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PARTNER NEWS [Nov 2003]: MICROSOFT'S $250,000 VIRUS BOUNTY top   

On November 5th, Microsoft announced that it would be putting US$5 million into a program designed to identify and prosecute launchers of malicious code. In particular, Microsoft is offering two rewards of $250,000 each for information that results in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching the MSBlast.A worm and Sobig virus.

The “Anti-Virus Reward Program” program is being created in alliance with the FBI and U.S. Secret Service, and in coordination with Interpol. The rewards being offered are initially limited to uncovering attacks on Microsoft products.

The program is Microsoft's latest response to a rash of viruses that have targeted their ubiquitous software and injured businesses worldwide. Law enforcement officials have found it very difficult to track down the source of these viruses. The wide availability of the knowledge and programming tools and the diffuse nature of the attacks means that technical tracking measures are often ineffective.

Microsoft is hoping that this reward will encourage people who know the virus writers to come forward as witnesses; “If a worm writer brags about his attack to another, that person has knowledge of the crime. Microsoft is hoping that their program will give these witnesses the incentive to come forward.” says Hemanshu Nigam, Corporate Attorney for Microsoft's Digital Integrity Group.

Microsoft's program may have a double impact of identifying the more talkative virus creators while encouraging others to keep quiet about their actions. Notoriety within their community is believed to be one of the greatest incentives for virus creators. Forcing them to stay silent may deprive them of that reward and make them less inclined to launch such attacks in future.

While announcing their own bounty program, Microsoft has encouraged other corporations to follow suit. That is seen as unlikely. Smaller organizations are content to 'stay under the radar' of attackers and would be concerned that public partnerships with police would make them a more popular target. In addition, companies lacking Microsoft's resources (which is almost everyone) are probably better served by focusing on improving the security of their products rather than prosecuting security breaches after the fact; “Enterprises should continue to focus on intrusion prevention and should emphasize security of software in all requests for proposals and all upgrade decisions” says John Pescatore of Gartner Research.

For more information on virus prevention and network security go to:
http://www.evron.com/security/index.asp

You can also email or call 905-477-0444.

Learn More [July 2001]: Microsoft's Move to Subscription Based Updates

As you may have heard, Microsoft is in the middle of a dramatic shift in 
the licensing and updating of their ubiquitous MS Office software. The 
company is moving to a "software-as-a-service" model in which users can 
subscribe to a program of regular software upgrades. In addition, security 
has been tightened to ensure that every computer with Office software has 
a license that is unique and paid for. 

*** Evron is currently offering a FREE SEMINAR to explain and discuss this 
new program. Interested? Contact us at ***

Here is a summary of the new system and how it may affect you:

PIRACY - PAST:

The biggest reason for the new security measures is to combat Piracy - 
loading the same copy of software on multiple machines without Microsoft's 
knowledge. This can occur when someone hands a friend a copy of the software 
CD, copies it, or sends the files through the Internet. In the past, as 
long as you had the serial number that came with the CD you could load 
the software anywhere. 

PIRACY - PRESENT (Individual):

For the current software to work (beyond an initial grace period) users 
must "activate" it, by contacting Microsoft either on-line or over the 
telephone. A unique installation ID number is then automatically created 
based on a built-in Product number and your personal hardware configuration.

Other forms of Piracy such as the use of software "crack codes" to break 
through a program's security measures are being combated through other 
means but will likely never be completely eliminated.

PIRACY - PRESENT (Business Users):

To avoid the time consuming process of software activation, businesses 
with a number of workstations, have the option of purchasing an "Open License". 
In this case, a business purchases a CD to load the software as well as 
licenses for each workstation. The company receives only the license, 
no documentation or packaging. In most cases, Open Licenses will be available 
to any business with at least a server and/or three or more workstations.

The Open License is more convenient and less expensive per unit than purchasing 
multiple boxes of the software. In addition, since the licenses are registered 
with Microsoft, software lost to theft or unforeseen circumstance is easily 
replaced, without the need to repurchase the product whole. 

UPGRADES - PAST

In the past, upgrades to the newest version of MS Office came in a variety 
of forms:

- Competitive Upgrades: Pay a reduced upgrade price to move from competitor 
software (WordPerfect, Lotus, etc.) to current version of Office.

- General Upgrades: Pay a reduced Upgrade price to move from previous versions 
of Office to current version

- Full Payment: Users only had to pay full price for Office once. After 
that they could continuously upgrade at a reduced price whenever a new 
version came out.

- Frequency of upgrades: New versions of Office software came out about 
every 2 years

UPGRADES - FUTURE (After Oct. 1)

- Competitive Upgrades: At this point, these no longer exist. Users of 
competitor s Software will have to pay full price for MS Office

- General Upgrades: As of Oct. 1 2001, these will no longer exist. They 
are to be replaced by the Software Assurance program.

