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It WASN'T the update, says MS: Windows 7 suffers identity crisis... activation errors (tr)
The Register ^ | Jan 11, 2019 | Richard Speed

Posted on 01/12/2019 8:19:09 AM PST by dayglored

Activation server fiddling on day of monthly update... really?

Microsoft has said that activation errors seen by Windows 7 users should not be chalked up to Tuesday's patch, but rather were an entirely different cockup.

Windows Activation Technologies is the Jiminy Cricket of Windows 7, chirping at you if it thinks you might not be paying for your licensing. Combining Jiminy with the Key Management Service (KMS) on Windows 7, as many enterprise customers likely do (even though Microsoft wishes they wouldn't), hasn't caused too many headaches.

Until this week.

A tweak to the Activation Servers saw happily licensed Windows 7 users suddenly presented with "Windows is not genuine"-type notifications from 10:00 UTC on January 8, surprising BOFHs already dealing with loss of folder sharing for some users thanks to the January update.

Even Microsoft was initially confused, before finally updating its known issues for the iffy update to insist that just because activation errors appeared to start happening just after the update was installed, it didn't mean that was the cause.

"The timing of this issue coincides with the release of the January updates (KB4480960 and KB4480970) that were released on Tuesday, January 8, 2019. These events are not related."

After a long day of head-scratching, someone at Microsoft had a lightbulb moment and at 04:30 UTC on 9 January, the activation server change was reverted, fixing the issue for many. Microsoft would still very much like enterprise users to uninstall the Jiminy Cricket update (aka KB971033) because it is aimed at consumers.

Borkage of the activation servers is nothing new in the Windows world. Lucky Windows 10 Pro users suddenly found themselves relegated to Home status last November.

However, updating the servers Windows uses to check it is the real deal on the same day that users get their important patches takes a special kind of planning. ®


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: activation; windows7; windowspinglist; windowsupdate
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To: dayglored

every now and again i type in ‘linux’ i nthe search function to get up to speed- i also follow this fella- He does lots of reviews- and is a brain- https://www.youtube.com/user/quidsup


21 posted on 01/12/2019 9:25:57 AM PST by Bob434
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To: dayglored

I understood and didn’t judge you for it. Us Linus folks got to stick together. :)

I tried to search Shadowace and came up blank. Got a link to his page?


22 posted on 01/12/2019 9:26:24 AM PST by Openurmind
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To: McGruff

Don’t stop there! Then install Linux Mint right over the top of it as a second and primary OS so that you can have both! This is what I did and it really works well! Best of both worlds! :)


23 posted on 01/12/2019 9:29:46 AM PST by Openurmind
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To: Openurmind

http://www.freerepublic.com/~ShadowAce/index?U=%2Ftag%2F%2A%2Findex


24 posted on 01/12/2019 9:30:35 AM PST by rockrr ( Everything is different now...)
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To: Bob434

This is the way to do it! Have the best of both worlds! :)


25 posted on 01/12/2019 9:30:48 AM PST by Openurmind
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To: Openurmind
> I tried to search Shadowace and came up blank. Got a link to his page?

Sure. Use RF search, but instead of "Keywords", search on "Users".

https://www.freerepublic.com/~shadowace/

26 posted on 01/12/2019 9:32:28 AM PST by dayglored ("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."`)
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To: Bob434

Know what was cool after I loaded Linux? The hexchat bundled with Mint that goes directly to an IRC help chat with Mint volunteers! I was like whoa! priceless feature! Cool as heck. :)


27 posted on 01/12/2019 9:36:32 AM PST by Openurmind
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To: dayglored

Duh... lol Going to fast to think of that...


28 posted on 01/12/2019 9:37:50 AM PST by Openurmind
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To: dayglored
"...The photo you see above — the default wallpaper for Windows XP — is probably the most recognizable image in the world. What you probably didn’t know is that it’s a real photo, called Bliss, taken by Charles “Chuck” O’Rear in 1996, and then sold to Microsoft for an undisclosed sum (but it was apparently one of the highest prices ever paid for a single photo)..."

They haven't seen mine, by the way... (All Rights Reserved - May not be copied for commercial use without compensation.) This photo was taken by me.:

Click here.

29 posted on 01/12/2019 9:39:40 AM PST by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
> They haven't seen mine, by the way...

Wow, that's gorgeous! Nice work!

30 posted on 01/12/2019 9:41:23 AM PST by dayglored ("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."`)
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To: dayglored; rockrr

Thanks! got it and left a PM to be added. :)


31 posted on 01/12/2019 9:42:58 AM PST by Openurmind
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To: dayglored

Thank you. Was going to do another job when I saw that meadow on a beautiful morning.


