Text 12030, 49 rader
Skriven 2006-07-10 10:01:14 av Rich Gauszka (1:379/45)
Ärende: Poll: wga is spyware 83% yes -  17% no
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From: "Rich Gauszka" <gauszka@hotmail.com>


http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/4915/53/

 At least that's the general consensus of the latest iTWire poll. The poll
asked the question: "Is the Windows Genuine Advantage program spyware?" Of the
respondents over a 24 hour period 83% answered yes 17% answered no.

It is fairly clear by now that the Microsoft WGA program has been an absolute
public relations disaster for the company. There are now two class-action
lawsuits in process asserting that WGA is spyware and the company has added to
its big bad bogeyman reputation of trying to assert unwarranted control over
its users.

What is causing users to get upset with Microsoft is not so much what it has
done, but how it has done it. Software to ascertain whether your product is
genuine is ethically and legally legitimate. Likewise there would appear to be
nothing wrong with letting people know that their copy of Windows is not
genuine or even nagging them to buy to the real deal.

However, what is wrong is not letting users know up front that they're
installing such software on their computers. It is also wrong to hold users
accountable for software installed on brand name hardware that was bought
through recognized retail outlets. Such users, who feel that they have been
wrongfully accused of piracy, deserve to be contacted directly by Microsoft for
an explanation.

When users download a product from a company like Microsoft, they are within
their rights to expect that the product is exactly what it purports to be and
nothing more. If that product is expected to be a suite of security updates
downloaded automatically, then that is what users should receive and nothing
more. If software is installed without the user's knowledge of what it and its
purpose is, then that software could be construed to be spyware.

Finally, one of the characteristics of spyware is that it is difficult to
remove from your system. This happens to be a key characteristic of WGA. No-one
likes the idea of not being able to de-install a software program that they
voluntarily downloaded. Microsoft is doing itself a disservice by foisting
unwanted software on unsuspecting users and then refusing them the right to get
rid of it.

The issue at stake is not software piracy. Microsoft has a right to ensure that
people are using genuine copies of its software. However, the consensus is that
installing unwanted software on users' computers is not the way to achieve that
goal.

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