Windows uses pirated software?

[amitava82]

Has it ever crossed your mind to use the editor to open a WAV file installed with Windows XP? Nobody will do that - that's what Microsoft probably thought. After all, countless WAV files are stored on a computer, and they are to be heard, not to be watched, right?

No, not exactly. Our colleagues over at Macwelt gave us the idea. We tried it and examined some WAV files that are stored on a drive with a newly installed Windows XP. And we made a stunning discovery. In fact, we didn't even have to search for very long, as coincidence lent us a helping hand. In the Windows system directory, we had our first find, in the directory

"Windows\Help\Tours\WindowsMediaPlayer\Audio\Wav".

Located there are exactly nine WAV files, with a size between 80 and 360 Kilobytes. They serve as background sound during the Windows Media Player Tour. When you open one of these files with the notepad, you at first only see scrambled letters. Of course, you think, it's a sound file, after all.

But things become interesting when you scroll down to the very bottom in notepad. Located there is a type of watermarking, which records the software that the Microsoft musician used to create the WAV files.

We found the following text there:
LISTB INFOICRD 2000-04-06 IENG Deepz0ne ISFT Sound Forge 4.5

At first, that sounds anything but spectacular. It seems as if the Microsoft musician or the freelance musician commissioned by Microsoft used the Sony-made software " Sound Forge " (formerly Sonic) in its 4.5 version. Sound Forge is a tool for professionals and enables users to create WAV, AIFF, MP3 and other music files priced at $400.

On its face, all that's not unusual: Microsoft uses professional software. Who would've thought? But wait a minute, who or what is "DeepzOne"?

Bingo!

DeepzOne is (or at least was) member of the Warez group Radium that had specialized on cracking music software. Along with a person using the alias "Sandor," he was also co-founder of this group, which was established in 1997( see in this interview ). In addition, it was DeepzOne who started circulating the cracked 4.5 version of Sound Forge a few years ago.

A few years back, the group "Radium" caused quite a stir. It cracked the original Fraunhofer MP3 codec in order improve the limited MP3 codec that comes along
with Microsoft. To listen to MP3s, the Windows codec was solid, but it offered only limited encoding functions. The Radium codec, by contrast, boasted an improved encoder (up to 320 Kbit/s). During this Warez release, then, the name DeepzOne" surfaced. But what is the name "DeepzOne" doing in nine WAV files in Windows XP? Nothing more than a coincidence? One has the suspicion that that the files were generated with the cracked version of Sound Forge 4.5. It's difficult to say whether Microsoft itself did that or one of the freelancers. Only the Redmond-based employees in charge of the Windows Media Player will know that for sure. It seems, though, as if someone wanted to get around filling out an investment order to buy a software worth $400.

The topic still raises a moral problem, though, as Microsoft is quick to report every oh-so-minor success in the fight against piracy. In the wake of that move, the company also joined the BSA (Business Software Alliance), which has devoted itself to the "fight against software piracy" and persecutes violaters around the globe. But maybe BSA knows which office door it should knock on

Microsoft has yet to issue a statement. It will be interesting to get the company's position on this issue.

Source (http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-11183-0.html?forumID=89&threadID=173539&messageID=1765547)

[iMav]

now if digit's ad designer uses a pirated corel or ps then digit should issue a statement :?

[~Phenom~]

hmmmm, really interesting....

[amitava82]

now if digit's ad designer uses a pirated corel or ps then digit should issue a statement :?
Of course.. After all he is digit's employee and he is using digit's resources and most of all its digit's product.

[iMav]

ok looking around for this and it is learnt that this is 2004 story and MS also replied to it

Link 1 (http://www.pcwelt.de/news/software/104785/index.html)
Link 2 (http://www.pcwelt.de/news/software/104952/index.html) .... dont try to read they are in another language but chk out the dates at the top

Microsoft's Reply:
Microsoft Denies Piracy Accusations
By [send email to dworthington@betanews.com via gmail] David Worthington, BetaNews
November 18, 2004, 12:34 AM

As a founding member of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), Microsoft is a strong proponent of anti-piracy regulation, software copyright protection and consumer education. Despite all of its anti-piracy bravado, Microsoft found itself on the receiving end of accusations that it used an illegal copy of Sound Forge to edit WAV sound files that shipped as part of the Windows Media Player Tour in Windows XP.

