explode in popularity. I thought you folks on the SuSE mail list may want to know what Microsoft has in store for those who buy Microsoft products from now on. The following was extracted from a free email newsletter called "Woody's Watch".... 4. BEHIND THE OFFICE REGISTRATION WIZARD - PART 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Office Registration Wizard - ORW is a new way for Microsoft to enforce the terms of their software license by linking each approved installation to the computer hardware. 'New' is a relative term, the ORW has been trialed in countries like Australia, China and Brazil (plus Academic editions in the USA) since Office 2000 first came out. It is now being extended to all the North American retail market. While this is being presented as a continuation of the registration trial it is difficult to see the release of the ORW into Microsoft's biggest market as just part of a test. A unique registration number (now called Product Key) that comes with the software package is combined with the identity of your computer to produce an installation ID number. That installation ID has to be confirmed by Microsoft before you use Office 50 times. After starting Office 50 times it will not work at all unless you get a confirmation code. If you install Office 2000 on another computer you have to get another confirmation code from Microsoft prior to running it 50 times on that computer because each confirmation is linked to a particular machine. You can only get two confirmation codes automatically via the Internet, email, fax or mail. Beyond those two codes you must call Microsoft to request an additional confirmation code after explaining the circumstances requiring an extra code. The ORW has been tested in various countries since Office 2000 was originally released and is now considered by Microsoft ready for the big time. All purchasers in the USA (except multi-purchase license users) will be subject to the ORW when Office 2000's update (Service Release 1) is included in new boxes. The Office Registration Wizard has three main purposes from Microsoft's point of view: - to prevent the use of software beyond the terms it is bought under. - to make it more difficult for counterfeiters to duplicate Microsoft software. - to remove the current linkage between the media you get software on (disk, CD or download) and the right to use. In a Redmond planned future you'll be able to get software in many different ways -- however you won't be able to fully use it until the software maker gives permission. ORW technology will eventually be spread across the world and used for other Microsoft products. It's the way of the future and while the broad aims are laudable, the devil is in the detail. All computer users will have to be aware of the implications and responsibilities put upon them by the ORW. Microsoft has greater control over when and how you install their software and there's no appeal if they decide you are an illegal user. This is because the vast majority of illegal software use is from people using Microsoft's own CD's. You might think from all the Microsoft anti-piracy publicity that there's a flood of counterfeit software out there, but Microsoft's own statistics show that's only 4% of illegal software use. The other 96% is people and companies taking the CD's created by Microsoft and using them in ways not permitted by the EULA. This includes companies and people installing on more computers than they are licensed for or buying a product to which you're not entitled (OEM versions sold for existing computers, Academic packages to non-students etc). There's no question that the software is Microsoft-issued complete and proper - it's just that the license isn't correct. At Woody's Watch we support anything designed to reduce software piracy and counterfeiting - it is theft however widespread it may be. But anti-piracy measures usually have an effect on the legitimate end-user too and those effects are not sufficiently clear in the explanations of the ORW we've seen to date. We're very concerned about the consequences of the ORW for honest users caught in an over-zealous or rigorous system. Hence this extended coverage of the ORW based on hours of discussions with Microsoft, our own testing and the experiences of WOW readers reported to us. SOFTWARE LICENSING 101 We'll start by looking at what you agree to when you buy some software. I know many eyes glaze over when talk of software licensing starts, because it has been a somewhat toothless tiger. But the arrival of the ORW means you'll have to sit up and take notice. The ORW lets Microsoft enforce restrictions on the use of their software - they can stop you using their software if they are not satisfied that you are a legitimate user. You don't really 'buy the software' you purchase a right to use the software in certain circumstances. For Microsoft products those circumstances are defined in the End User Licence Agreement (EULA). The EULA terms vary from product to product (for example the Windows EULA is quite different) and has changed over time. For Office 2000 the main points are: - you can install and run ONE copy of Office 2000 on a single computer. - The 'primary user' of that computer may also install a second copy of Office 2000 on a portable computer. Most of us skip past the EULA during installation. If you want to read it now it's in the Office 2000 help file - look down the bottom of the contents list for 'End User License