Microsoft to offer code protection, validation to other software developers

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=575

Microsoft crap expanding-leaking to other companies..
Microsoft wants perhaps to reduce the amount of fingers pointing at them and
say:
See we are not the only ones who like validation etc!
I say NO to piracy, but YES to privacy! This thing is scary.... and may hold
much mischief in the future! BEWARE!

Original Article:

Microsoft is planning to deliver on October 1 to third-party software
developers a set of technologies that will allow them to add code protection
and activation mechanisms to their own software.
When Microsoft first unveiled its "Genuine Software" initiative three years
ago, company officials said they planned to license to third parties some of
the same anti-piracy technologies that Microsoft was baking into Windows and
Office. Instead, Microsoft has decided to provide external developers with a
separate, parallel offering, said Group Product Manager Thomas Lindeman.

Microsoft will offer third parties a bundle of "Software Licensing and
Protection Services" (SLP) components, which are based on technology it
acquired in January 2007 when it bought Secured Dimensions, an Israeli
company that developed software licensing and IP protection technology.
Microsoft currently is testing SLP with a hand-picked group of Technology
Adoption Partner program testers, Lindeman said.

Microsoft's SLP platform will be comprised of three elements, Lindeman said,
any of which can be licensed individually from Microsoft. The three:

* Code Protector Software Development Kit (SDK): A toolkit to allow
developers to obfuscate their code to prevent it from being
reverse-engineered. Version one of the SDK will work with .Net managed code;
a forthcoming version also will support native Win32 code. The toolkit also
will allow developers to mark specific features inside their code as
"licensable entities" which they can control with various kinds of digital
licenses. Microsoft plans to make the SDK available for download, as well as
to include it as part of Visual Studio 2008.

If developers want code protection for non-Microsoft code, such as Java, "I'll
partner with someone or find a way to get that covered," Lindeman said.

* SLP Server: A product that will allow ISVs to host their own servers and
create software licenses - machine-based, time-based (for software
subscriptions and trials), user-based and/or feature-based - for their
products. The server will generate a key, which users will use to activate
their software, via a digital license. SLP Server will come in two versions:
Standard and Enterprise.

"You will be able to turn on different features and different SKUs for
different markets without having to go back and touch the code," Lindeman
explained.

(In terms of activation, the SLP products and services will allow developers
to set their own licensing policy. I asked Lindeman whether he didn't simply
mean "set their own DRM policy." He said Microsoft prefers the term
"licensing policy," as "DRM is really a thing of the past.")

* SLP Online Service: An option allowing partners to do all their license
management "in the cloud." Microsoft is planning to deliver three levels of
service (Basic, Standard and Enterprise) to partners on a yearly
subscription basis. The company plans to offer all Microsoft Developer
Network (MSDN) Premium subscribers a subscription to the SLP Online Service
Basic Edition.

Microsoft is encouraging developers to take the next step, and do not just
activation, but also Genuine Advantage-style validation. But the new SLP
offerings are not "Genuine Advantage" for third parties, Lindeman said.

"We are encouraging ISVs to think about doing validation like we do with
Genuine Advantage. They can do that or their own thing," Lindeman said.

Lindeman hinted that Microsoft might be considering make some sort of "Open
Genuine API" (application programming interface) available to third parties,
but had no further details to share.

Any third party software makers out there interested in giving Microsoft's
anti-reverse-engineering and/or software activation and licensing
technologies a try?