In response a report published by the German technology magazine PC-WELT alleging malfeasance, Microsoft told BetaNews that shipping content in the released version of the tour was developed using licensed software.

Erin Cullen, Lead Product Manager of the Windows Consumer Division fingers a placeholder file that was overwritten with original music, but mistakenly was not purged of metadata that references "Deepz0Ne," a founding member of an audio software cracking group known as Radium. Coincidentally, metadata also linked the file to Sound Forge 4.5. The contested files can be found in the Windows directory at the location: \Help\Tours\ WindowsMediaPlayer\Audio\Wav.

"It bears mentioning that Microsoft has licensed copies of all software used by the User Assistance teams in building these tours (both in past and present)," said Cullen. "Microsoft has copyright to use the .wav file in question and did not use a cracked version of this software in development of the tour in Windows XP."

Although it was initially reluctant to comment, Microsoft has since elected to stamp out any rumors, and the company claims to be actively investigating the incident to determine the origins of the file and ensure that a similar situation does not happen again.
Full Reply Article (http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Denies_Piracy_Accusations/1100756076)

PS: ad designers are not employees of the client ;)

i guess a 2004 story neednt be discussed .... mods

[amitava82]

I knew its a old story and most of you guys did not knew about this until i posted this... and the explanation is unsatisfactory. Also try opening other files in WINDOWS\Media directory.

ya ad designers are not employees IF the work is outsourced..

Ok.. i get it why u want the mods to shut this thread down... :wink:

[iMav]

hahah dont give a damn .... windows is not about the start up sound ... its a lot more than tht .... and besides who gives a damn about a start up sound being edited in a so called pirated software .... go on do what u do on every minuscule opportunity u find to bash MS .... and as far i remmber old threads, old news is always locked .... may be mehul will let this run we all know why

[hemant_mathur]

Interesting read but too old for discussions.

[praka123]

defend at any cost-is that some members of this forum does for Microsoft? ::sick:: :x
get urself above fanboysim.

[iMav]

dude .... defending ms .... man get a hold of urself do u actually think a company tht has turn over of tht magnitude will use pirated softwares ... cmon this is not fan boyism ... its common sense u also know it so u get over the bash ms attitude of urs

[47shailesh]

take this...
"One thing I learned from this forum-Don't argue against fanboys" :Arsenal Gunners

[mediator]

MS replied and justified?
MS also said that open-source technologies violates 235 Microsoft patents and then made itself look like a big joke. The top rankers in MS also said something about MS owning Linux (http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41740&highlight=steve+ballmer)?

So do u think world shud really listen now to a company which only knows how to spread FUDs? They r masters in business and forging up stories!

[iMav]

mediator its not about the reply they gave ... the thing is what difference doe it make ... its quite [possible the final touches were given at a computer that wasnt necessarily MS office pc ... employeees hav their own pcs also don they .... its quiet possible tht the guy who made the clip edited the final version on his note book, pc where ever and not necessarily at redmond

[mediator]

Quite an assumption, but even if he did so on his laptop or desktop he is still an employee of that company and that means the company itself! A company isn't formed of just 1 "captain" and a vice "captain" and a few workstations and servers. Employees are integral part of that company and u think the team leader shudn't verify the work of the team members?

If such a case happened then it reveals the bad software development practices at their offices and how lightly they take their work. The company shud have checked the case itelf!!

BTW, why does an MS worker who gets paid heavily needs to pirate softwares? They shud be very well aware of the consequences of using pirated softwares since they work under a company that itself calls for anti-piracy! They shud be knowing what a simple concept like "watermark" is!!

[iMav]

for the same reason why indians dont pay for the softwares they use .... and mediatr accepted ms shudv double chked but if lance amrstrong consumed a banned substance u dont blame his entire team do u?

[goobimama]

Oh well. Why don't antivirus companies just hire some of the best virus writers. Why don't software companies hire the best crackers to build some uncrackable software.

The end doesn't justify the means... If MS feels strongly against software piracy, it shouldn't hire firms, even though they are totally independent of MS, which use pirated software...

[iMav]

goobi are u gonna get into every office of the firm u tie up with chk very employees pc and every machine owned by the company and employees to chk whether they are using pirated softwares .... :?

[sakumar79]

I agree with iMav... Even though the story puts MS in bad light... And even though we dont know whether MS is saying the truth or not... It is not possible for a company of the size of MS to ensure that all employees are having no pirated software on their home computers/laptops... Considering the nature of the method used to identify that pirated software was used (going through WAV file in text editor), it is not reasonable to put the blame on the team leader for not knowing that an illegal software was used...