Agreement'. There's also a Q & A section about licencing. Many people breach the EULA whether they realize it or not. Here's some common situations that are NOT permitted: - Having Office 2000 on both a work and home computer. (the second installation can only be on a portable computer) - Running the single license version of Office 2000 on more than one computer at the same time. This includes more than one computer in the same home or office. - 'Lending' a copy of Office 2000 to another person even if only temporarily. In our opinion the way the license terms are displayed needs improvement. It is not reasonable to expect a normal person to scroll through over 2,400 words of breathless legal prose and fully understand what their obligations are. A short summary of the main points on an installation screen would help clarify many of the misunderstandings that currently abound. Given that the ORW makes the EULA enforceable, Microsoft should take better steps to make the conditions clear to the average user. We wonder how long it will take regulatory authorities or the courts to take a similar view? HOW IT WORKS When you install Office 2000 nothing seems different and you will enter the supplied 25-character code (officially called a Product Key but also 'CD Key'). The Office Registration Wizard kicks in when you first start a main Office program after installation. Before you can use Office 2000 you'll see the first ORW screen that tells you how many times you can start Office before 'you will be required to register this product'. This means that after starting Office 50 times it will not work unless you get permission from Microsoft. Click on the 'Next' button if you have an Internet connection and you want to register that way. If you want to register by phone, fax, mail or email, then click the 'More Options' button. Next you'll see details of Microsoft's Privacy Policy - more on that in new weeks issue. You then have to enter the owner details. That's first name, middle initial and last name plus company name for corporate purchases. Then we get to a contentious section, you are asked to provide other personal information like address, phone and fax numbers plus email address. In the current trials this information is NOT marked as being optional. The company has made much of the fact that the provision of information by the customer (beyond that directly required to register) is not required, however it notably failed to put that important information in the place were people are asked for those details. Other Microsoft sign up screens - most notably the web site registration has had marked optional or required fields for some time so it's omission from the trial ORW was strange. However the new ORW with Office 2000 SR-1 will make this distinction with asterisk marking required fields. There's an option on the next screen to receive 'special offers' from Microsoft or other companies. These options default off and you have to check the boxes get the additional marketing material. In the ORW trial these boxes defaulted on, so this change is welcome or not essential. INTERNET REGISTRATION Then the ORW will contact Microsoft's server to get your confirmation code via the Internet. According to Microsoft only the Installation ID, your name and company plus other details you have entered will be sent. The Installation ID is a complicated mix of the Product Key and a new way of identifying your computer hardware. To date there has been no independent verification of what information is being sent from your computer to Microsoft. If approved you'll see a screen with the Installation ID and confirmation code. THIS IS LAST TIME YOU'LL SEE THIS. IMPORTANT - Microsoft doesn't tell you, but we feel it's in your best interests to make a note of both the Installation ID and confirmation code for future reference. We'll explain why later in this series. Internet registration is a major 'benefit' as announced by Microsoft. Whenever anyone expresses concerns about other methods of registration they eagerly point to Internet registration. However Internet registration will only work for your first two requests for a confirmation code - after the first two you must telephone Microsoft in most cases. PHONE REGISTRATION Registration by phone to get your confirmation code is the issue that needs the closest attention. Despite Microsoft's public emphasis on the ability to get approval via the Internet, that only works for the first two confirmation codes you need. After that you must phone to explain why you need an additional confirmation code - supply of any confirmation codes is entirely at Microsoft's discretion. Once you've completed the registration wizard you'll be shown a screen with the phone number in your country. As originally conceived, phone registrations would only be available during certain times and some rumors persist based on that proposal. After some protests by WOW among others the phone registration service was extended before the ORW trial began to 24 hours - 7 days a week. Here's how it's supposed to work. Call the phone number; you'll get onto an operator to whom you give the Installation ID. If it's one of your first two confirmations you should get the code within seconds. Take a note of the confirmation code, read back to the operator to make sure and you're done. Anyway that's the theory according to Microsoft but it's not always such an easy process in the real world. We've had many worrying but