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Microsoft’s anti-piracy tool is being removed with the launch of Service Pack one, after a series of users claimed that their legal copies of Vista had been disabled.
The so-called ‘Kill Switch’, which reduces the functionality of illegal copies of Vista, had been somewhat of a success for Microsoft, with Vista piracy half that of Windows XP. This reduction has also been credited to businesses no longer receiving volume licence keys, which can activate an unlimited number of machines.
In place of the reduced functionality option, Microsoft will adopt a scheme where dialogue boxes and wallpaper changes will remind users that their copy of Vista is not genuine.
"Users whose systems are identified as counterfeit will be presented with clear and recurring notices about the status of their system and how to get genuine copies," said Microsoft corporate vice president, Mike Siever.
"They won’t lose access to functionality or features, but it will be very clear to them that their copy of Window Vista is not genuine and they need to take action."
