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Microsoft has been hacking users computers in China checking to see if they are operating valid copies of Windows.
Microsoft has been hacking users computers in China checking to see if they are operating valid copies of Windows.
The “Windows Genuine Advantage” program runs a validation test to check for pirated software. If discovered, the program turns the user’s desktop black making it inoperable.
Chinese PC users are up in arms. However Microsoft believes the majority of Chinese computer users (more than 200 million) are using illegitimate software.
Reports in China’s Daily newspaper cite Beijing lawyer, Dong Zhengwei, as labeling Microsoft the “biggest hacker in China with its intrusion into users’ computer systems without their agreement or any judicial authority”.
Whilst Zhengwei believes Microsoft has a right to protect their intellectual property, he is concerned with the measures that the company has taken: “Microsoft’s measure will cause serious functional damage to users’ computers and, according to China’s Criminal Law, the company can stand accused of breaching and hacking into computer systems.”
Source:
news.com.au