frankly unsurprising reports that show that the reality for customers is quite different from the glowing picture painted by Microsoft. WOW's editor had a chance to try the phone registration service for himself in mid-February 2000, about a year after the trial had started in Australia. There had been plenty of time for any problems to be worked out so it can be considered a reasonable example of the phone registration service, as Microsoft wants it to operate: He dialed the phone number given in the ORW during normal business hours and had to navigate a phone menu (eg press 1 for support, press 2 for registration etc) to find the correct option. After a short pause an operator answered and he requested an Office 2000 confirmation code. He gave the Installation ID shown by the Registration Wizard expecting to get a confirmation code back quickly - after all that's what he'd been told by Microsoft would happen - but no. The operator asked for his first name, Peter declined asking for the confirmation code - the operator said 'I have to get your name to complete the registration'. Since this is a direct contradiction of Microsoft's repeated assurances that personal information is optional and that all operators obeyed that rule without exception, Peter refused. There was a pause after which the operator said the registration servers were responding slowly and there would be a delay before the confirmation code could be given. After six minutes of classical music on hold he was finally given the confirmation code. The scorecard was: * Total elapsed time to get phone registration: 10 minutes - double the maximum time of 3 to 5 minutes quoted by Microsoft. * Number of promises broken by Microsoft: 2 The assurance about optional personal information is a major breach and cuts to the heart of the credibility of the Office Registration Wizard, if not the company itself. It's worth noting that Peter's test call was not at all unusual, it was a simple request for the first confirmation code for that Product Key. We've not had an opportunity to try requesting the third or subsequent codes for which you have to phone and provide an explanation to Microsoft. The response from Microsoft to the above situation was very disappointing. The company rejects totally that there has been any delay in their registration servers in recent times. The problem of their staff wrongly insisting upon personal information is rejected as being 'in the Conspiracy Theorist realm'. Given that attitude there seems little chance of improvement or rectification if Microsoft won't even acknowledge the problem. Apparently the lack of a direct phone number for registration is an Australia only problem. According to Microsoft the Aussie subsidiary made a decision, based on local feedback, to have all calls go through one central number. One can only marvel at how 'feedback' was obtained to arrive at the conclusion that people would prefer to negotiate a three-level phone menu with the resultant increased difficulty and time expended. Problems: * Direct numbers give faster service to customers and save them going through a menu and perhaps getting it wrong. This should be consistent across the globe and not subject to the twisted logic of local subsidiaries. Given the number of people who have and will phone for software registration a dedicated phone number would seem to be a more efficient option for both Microsoft and their customers. * Even before the ORW was tested we queried Microsoft about the ability of their registration systems to cope with a high number of requests. We were assured then and now that there are no delays. The reports of WOW readers and our own test show that those assurances have not been fulfilled. Microsoft has rejected those customer reports out of hand and so there appears to be little chance of an improvement in the level of service if the company refuses to accept that there's a problem. * There's no provision for an email or other written copy of the confirmation code. Once you have entered the code you'll never see it again (unless you've used a non-telephone method or registration and that's only available for the first two 'automatic' codes). * There's no guarantee that the necessary number of phone operators or lines will be made available by Microsoft to meet demand and ensure a timely response. There would appear to be little incentive for the company to ensure a fast response to phone calls - the user has already handed over their money and has no choice but to hang on for Microsoft's convenience. Even in the Australian trial the company could not meet their own standard for response during a normal working day. What will the response be like in the years ahead when the demand is greater and the registration system is a fact of life and implemented in many other Microsoft programs? If you have an installation or setup problem and need to phone Microsoft tech support then you can kill two birds with one phone call. According to the company, their support personnel have access to the registration system and can issue confirmation codes if needed as part of a normal support call. OTHER REGISTRATION METHODS To obtain your first two confirmation codes you can also apply by email, fax or post. For registration by email the wizard will create an email message for you containing all the entered information and send it to a special address at Microsoft. This is supposed to be an automated process to which you should receive