32 posted on 01/12/2019 9:43:01 AM PST by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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To: dayglored

Know what? I don’t know if you remember or not, but they tried this scam before.


33 posted on 01/12/2019 9:47:01 AM PST by Openurmind
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To: Openurmind

yeah i agree- I don’t do a lot with my linux- i mostly just surf the net, upload photos from my camera, do email, play some good solitaire games- and really that’s about it- people that want to do more would likely find it a bit more involved- perhaps difficult- but since my needs are really basic with linux- i don’t have to delve into the guts of it- and everything just works right out of the box- no mucking around required- I simply use it for all my Internet browsing- email etc- and then at night switch over to windows for windows only games (I like iracing online- which is the only game i play online in windows), and to do some photoshop work and manage my photos (I like windows programs for managing photos better than linux’s)- other than the one racing game- i don’t allow windows to be online- I just got sick of always having to ‘harden windows against viruses’- which is the main reason i switched to linux for all my online work


34 posted on 01/12/2019 9:51:27 AM PST by Bob434
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To: Openurmind
> Know what? I don’t know if you remember or not, but they tried this scam before.

I remember. Hell, I remember when they released WinME, intentionally broken, to force Win95/98 users over to Win2K. Of course, Win2K was a substantial improvement over Win95/98, being NT based.

Microsoft is DESPERATE to get people onto Windows 10.

Partly it's so that they can solidify their telemetry base. Win7 has gotten some "enhanced telemetry" updates (some call them "spyware injections") in the last two years, but they are, of necessity, merely cobbled onto Win7, and can in theory be more easily disabled. Whereas in Win10 they are an integral part of the operating system, and can't be entirely avoided. Microsoft needs that telemetry.

And partly it's so that they can migrate Windows from being an license-install-once-run-forever operating system, to a subscription model where you have to continuously send money to Redmond or else your computer stops working. Win7 users can't be subscription-ized, until they've switched to Win10.

You might call it protection. "Nice little operating system ya got there, be a shame is somethin' was to happen to it..."

35 posted on 01/12/2019 9:56:51 AM PST by dayglored ("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."`)
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To: Bob434

What’s important I think with this is all the normal everyday stuff that Linux can do for you much safer without all the windows bloat and conflicts.

I like the ability to go manage and download software right from the desktop and have the manager do the hard work of checking for all the other files needed for the program you are grabbing and put it all together for you at one time.

Way too many time MS programs have sent me doing a lot of searching and downloading third party files to make something work properly. It seems to always be a wall of obstruction because of “incompatible versions” and similar.

Have you played with STEAM yet? Man... A whole world of gaming there made for Linux.


36 posted on 01/12/2019 10:12:11 AM PST by Openurmind
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To: dayglored; Openurmind
BTW, I don't have a fundamental objection to a subscription model for products that are upgraded and improved periodically, as long as it's voluntary. I have purchased a number of products that release a new version every year or so that costs money. That's fine -- the company needs to get paid for the work they did to improve the product.

But I should have the choice of whether to take advantage of that offer to upgrade (new features, bug fixes, continued tech support, etc.). If I don't care to do so (e.g. the existing version works just fine for my purposes), I expect that I won't have tech support any longer. But I don't expect my copy of it to stop working. That's extortion, IMO.

37 posted on 01/12/2019 10:12:52 AM PST by dayglored ("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."`)
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To: Openurmind

no i haven’t tried steam yet- I read in the iracign forum that iracign doesn’t work well on steam- and that’s really the only one i play online- all my other games are offline- so i don’t mind rebooting into windows for that -

[[I like the ability to go manage and download software right from the desktop and have the manager do the hard work of checking for all the other files needed for the program you are grabbing and put it all together for you at one time.]]

I never could get the hang of the synaptic package manager- The software manager though isn’t hard at all- just a couple clicks- and you’re done- they have certainly made linux much easier to use- tried it back in the 90’s and gave up on it- glad i tried it again recently- much much easier-


38 posted on 01/12/2019 10:21:54 AM PST by Bob434
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To: dayglored

No... not protection... I would call it deceptive business practices, Unfair business practices, extortion, slavery, and hidden privacy violation. But I understand the premise of the “protection racket” Antivirus software does this too. Give you a bug to make you pay to remove the bug. All issues Linux CURES.

You see what I have been watching come about for years now. I actually filed a formal complaint with the better business bureau and the FTC proving these very things when they hit us with WIN 10 and it’s dependency on the internet, apps, and cloud extortion let alone the monopoly. We are “hog tied” and we let them continue to do it.


39 posted on 01/12/2019 10:31:10 AM PST by Openurmind
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To: dayglored

Absolutely!


40 posted on 01/12/2019 10:33:34 AM PST by Openurmind
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