Arun

[mediator]

for the same reason why indians dont pay for the softwares they use .... and mediatr accepted ms shudv double chked but if lance amrstrong consumed a banned substance u dont blame his entire team do u?
R u comparing an Indian's pay and spending power with that of an American's? :D
And please don't give analogies like that to justify the wrongs of one by giving examples of wrongs of another! Its not sensible! Also, I think US has very strict anti-piracy laws comparatively, so strict that u really shudn't discuss and compare about anti-piracy measures in US to that in INDIA!

So what makes u think that an MS employee, a heavily paid employee of a company which advocates anti-piracy in a country that pioneers anti-piracy movement, use pirated software? Is it ur unpondered assumption?

[47shailesh]

it is not reasonable to put the blame on the team leader for not knowing that an illegal software was used...
Very Correct it's not the responsibilty of the team it's the responsiblity of the entire firm..

I don't know abt u but i work for One of the top Consultancy firm in India.. and we have regular(weekly or biweekly) surprise audit of the sw and integrity of the OS that we use on our Workstation...

We even can't install any freeware on our desktop without pre-acknowleging it to the admin, and to do so we have to raise a ticket in to a Special cell handling this issue..

No doubt if any Policy violation is found i have seen peoples having PINK Slip in there hand.. So do not think that you can just install nething on ur desktop and ur safe.. UR Job Is In Ur Hand If U R in Corporate

[Choto Cheeta]

Just a Thought, Suppose One has a Windows XP SP2 Vol Licance, for 50 PCs, and at time of Install in a Hurry he uses a Pirated Windows XP SP2 to install in a few system, so ?? will that be called Piracy ??

The thing is U pay for the software, and done, now u use a any copy of the same software and same product version, but there is no harm if u install a Cracked one !!! :lol: its ur choice to install a Cracked one to lose out of the Geniune Binifits :lol:

but yeak it was a Embarrasment for the company :D

[sakumar79]

@Shailesh, I can understand that on office computers, running illegal software without knowledge from admins is difficult. However, does your company audit your home PCs and your personal laptops? What if someone took their work home, got work done there and brought the finished product back to your office? See, you can only do so much to ensure no piracy involvement...

Arun

[47shailesh]

ahaan, you have a small confusion lemme clear it...

You can't bring major part of ur work to home..
If u work on DB than you can't work without DB that has connectivity only from offices or from VPN..
Similar is the case with other tool or sw that u work on...

Only you can bring is small review work or documention work.

In small office like that of some tech mags:D and small sw contractors this piracy is at peak.. in big Corporate Companies u'll hardly see any policy Deviation..

[amitava82]

In big corporation you can't even take a pen drive, CD or any storage media. Forget about carrying work at home.

[iMav]

ever seen campuses of infy ... full wi-fi laptops all over the place ... no u will give a stupid reply saying thr was no wi-fi wen this sound was made ... im saying its no big deal to take work out ....

[mediator]

Even though MS said they'll investigate, u wanna make early justifications and wanna prove that somebody somehow took the work to his/her home? Whats the need to go to offices then? Everybody shud start working from home!

And if urs is the case then people can also bring virus infected files to corporates? Do u think the source code can be taken home by some employee just like that? How do u know that employee is loyal to the company? And if he's so loyal then why that heavily paid soul is using pirated stuff against the company's rulez?

Yes wifis are there, but if u know well most companies have filters set up. U can only open a few selected sites. In some offices even orkut and similar matrimonial sites are banned. Do u think with companies wifi network anybody can have free access to it and breach the security the policies? How lame do u think companies are? Or r u trying to say MS is lame? :lol:

[iMav]

to hell with it i dont give a damn about a sound file being edited in a pirated version of soundforge ... if OSC wants to make a hoopla ha about it go ahead ...

[gx_saurav]

Only OSC can do that, they won't leave a chance to bash MS.

[ax3]

nice find ........

[mediator]

Who is trying so hard and contributing so much of his time to bash APPLE all around in this forums by installing OSX (on non-apple machine :lol:) ? Shud I say "Only windows fanboys r 'sensible' enough to do that?" :shock:

Do they think they can write reviews just by having fun just for 1-2 months on OSX (again on non-apple hardware)? HOw many 'years' did they work on windows? The same 1-2 months?

