Symantec Hit by Product Activation Glitch 277
An anonymous reader writes "According to this article, Symantec has hit a snag in their product activation scheme. On a certain machine, the software machine would always ask for the activation when the computer is started or restarted, despite the fact that they have thoroughly tested the scheme." According to the article, Symantec has finally managed to replicate the problem, and those hit by the bug are asked to contact Symantec's support channels. However, there's no mention of a fix yet.
Re:How Do They Not Get It? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Honest users the victims (Score:5, Informative)
And with these kinds of application, the OS which it uses is of no concern anyways: these tools usually come with their own bootdisk, and there is absolutely no problem to duplicate a Windows partition using a Unix based tool!
Re:Time to move (Score:2, Informative)
Secondly, rootkit is only a problem for systems where the passwords travel unencrypted over the network. Most people with a clue do not do this anymore... passwords can easily be encrypted when transmitted as part of the login process. Even then, only the real dough-heads actually log in as root.
Thirdly, compile the Linux kernel with Exec Shield enabled, and "poorly written software" ceases to be a security threat (the software will simply seg fault and crash -- an inconvenience at worst, much less of a concern than the security threat of the possibility of root access through a buffer overflow exploit).
Re:Honest users the victims (Score:3, Informative)
The NTFS (Windows NT File System) is currently not fully supported:
I will not trust making images for any of my workstations if it adds another potential factor other than MS instability for crashes.
Until then I have to stick with tried methods which now includes Symantec Ghost.
Also unfortunately the security folks do not want any *nix machines (even though most of their IDS are based on some flavour *nix but I have to abide by their wishes)
You need the corporate version... (Score:4, Informative)
You need the corporate version of Windows XP Professional. It does not require activation. (Moderators, don't moderate this as a troll. It's true, there is a corporate version that does not require activation.)
If things continue, think where they will go: 800 digits to do activation! If you make a mistake, the EULA says MS can come around with whips.
It doesn't work to have proprietary software. It is becoming more of a way to deliver hostility to honest people than a way to deliver a useful product.
Install Mandrake Linux. You boot from the CD. It asks you three questions (if you are connected to a network), and everything works. It's stable.
Advantages of Free, Open Source Software:
There are no tricks to get you to spend more. There's no one to be your enemy part of the time. When you try to get tech support, you can find people who are helpful, not arrogant, as in the case of Microsoft and Symantec. Open Office works very well and is less quirky than Microsoft Office. You don't need to worry about licenses and possible lawsuits if you install too many copies. There is no vulnerability of the week. There is no company representative lying about competing software. There are no closed file formats. There are no sneaky EULAs that change during security fixes, so that you must agree to a different contract after you have already made the decision to own the product. There are no security fixes that change the settings of your software, so that the new settings are less secure. (MS in case you haven't seen that one; it's Multiple Scuzziness.) With Open Source, you don't have to be business partners with people whom you would avoid if you saw them at a party.
On the other hand, proprietary software can be character building if you survive. You can make a scientific sociological study of how some people, when they get power, torture other people. And, when you arrive at the Pearly Gates, Saint Peter will say, "Proprietary software user? You've already been to Hell. Go directly into Heaven."
Re:Honest users the victims (Score:4, Informative)
The NTFS (Windows NT File System) is currently not fully supported:
I will not trust making images for any of my workstations if it adds another potential factor other than MS instability for crashes.
The just use Udpcast [linux.lu] which is completely file-system independant. It directly reads from the disk partition, and doesn't need to understand its structure. Compression is achieved using lzop or gzip, to keep transfer times manageable.
Until then I have to stick with tried methods which now includes Symantec Ghost.
You are sadly mistaken if you believe that this doesn't add to the MS instability ;-)
Also unfortunately the security folks do not want any *nix machines (even though most of their IDS are based on some flavour *nix but I have to abide by their wishes)
Just don't tell them ;-) It's just a self-contained boot CD. No need to know what OS is on it, especially since nothing of it is installed permanently on the PC.
Comment removed (Score:3, Informative)
Okay, this is _my_ rant. (Score:3, Informative)
You can use the other open source alternatives if you want, but you won't get the immediate response that Symantec provides when large worms and virus outbreaks take place, nor will you get the other customer support provided by Symantec.
Software bugs happen, and it's impossible to test for every possibility (hardware configuration, etc). Just bear with them and let them fix it.