- Software Assurance (SA): Rather than paying for and receiving upgrades 
all at once every few years, users pay an up-front licensing fee, and receive 
regular software upgrades every few months. In general, the SA program 
will be sold in two-year blocks at a yearly cost of about 25-30% of the 
full license fee. SA must be bought at the same time as the software (retail 
and OEM buyers will have 90 days to sign up.)

- Full Payment: Users who sign up with the SA program will only have to 
pay full price for MS Office once. After that, the SA licensing fee will 
keep them current. Users who do not sign up for the program, and want 
to upgrade every few years will have to pay full price for the Office Suite 
each time they want to change. 

UPGRADES - PRESENT

The new policy is being phased in slowly. A couple important points:

- WHEN TO PURCHASE SOFTWARE ASSURANCE: In most cases, SA must be bought 
before Jan. 31st and includes two years of upgrades from the date of purchase. 
As there will be no updates before February, it makes sense to purchase 
SA in January.

- NON-OFFICE USERS: With the elimination of Competitive Upgrades you will 
now have to buy Office XP at full price. You then have until January 31st 
2002 to purchase Software Assurance. 

- OFFICE 97 OR 2000 USERS: If you are interested in upgrading to Office 
XP, DO IT BY SEPTEMBER 30th. Until then you can purchase "Upgrade Advantage" 
which gives you Office XP plus two years of upgrades. After October 1st, 
you will have to buy the Office license and SA separately, which will cost 
you about $500 MORE, per user.

- OFFICE XP USERS W/O UPGRADE ADVANTAGE: You have until Jan. 31 to purchase 
SA. If you do not, the only way to upgrade your software will be to purchase 
the next version of Office at full price. 


This is the general information about the new policy. Different Office 
versions and different businesses will have slightly different situations 
to deal with. For more information on the changes in Microsoft Office 
and how you can deal with them, contact us at .

Learn More [July 2001]: Microsoft's Update Policies - Part 2

(Read Part 1: http://www.evron.com/newsletters/july01_2001.asp#learn)

Last issue we reviewed Microsoft's new licensing policies for MS Office. 
This time we update you on some recent changes in the policy for Office 
and review their plans for Windows and other software. This information 
applies primarily to businesses who purchase a number of licenses for their 
organization, rather than retail buyers who purchase boxed software. 

***Evron is currently offering a FREE SEMINAR to explain and discuss this 
new program. Interested? Contact us at *** 

OFFICE CHANGES

OFFICE 97 OR 2000 USERS MOVING TO XP: Last issue we told you that you had 
until Sept. 30th to purchase "Upgrade Advantage" (UA) which would move 
you up to Office XP and give you two years of upgrades, beginning from 
the license purchase date. 

That date has been moved ahead to FEBRUARY 28th 2002. (This only applies 
to current Open License 5.0 users - OEM buyers still only have until Sept. 
30) After that date, you will have to buy the Office license and Software 
Assurance upgrades separately, which will cost you about $500 MORE, per 
user. 

OFFICE XP USERS WITHOUT UPGRADE ADVANTAGE: You now have until FEBRUARY 
28/2002 (The date had been Jan. 31st) to purchase "Software Assurance", 
which gives you regular software upgrades for two years. If you do not, 
the only way to upgrade your software will be to purchase the next version 
of Office at full price. 

PRODUCT UPGRADES 

Microsoft will be withdrawing "Product Upgrades" as of Oct. 1st, 2001. 
In contrast to a Version Upgrade, which moves the software up a level 
within a particular product family, Product Upgrades move across families. 


A good example is to look at the two different Windows families. Moving 
from Windows 98 to ME (which is designed for home use) is a simple Version 
Upgrade and can be done until February 28th. Moving from Win 98 to Windows 
2000 (which is designed for business) is a Product Upgrade and MUST BE 
DONE BY SEPT. 30TH. After October 1st, moving from Windows 95 or 98 to 
WIN2K Pro will require you to purchase a new license, which will cost an 
additional 30-50% per seat.

Windows Product Families:
1] Win 3.x -> Windows for Workgroups -> Win 95 -> Win 98 -> Win ME

2] Windows Workstation NT 3 -> NT 4.0 -> Windows 2000 (WIN2k) Pro

The following are also examples of product upgrades which may be of particular 
interest: 

EXCHANGE STANDARD to EXCHANGE ENTERPRISE: 
This product upgrade must be done by September 30th. After this day, you 
will have to buy the software new, which could cost you thousands of dollars 
more. 

SQL SERVER 2000 BY SEAT to SQL SERVER 2000 BY PROCESSOR: 
This product upgrade must be done by September 30th. After this day, you 
will have to buy the software new, which could cost you thousands of dollars 
more.


This is the general information about the new system. Different software 
and different businesses will have slightly different situations to deal 
with. For more information on the changes in Microsoft policy and how 
you can deal with them, contact us at . 

Kudos [March 2001]: Microsoft Windows 2000 Cracks 1-Million Licenses 

It's safe to go in the water. This month, the sales of licenses for the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server family, including the standard, advanced and data center servers, will exceed the 1- million mark. This milestone coincides with the one-year anniversary of the worldwide launch of the Windows 2000.

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