Microsoft to abandon Windows Vista ‘kill switch’

Tech News

By Stevie Smith Dec 5, 2007, 10:43 GMT

American software giant Microsoft Corp. has this week revealed that the contentious ‘kill switch’ anti-piracy tool currently incorporated into its new Windows Vista operating system (OS) will be abandoned upon the arrival of the long-awaited SP1 software update. Customer complaints lead to Microsoft removing its 'kill switch' anti-piracy tool from Windows Vista. Credit: Microsoft Corp.

Customer complaints lead to Microsoft removing its 'kill switch' anti-piracy tool from Windows Vista. Credit: Microsoft Corp.The kill switch, which is meant to stop illegal copies of Vista from functioning with certain features, has been the subject of a steady stream of user complaints claiming that authentic and legal versions of the OS were being inexplicably disabled by the tool, reports the BBC News website.The change, which is due to coincide with the early 2008 rollout of Vista SP1 (service pack 1), will see the tool’s removal – although that will not mean Microsoft will simply cease in its ongoing efforts to cut down piracy levels."Users whose systems are identified as counterfeit will be presented with clear and recurring notices about the status of their system and how to get genuine copies," outlined Microsoft corporate vice president Mike Sievert. "They won’t lose access to functionality or features, but it will be very clear to them that their copy of Window Vista is not genuine and they need to take action."Despite the removal of its ‘kill switch’ tool, Microsoft says that related piracy levels have halved since the introduction of Windows Vista when compared to its Windows XP predecessor, which is likely because all copies of Vista must be validated through the Windows Genuine Advantage tool to confirm the software’s authenticity prior to use."It’s worth re-emphasising that our fundamental strategy has not changed," added Mr. Sievert. "All copies of Windows Vista still require activation and the system will continue to validate from time to time to verify that systems are activated properly."

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