A missed question..
In his security blog entry Bolted-on security features aren’t secure Chad Perrin missed one of the important implications of my own blog post: Microsoft breaking the law again?
If Microsoft uses the capability of sending data from any windows system to themselves without notification to the end user, without authorization by the end user, for the WGA/MGAprogram, where else are they using it?
Are they not most likely also using it to collect information they have no legal right to?
How many companies have Microsoft had windows send them client lists or accounting databases in this manner from?
I don’t really care if the WGA/MGA program collects and sends data to Microsoft, since I don’t use windows, or any other MS products, the problem of it being possible and the high probability that MS has used that elsewhere is what is the biggest issue. The issues Chad raises are all excellent ones, and ones that should be addressed by anyone looking at replacing any software, maybe hey will help to push people into moving away from MS based software.
[ Architects being the only industry screwed over and forced to use windows based software, since Autodesk is screwing them by only having the ubiquitous Autocad run on windows, even worse, it uses the .net framework, making it a guarantee that it will never run on anything but windows. ]
I’ve known Chad for a few years now, originally as apotheon on CNET’s TechRepublic. While we have our disagreements on some things, I generally find his opinion to be worth listening to.