a fast response. However for some reason it's not always so good - during the New Zealand trial customers were told email applications would take up to 5 working days to receive a reply. For fax and post registrations, the registration wizard will print out a document for you to send off. You can only print to your default printer selected in Windows. Obviously these methods will take the longest to get a reply. The turn-around time for faxes according to Microsoft is 2 hours during business hours. Posted requests should be replied to the same day as it is received by the company. In all of these cases you have to give one more piece of personal information than you have to with phone or direct internet registration. Obviously you have to provide details of how Microsoft can reply. An email address, fax number or postal address. There's one gotcha to using these other registration methods. Once you're tried one of them you can't use that or any other non-phone option again to get that confirmation code. So you can't reprint the fax/mail if it gets lost nor can you send another email. Once you have used one non-phone option the only screen available in the ORW is to enter the confirmation code as if it was a telephone registration. OFFICE REGISTRATION WIZARD - NEXT WEEK Next week we'll look at what happens after you've got your first two 'automatic' confirmations, how the ORW identifies your computer, the importance of hiding your Product Key and privacy concerns. 5. BEHIND THE OFFICE REGISTRATION WIZARD - PART 2 Thanks to the hundreds of readers who sent questions about the Office Registration Wizard to RegoWiz@woodyswatch.com . We're making our way through the pile. Many of the questions are answered in Part 2 of this series, below or will be covered next week. Clearly many Office users have concerns about the ORW and how Microsoft will administer the system. Some of those concerns are, in our opinion, very justified. Other worries are not based on the facts - though frankly we don't blame anyone for misunderstanding the ORW. Microsoft has done a very poor job explaining this system. BEYOND THE FIRST TWO CONFIRMATIONS After you have obtained two confirmation codes for the one copy of Office, you have to telephone Microsoft to request any additional codes (Internet, email, fax and mail are no longer options). Because the EULA allows for two installations, any of the methods, including telephone, will allow two "automatic" confirmations. In order to explain any special circumstances beyond two registrations, telephone is the only option accepted by Microsoft. This is where the Microsoft registration system gets very unclear because it depends on the circumstances in each case plus the discretion of the company and staff to that particular situation. For most people this should not be a problem. For example, if you buy a new computer and need to install Office on it just call and you should be given another confirmation code. However in more extreme examples you may have a problem. For example one of the WOW staff had a new faulty computer delivered, it was returned and replaced twice in a single week before he gave up and cancelled the order. He then bought a computer elsewhere. If he had Office 2000 with the ORW he would have used up 4 confirmation codes in a week. At best that would have to look suspicious to the registration staff. When presented with this situation Microsoft has no precise answer except to say that the customer may have to provide written evidence about the faulty computers. But what evidence? A company that supplies multiple faulty computers is hardly likely to write a letter admitting that. There's plenty of other examples that may fall afoul of the Microsoft registration system. You could go through pages of such scenarios but analyzing each of those misses the real point - Microsoft can withhold from you the use of Office if it is not satisfied that you're a legitimate user. There's no set of rules you can examine to see if they are entitled to do that, the types of discretion given to their phone staff are not revealed publicly. Most importantly there's no appeal - if your request for a confirmation code is refused by the Microsoft staff who take your call then that's it. To protect yourself you should keep a paper trail in case you need it to prove your honesty to Microsoft. Retain proof of software purchase (itemized receipt etc) as well as records of any computer or hardware purchased or replaced. It's always been a good idea to have these records however with the introduction of the Office Registration Wizard those pieces of paper could be essential to unlocking your copy of Office. IDENTIFYING YOUR COMPUTER The Office Registration Wizard takes a 'snapshot' of your computer hardware and uses that to make part of the Installation ID you have to give to Microsoft in order to get a confirmation code. There's lots of speculation about this part of the process, much of it wrong. Anyone who regularly changes their hardware setup needs to be aware of how the ORW works. If you change your computer then you'll need a new confirmation code from Microsoft. The 'snapshot' of your computer consists of identifying unique properties of different parts of your computer. The exact components used is not revealed by Microsoft, but clearly parts like the CPU, motherboard, hard drive, video card and network card will be involved in some way. A combination of these component identities is part of the