecting its giant base of source code, I don't think it would waste its time making them.

[Saint_Michael 3]

Without beating a dead horse, If Microsoft was to do this that $50 billion would go to 0 just like that and thus create a huge ripple in the Stock market that could in fact be bad enough to warrant a possible depression. Because then every tech stock would get affected and blah blah blah.Now if they were smart about it, what I would do is going through the courts to make this legal for a 24 hour period, Were when a person turns on their computer with a illegal Windows OS it errors out on them and gives them a blue screen of death. Thats what I would do.

[FLaKes 0]

I really doubt Microsoft would ever do that. Imagine all the people who would end up suing Microsoft, or never using it again and going to mac or something. I bet that microsoft would not like that. Though there are lots of people with pirated copies of windows, I doubt that that is a way to stop them. Maybe an aproach like the one the riaa is using would be more convenient for them, but now everyone hates the riaa.

[Florisjuh 0]

Recently Microsoft started irritating users with pirated versions of windows by adding banners and text balloons to your windows installation (if you were using a pirated version), however many users who didn't use pirated versiosn got problems with these as well (myself too), so in the end, Microsoft will allways hurt itself or its guinuine customers with moves like this. Also spreading virusses is far more serious than irritating the users, virusses effect software not made by Mircosoft as well...

[FaLgoR 0]

IF you say 'virus' well I'm sure they are not gonna send anyone.. when people get the word 'virus' they think of some evil thing destroying your computer (and most of them, in fact, do it) but they may just send something that disables pirate copies of windows that wouldn't be a virus. I just don't know if that would be legal, but pirate copies of softwares are not legal as well.But like our friend FLaKes said it would not be a good idea. People would stop using Windows and finding out there are some great alternatives. I don't know how things work in your countries but in mine, most people don't even know there are alternatives to Microsoft products. They know Linux and stuff but they couldn't imagine a computer without Windows :/ Well, that's gonna happen for a long time since Microsoft is a giant corporation. Money is everything.

[BBen 0]

Also,
I think my uncle said something like they signed a contract, of course, I'm not sure, just a rumor.

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Money is everything.

Not true! Isn't love supposed to be better than money?
Edited November 7, 2006 by BBen (see edit history)

[FaLgoR 0]

For optimist people it is. And it really should be. But in fact it is not. Nowadays money is everything Not to me, that's not what I'm saying here xD But money has became the most important thing for people. Sad but true

[techclave 0]

Well, let me make it clear to you .I guess, Microsoft has better stuff to do than sending virus to its visitors. I seriously do not see any reason why they should send it. And if at all they had done anything like that , it would have definitely been covered by the Internet media , and the issue would have definitely been hitting the headlines .. So , due to the absence of these symptoms , i guess what you posted was rumor ,which might have been better of with school kids ..Relating Microsoft , Genuine validation, virus , i guess something like this might have happened , ..Let us say a person uses windows xp which is a pirated copy... Maybe he had tried to download stuff from Microsoft and got validation prompt. Then, he would have searched for validation crack,somewhere from the web . The site which he tried to search for cracks might be the source for that 'virus" .. This is from a typical pirated software user perspective ...