Even though we don't hear about the "flaws", fanboys...some graphic experts/photography experts are trying their level best to make it look like "flaws" and make news in debugging and unit testing department?

Certainly defending MS and giving hallucinated justifications when it itself said that they'll be investigating isn't "sensible". MS doesn't leaves a chance to spread FUD to other areas it doesn't like. Then y r the fanboys so aggravated when the "average joes" are just surprised by the news and questioning the justification given by fanboys?
All they give in reply is "To hell", "only OSC can do that"? :neutral:

[iMav]

look all we are trying to say is that mac os x isnt the best os in the world something tht andy and arya have been saying all this while ... other than we got nothing against mac os x. our problem is with guys who will like salesman try to defend their product tooth and nail even though knowing it isnt as good

MS will investigate but tht wasnt the stand u guys took when the news was first posted here and besides ms will investigate doesnt rule out my theory ...

[mediator]

What else do u expect from general masses? Ofcors they'll raise eyebrows when the company which advocates anti-piracy itself is found or 'rumoured' to be using pirated stuff! Ofcors MS says it will investigate. Its a nice strategy to keep the voices down temporarily until they forget the matter. But "all" those people aren't OSC dear. Some are using windows without even knowing anything beyong MS and windows! Its not sensible to say that "only OSC can do that"!
Neways I wont say much about ur fight with Mac guys. Its irrelevant to me. Njoy ur fight with them! :)

[freshseasons]

Whether how secure corporation go or is paranoid about security, it totally depends on the nature of the work the company does..
Like some corporations actually encourage employees to work from home.This is because they save on traveling. IBM,Oracle actually give incentives for people who work from home like for some time sensitive projects.Initially there were apprehensions that the employees will not work efficiently from home,but the actually results from the performance oriented rat-raced scenario put things to rest.
But for small companies scale for example the setup i have for Medical Transcription and Call Centre ,there actually is HIPPA agreement were we are not supposed to provide employees with Pc access as in,Card ,floppy,CD..or email access.
Roughly having 1500 Credit Card information per day of US citizens , We have to adhere strictly to security almost to the level of being totally paranoid freak.
Pirated software are hence totally out of question.
But yes what if someone used a cracked Winzip to unzip a file.
Guess this cannot be found out or avoided!
These are the trifle truth of work environment!

[amitava82]

IF a company allows and encourages employees to work from home they must provide necessary resources such as computers and softwares to work on it. definitely the company does not expect the employee to buy all the softwares for the company..

[47shailesh]

Like some corporations actually encourage employees to work from home.This is because they save on traveling. IBM,Oracle actually give incentives for people who work from home like for some time sensitive projects.Initially there were apprehensions that the employees will not work efficiently from home,but the actually results from the performance oriented rat-raced scenario put things to rest.

Ahan things r diff then all Sw and lappy are provided by comp... and i again bring it to ur attention that working from home is not woriking independently ur connected to comp n/w via VLAN..

Yes it's not a big deal to bring work home.. even all the drives(USB/optical).. but what if ur working in DB proj you can't work without DB(don't tell you can bring TB of DB to home :D)

If you work in Some other SW dev firm than u have to have Custom libraries that you can't bring t home..

[eddie]

The point of this thread is not to bash any company but to show the people the core of a company that is the forerunner against piracy through out the world. They develop (on daily basis) new methods to harass their genuine customers and claim them as their anti-piracy efforts but they can't get their own act straight? Should I listen a lecture on "Why stealing is bad?" from a thief whose bread-and-butter comes from the act?

If Microsoft were earnest in their efforts and these files were accidentally passed into the OS, then the least bit they could have done in last two and a half years was to replace the files with genuine ones by a simple update. Did they do that? No they did not. Why? Because they give a damn. They just want YOU to follow anti-piracy pathway.

[hailgautam]

It may not be correct to blame the whole company because a free lance guy who prepared the music used a cracked software.

Having said that MS should have taken care that none of their products come out with such disturbing things.

[eddie]

^ How did you come to this conclusion that the guy who made these wav files was a freelancer? :confused:

[47shailesh]

It may not be correct to blame the whole company because a free lance guy who prepared the music used a cracked software.


And YES it is total resposiblity of the comp. about the integrity of any product that has it's brand value..

And yes how did u came to know that he is freelancer