carl feredeck wrote:
> http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=575
>
> Microsoft crap expanding-leaking to other companies..
> Microsoft wants perhaps to reduce the amount of fingers pointing at them and
> say:
> See we are not the only ones who like validation etc!
> I say NO to piracy, but YES to privacy! This thing is scary.... and may hold
> much mischief in the future! BEWARE!
>
> Original Article:
>
> Microsoft is planning to deliver on October 1 to third-party software
> developers a set of technologies that will allow them to add code protection
> and activation mechanisms to their own software.
> When Microsoft first unveiled its "Genuine Software" initiative three years
> ago, company officials said they planned to license to third parties some of
> the same anti-piracy technologies that Microsoft was baking into Windows and
> Office. Instead, Microsoft has decided to provide external developers with a
> separate, parallel offering, said Group Product Manager Thomas Lindeman.
>
> Microsoft will offer third parties a bundle of "Software Licensing and
> Protection Services" (SLP) components, which are based on technology it
> acquired in January 2007 when it bought Secured Dimensions, an Israeli
> company that developed software licensing and IP protection technology.
> Microsoft currently is testing SLP with a hand-picked group of Technology
> Adoption Partner program testers, Lindeman said.
>
> Microsoft's SLP platform will be comprised of three elements, Lindeman said,
> any of which can be licensed individually from Microsoft. The three:
>
> * Code Protector Software Development Kit (SDK): A toolkit to allow
> developers to obfuscate their code to prevent it from being
> reverse-engineered. Version one of the SDK will work with .Net managed code;
> a forthcoming version also will support native Win32 code. The toolkit also
> will allow developers to mark specific features inside their code as
> "licensable entities" which they can control with various kinds of digital
> licenses. Microsoft plans to make the SDK available for download, as well as
> to include it as part of Visual Studio 2008.
>
> If developers want code protection for non-Microsoft code, such as Java, "I'll
> partner with someone or find a way to get that covered," Lindeman said.
>
> * SLP Server: A product that will allow ISVs to host their own servers and
> create software licenses - machine-based, time-based (for software
> subscriptions and trials), user-based and/or feature-based - for their
> products. The server will generate a key, which users will use to activate
> their software, via a digital license. SLP Server will come in two versions:
> Standard and Enterprise.
>
> "You will be able to turn on different features and different SKUs for
> different markets without having to go back and touch the code," Lindeman
> explained.
>
> (In terms of activation, the SLP products and services will allow developers
> to set their own licensing policy. I asked Lindeman whether he didn't simply
> mean "set their own DRM policy." He said Microsoft prefers the term
> "licensing policy," as "DRM is really a thing of the past.")
>
> * SLP Online Service: An option allowing partners to do all their license
> management "in the cloud." Microsoft is planning to deliver three levels of
> service (Basic, Standard and Enterprise) to partners on a yearly
> subscription basis. The company plans to offer all Microsoft Developer
> Network (MSDN) Premium subscribers a subscription to the SLP Online Service
> Basic Edition.
>
> Microsoft is encouraging developers to take the next step, and do not just
> activation, but also Genuine Advantage-style validation. But the new SLP
> offerings are not "Genuine Advantage" for third parties, Lindeman said.
>
> "We are encouraging ISVs to think about doing validation like we do with
> Genuine Advantage. They can do that or their own thing," Lindeman said.
>
> Lindeman hinted that Microsoft might be considering make some sort of "Open
> Genuine API" (application programming interface) available to third parties,
> but had no further details to share.
>
> Any third party software makers out there interested in giving Microsoft's
> anti-reverse-engineering and/or software activation and licensing
> technologies a try?
>

This is about as appealing as the idea of Steve Ballmer coming into my
house and leaving a huge pile of his fresh, steaming **** oh my kitchen
table. It's about that intrusive too.

--
Priceless quotes in m.p.w.vista.general group:
http://protectfreedom.tripod.com/kick.html

Most recent idiotic quote added to KICK (Klassic Idiotic Caption Kooks):
"They hacked the Microsoft website to make it think a linux box was a
windows box. Thats called hacking. People who do hacking are called
hackers."

"Only religious fanatics and totalitarian states equate morality with
legality."
- Linus Torvalds

carl feredeck wrote:

> http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=575
>
> Microsoft crap expanding-leaking to other companies..
> Microsoft wants perhaps to reduce the amount of fingers pointing at them
> and say:
> See we are not the only ones who like validation etc!
> I say NO to piracy, but YES to privacy! This thing is scary.... and may
> hold much mischief in the future! BEWARE!
>
> Original Article:
>
> Microsoft is planning to deliver on October 1 to third-party software
> developers a set of technologies that will allow them to add code
> protection and activation mechanisms to their own software.

We've all seen how well Microsoft's activation machine works. Looking
forward to seeing that p.o.s. applied to not only the os but to third-party
Windoze apps. Should prove to be a lot of fun! Guess misery loves company,
so Microsoft is spreading the misery. Interesting times ahead for the
Windoze user community. :-) Lot's of calls to India to get your software
working again.