Installation ID and makes the link between the installation of Office and a specific computer. The ORW identification of your computer isn't fixed, the software is smart enough to work out if your computer setup has changed slightly and adapt accordingly. The big question is how much can you change your hardware setup before the ORW complains and requires a fresh confirmation code. The common story around is that you can change 3 out 5 components before the ORW will complain - the truth is more complicated that. There's no indication in Office or Windows of how much your computer hardware has deviated from what it considers correct. The change of a single component should not cause the ORW to request a new confirmation code. This means that if you are upgrading your computer you should do it one component at a time - which is good advice anyway because it helps isolate any hardware clashes. After installing each component, start the computer and run one of the major Office 2000 programs. This will let the ORW 'adapt' to the new hardware setup and record that the change isn't major. Any deviation from the original registered configuration is automatically accounted for unless the deviation is excessive, in which case the application will prompt for re-registration. The easiest way to visualize this scenario would be to take a registered (removable) hard drive out of one system and install it in a second completely different system. No matter what record of deviation existed, it would most certainly be out of tolerance and cause the application to prompt for re-registration. On the other hand adding a hard drive to an existing registered computer is probably within the tolerance of the ORW and will not require re-registration. Multiple Boot Systems If you have a multiple boot system for different operating systems you will need a different confirmation code for each version of Windows on the same computer. Before the trial started WOW pointed out this problem to Microsoft and they changed the instructions for their phone operators. If you call to get a confirmation code, mention the magic words 'dual boot' to the operator and they should understand. You should get an additional confirmation code to cover each boot partition. When there's a hardware change If you change computers or alter your existing computer more than the ORW will permit then you have to get a new confirmation code. You get another full set of 50 opportunities to start Office 2000 in order to get the new code. HIDE YOUR PRODUCT KEY Your Product Key is the 25 character code on the back of the Office 2000 CD case. That key for single boxed copies of Office is allowed to have two unrestricted installations before you have to call Microsoft for additional confirmation codes. You can see the Product Key in the Help | About screen of any Office 2000 program. Unlike the CD Key that you are used to, the Product Key has an enforceable lifespan. If someone else uses your Product Key they are using up a confirmation code and you could be left with unanswerable questions. Let's look at just one possibility. You buy Office 2000 and install it on your home computer using your first confirmation code. A member of your family or someone else who has access copies down the Product Key and gives it away to a person who has Office 2000 but can't unlock it. At some later time you try to install Office again (maybe on your new notebook computer) thinking that you have a second confirmation available. But no! your Internet request is refused and you have to call - Microsoft asks you about the second computer you installed Office 2000 in the past and you have no answer. In this simple example you'll probably get the third code, if only because the Microsoft staffer figures you've probably forgotten about the second computer. But what if yet another person used your Product Key, this time phoned and gave their personal information. How do you prove that you're the legitimate owner when Microsoft has someone else's details recorded? There's all sort of possibilities like this that all boil down to one thing - the Product Key is valuable to you. You should keep it secure to avoid misuse. Possession of the CD means little with the arrival of the new registration regime; it is the Product Key that counts. Companies installing Office 2000 multi-license versions also need to be concerned about security of the Product Key. While the ORW doesn't directly apply to MOLP and other licenses, each time you install Office 2000 with your license Product Key it is noted on the Microsoft registration system. The company could potentially ask questions if your license for say, 25 computers shows up for hundreds or even thousands. It only takes one disgruntled staff member to post your corporate Product Key on the Internet for that to happen. There's nothing in the Microsoft documentation that highlights the importance of keeping your Product Key private. It has an intrinsic value to you and should be protected. NEXT WEEK We'll continue our examination of the Office Registration Wizard with a consideration of the pros and cons of the privacy issues and a very short section on the benefits to you in the new registration system. We'll have a glossary of the new acronyms we have to learn and start to answer your questions. -- To unsubscribe send e-mail to suse-linux-e-unsubscribe@suse.com For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the FAQ at http://www.suse.com/Support/Doku/FAQ/