Don’t expect a clear response from Microsoft about anti-piracy measures in Office 2007.
We’ve spent a frustrating week getting to the bottom of the rumor that Office 2007 has a ‘kill switch’ – meaning that even after you’ve installed and activated Office 2007, Microsoft could disable it remotely if they believe it is an illegal copy.
It’s been frustrating because getting a straight answer out of Microsoft is surprisingly difficult. Far from wanting to clearly deny this rumor, the company is adding more mud to the waters. When we asked:
” Is there _any_ situation where a full working copy of Microsoft Office 2003/2007, once activated on a particular computer, can be ‘crippled’ in any way?”
The answer was a short
‘Yes‘
but later, in response to another question Microsoft says:
“At this time, there are no plans to disable Office 2007 after activation”
so it’s hard to know what’s really going on.
Based mostly on Microsoft’s prevarication we’ve changed our view:
Office 2007 probably has a ‘kill switch’ and only lacks Microsoft’s stated intention to use it.
After activation you can continue to use Office 2007 and there seems a way for Microsoft to disable it, but they say they won’t use it. That could change at any time with merely an executive decision.
That contrasts with Windows Vista which definitely does have a ‘kill switch’. At any time Microsoft can deem that your copy of Vista is illegal, after various pop-up warnings over an unspecified period, Vista will drop to a reduced function mode where you can do little except open a browser window.
On our web site we’ve posted the questions we put to Microsoft and their conflicting answers. The responses mix up references to activation with validation for access to downloads from Microsoft. Have a look and judge the situation for yourself – you can pick quotes from Microsoft’s comments to support almost any view, but taken overall it’s a mess.
At this stage we still think that Office 2007 lacks only the will to use a ‘kill switch’ after activation, but based on Microsoft’s remarks you’d be entitled to wonder.
You might think that all this doesn’t matter, if you have legal software then there’ll be no problem. Certainly that’s Microsoft’s view; buy their software and trust Microsoft to look after you. We believe there _are_ situations where a legitimate and honest user could have their legally purchased software disabled.
Here’s a excerpt of our questions to Microsoft about activation and the ‘kill switch’ with the Microsoft responses in blue. The entire wording is retained, only the formatting has changed for readability.
For some reason the Microsoft responses have chosen to mix in references to download access via validation with the matters of activation .
The short answer to question 1 is given as ‘Yes‘ yet the information below contradicts that statement, in particular the last sentence of the answer to question 3 says “At this time, there are no plans to disable Office 2007 after activation.”
Elsewhere the response says “Microsoft may block Office product keys that have been abused, stolen or misappropriated.” which might be intended as a reference to download access / validation not activation (the subject of the question). There’s no explanation of what is meant by ‘blocked’ in this context or more correctly, the context chosen for the response?
” Just to clarify, Microsoft’s anti-piracy technologies cannot and will not turn off your computer”
while strictly correct this is misleading and does not answer the question put. At no time does the question talk about ‘turning a computer off’ – it refers specifically to ‘disabling’ which is precisely what can happen with Vista at any time if Microsoft , at any future time, deems that license to be illegal.
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- Is there any situation where a full working copy of Microsoft Office 2003/2007, once activated on a particular computer, can be ‘crippled’ in any way (ie changed to an mode of lesser functionality be it RFM, not working at all or any other state).
Yes, see below.
- Can Microsoft, after activation, affect the functionality of Office 2003 or Office 2007 remotely?
Microsoft may block Office product keys that have been abused, stolen or misappropriated. If a user attempts to access a download that requires genuine validation and their key is detected as being blocked, download will not be accessible.
In other words, once a customer has activated Office 2003 or 2007 on a computer, can the customer be assured that Microsoft Office will continue to work fully without interference from Microsoft for an indefinite time?
When the customer tries to obtain a genuine only download, the validation process will check the authenticity of their software. If the software is determined to be counterfeit, the customer will be unable to access the download.
- Can you confirm that the Office 2007 anti-piracy measures are different from the Windows Vista anti-piracy measures which seem to have the possibility of disabling a copy of the OS after activation if, at some time after activation, Microsoft deems that Vista license to be invalid? This seems to be a key point since it was widely expected that the same anti-piracy measures for Vista would also apply to Office 2007.
Just to clarify, Microsoft’s anti-piracy technologies cannot and will not turn off your computer. Reduced functionality mode has always been the result of failing to activate Windows XP. The Office 2007 anti-piracy features are different from Windows Vista in that Windows Vista and Windows Server “Longhorn” will ship with the Software Protection Platform (SPP). (The Software Protection Platform is a new set of technologies that will help fight piracy and protect consumers from the risks of counterfeit software, and better enable volume customers to better manage their software assets.)
Failing to activate Office 2007 will result in the software moving to a reduced functionality mode, which has been the case since Office XP. At this time, there are no plans to disable Office 2007 after activation.
- If anti-piracy measures in Vista are different to Office 2007 why has Microsoft chosen to have that difference?
We are absolutely committed to having Microsoft Office participate in the advantages of Microsoft’s overarching Genuine Software Initiative (GSI) from a long-term, broad perspective as part of upcoming releases. The Software Protection Platform (SPP) is an important tool that is under consideration for implementation in Office Genuine Advantage (OGA).
We know that engineering changes in how the products are installed and activated are an important part to reducing piracy. We have chosen to implement in several products initially. The first two are Vista, and Windows Server Longhorn. Over time, more Microsoft products will adopt SPP.
- Are the activation procedures and polices any different between:
a. Office XP or
b. Office 2003 or
c. Office 2007
The activation procedures are the same for Office XP and 2003, but for Office 2007, the activations limits have been reduced from 50 launches to 25 before a proper key must be input into the installed software.
The 2007 Office system will have similar activation requirements as in previous versions of Office. Activation will be required for retail and pre-installed copies, just as it has in the past.
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