Shake Hands With,
Mr. Happy

--
"Cheer up, things could be worse." So I cheered up, installed Vista and
sure enough, things got worse.

Really, what's so new and scary?

Code obfuscation has been around quite a while, and had no impact on end
users.

Software Licensing likewise is old hat - what's really happening here is M$
is "giving away" what other vendors have been selling to developers -
InstallShield as one example.

Val

"carl feredeck" <> wrote in message
news:...
> http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=575
>
> Microsoft crap expanding-leaking to other companies..
> Microsoft wants perhaps to reduce the amount of fingers pointing at them
> and say:
> See we are not the only ones who like validation etc!
> I say NO to piracy, but YES to privacy! This thing is scary.... and may
> hold much mischief in the future! BEWARE!
>
> Original Article:
>
> Microsoft is planning to deliver on October 1 to third-party software
> developers a set of technologies that will allow them to add code
> protection and activation mechanisms to their own software.
> When Microsoft first unveiled its "Genuine Software" initiative three
> years ago, company officials said they planned to license to third parties
> some of the same anti-piracy technologies that Microsoft was baking into
> Windows and Office. Instead, Microsoft has decided to provide external
> developers with a separate, parallel offering, said Group Product Manager
> Thomas Lindeman.
>
> Microsoft will offer third parties a bundle of "Software Licensing and
> Protection Services" (SLP) components, which are based on technology it
> acquired in January 2007 when it bought Secured Dimensions, an Israeli
> company that developed software licensing and IP protection technology.
> Microsoft currently is testing SLP with a hand-picked group of Technology
> Adoption Partner program testers, Lindeman said.
>
> Microsoft's SLP platform will be comprised of three elements, Lindeman
> said, any of which can be licensed individually from Microsoft. The three:
>
> * Code Protector Software Development Kit (SDK): A toolkit to allow
> developers to obfuscate their code to prevent it from being
> reverse-engineered. Version one of the SDK will work with .Net managed
> code; a forthcoming version also will support native Win32 code. The
> toolkit also will allow developers to mark specific features inside their
> code as "licensable entities" which they can control with various kinds of
> digital licenses. Microsoft plans to make the SDK available for download,
> as well as to include it as part of Visual Studio 2008.
>
> If developers want code protection for non-Microsoft code, such as Java,
> "I'll partner with someone or find a way to get that covered," Lindeman
> said.
>
> * SLP Server: A product that will allow ISVs to host their own servers and
> create software licenses - machine-based, time-based (for software
> subscriptions and trials), user-based and/or feature-based - for their
> products. The server will generate a key, which users will use to activate
> their software, via a digital license. SLP Server will come in two
> versions: Standard and Enterprise.
>
> "You will be able to turn on different features and different SKUs for
> different markets without having to go back and touch the code," Lindeman
> explained.
>
> (In terms of activation, the SLP products and services will allow
> developers to set their own licensing policy. I asked Lindeman whether he
> didn't simply mean "set their own DRM policy." He said Microsoft prefers
> the term "licensing policy," as "DRM is really a thing of the past.")
>
> * SLP Online Service: An option allowing partners to do all their license
> management "in the cloud." Microsoft is planning to deliver three levels
> of service (Basic, Standard and Enterprise) to partners on a yearly
> subscription basis. The company plans to offer all Microsoft Developer
> Network (MSDN) Premium subscribers a subscription to the SLP Online
> Service Basic Edition.
>
> Microsoft is encouraging developers to take the next step, and do not just
> activation, but also Genuine Advantage-style validation. But the new SLP
> offerings are not "Genuine Advantage" for third parties, Lindeman said.
>
> "We are encouraging ISVs to think about doing validation like we do with
> Genuine Advantage. They can do that or their own thing," Lindeman said.
>
> Lindeman hinted that Microsoft might be considering make some sort of
> "Open Genuine API" (application programming interface) available to third
> parties, but had no further details to share.
>
> Any third party software makers out there interested in giving Microsoft's
> anti-reverse-engineering and/or software activation and licensing
> technologies a try?
>
>
>