In a recent post to his blog, Alex Kochis, Senior Product Manager for Windows Genuine Advantage, discusses the on-going work on anti-piracy features incorporated into many of the products Microsoft releases. Part of the job is to communicate advances that keep pace with those of pirates, so his team has updated their How to Tell website -- a site dedicated to helping customers tell whether their MS software is legitimate. The site's updated look-and-feel can take advantage of higher screen resolutions; a further addition is an RSS feed to inform customers of changes to anti-piracy features in our products.
Alex also mentions the story behind the holography on Windows Vista DVD's (and other Microsoft product media), which we covered last month. The technology is called edge-to-edge holography and consists of a variety of objects embedded into the holograms integrated into product media, designed to help prove legitimacy of products consumers may purchase from various sources. Our story on the three men depicted in a microscopic photo on the Windows Vista DVD is an example of this technology.
If you've not visited the How To Tell site, I think you'll find it entertaining as well as eye-opening: entertaining because of what some people try to pass off as legitimate MS products, and eye-opening because other pirates have produced some extremely sophisticated fakes. Check it out.