Vista to pack anti-piracy punch

Windows Vista will have new anti-piracy technology that locks people out their PCs if the operating system isn't activated within 30 days after installation.

If Vista is not activated with a legitimate product registration key in time, the system will run in "reduced functionality mode" until it is activated, said Thomas Lindeman, a senior product manager at Microsoft. In this mode, people will be able to use a web browser for up to an hour, after which time the system will log them out, he said.

The new technology is part of Microsoft's new 'Software Protection Platform'. It will be part of future versions of all Microsoft products but debuts in Windows Vista and Windows Server 'Longhorn', said Cori Hartje, director of Microsoft's Windows Genuine Software Initiative. Vista, the successor to Windows XP, is slated to be broadly available in January.

Microsoft is also changing the way businesses license its software. New licensing systems will replace the current volume licence keys, which have been widely abused, Hartje said: "Fifty per cent of the piracy, we think, uses keys issued to volume licensing customers."

Starting with Vista, Microsoft will offer two different types of keys and offer three different ways to distribute them within an organisation. In all cases, some more work will be required on the part of the technology department at a company.

The first type of product key to replace the current system is called 'multiple activation key', or MAK. An IT pro at a company can install a key on a machine that will then need to be validated online. Alternatively a proxy can be set up centrally to activate multiple systems at once, according to Microsoft.

The second licensing option is called 'key management service', or KMS. This requires the organisation to set up a KMS service on the corporate network that will activate client machines. The Vista PCs will silently find the KMS service and activate, according to Microsoft.

It may seem like businesses will have to count all their licences but it's really not as bad as it sounds, said Michael Silver, an analyst with Gartner: "It has nothing to do with licence counting right now but companies will need to expend time and effort and some money to administer this, in the name of helping Microsoft recoup revenue lost to piracy.

"There needs to be more of a benefit [for customers]. Linux and Mac communities will try to make hay with this."

Joris Evers writes for CNET News.com