# Microsoft police state: Office 04 uses my AirPort to spy **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 19, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290 "2006-09-19T17:18:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/41 "2006-09-19T20:34:20Z")
[QUOTE=Greenback] Not sure if it has been mentioned but I think the license agreement says something about installing on multiple machines. [/QUOTE] Yes. Repeatedly. Starting with Post 3. Read the thread before responding; it’s not even that long of a thread. Not to bust your personal chops, but c’mon. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/42 "2006-09-19T20:40:47Z")
[QUOTE=Absolute] I dislike Microsoft quite a bit, but I respect their right to set the price of their software. [/QUOTE] Absolutely; but conversely I like Microsoft quite a lot (or at least think that they are generally maligned _far_ more than rationality dictates), and yet I’m made a bit uneasy by their software checking unbidden on your home network for hints of naughtiness. I don’t support software piracy, but I’m quite careful about what programs I let access the network, and would be more than slightly annoyed to discover things scanning our home network on the assumption that I’m being bad. Granted, in this case the user _is_ in the wrong, but unless they make it plain that they’re going to monitor licence abuse in this way, I think MS are guilty of slightly dubious practices here. It’s one of my most persistent gripes about modern software; the presumption that if you’ve installed it, it owns your machine. You want to watch DVDs? Well then you must want a “Cyberlink” folder cluttering up your home folder. Same for eBooks, games, Visio Shapes, Google Gadgets (Jesus…), blah, blah, blah. Icons on your desktop, Internet Explorer homepage; everything is fair game for the program that thinks it’s the only one you’ll ever run. The network is an extension of this. No, I _don’t_ expect my word processor to go snooping on me. It’s for word processing, no more. **Doug** can hardly complain; he’s breaking the law. But it’s more than irritating to have your programs checking up on you without letting you know. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/43 "2006-09-19T20:43:13Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Jesus. I really _have_ awakened the drones here. [/QUOTE] I think you’re an idiot, too. –black rabbit, Linux admin ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/44 "2006-09-19T20:47:56Z")
When I bought my version of Office O4 for Mac I received 3 product keys and it says on the bottom of the case: > [@](#): > > You must accept the enclosed License Agreement before you can use this product. **The product is licensed to be installed on three personal computers or other devices in your household for non commercial use by people who reside in your household**. If you do not accept the terms of the License Agreement, you should promptly return the product for a refund. Bolding mine. I haven’t actually used the other 2 product keys and I’m not about to give them up over the internet but I just assumed all versions of Office for Mac had 3 product keys, no? Mine is the Student and Teacher edition (which I bought when I was a student for the record) so I suppose that matters. ---
**Author:** ![Marathon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Marathon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marathon)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/45 "2006-09-19T20:51:20Z")
[QUOTE=Ponder Stibbons] The checking against other machines on the network is new, though, and disturbing … who knows what else they might check for without your permission? [/QUOTE] My understanding is that MS isn’t checking out other machines on the network - they were probably tipped off by duplicate activation codes or something. I remember having to register my copy of Office in order for it to function, I think. I did it just by clicking a button or something, and the software contacted MS when I did so. If one did this twice for the same copy of Office, that’s how they’d know. I could be wrong about that, but in any case I don’t think MS is “spying” on personal networks, Airport or otherwise (regardless of how unsurprising such an action would be with regard to Microsoft). ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/46 "2006-09-19T20:51:36Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] [QUOTE=Greenback] Not sure if it has been mentioned but I think the license agreement says something about installing on multiple machines. [/QUOTE] Yes. Repeatedly. Starting with Post 3. Read the thread before responding; it’s not even that long of a thread. Not to bust your personal chops, but c’mon. [/QUOTE] I thought **Greenback** was being tongue-in-cheek. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/47 "2006-09-19T20:59:36Z")
Small print? I can’t cite evidence that he even read the Large print. He be “Blind Ben Gunn”…Arrrr…! “Blind Ben”, who lost his sight checking a canon with a slow fuse in battle. Not much of a reader, that “Blind Ben”…Arrrrrr…! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/48 "2006-09-19T21:08:21Z")
[QUOTE=Absolute] One license of Office, at most, allows you to run it on one computer at a time. [/QUOTE] At most, one computer. Occasionally fewer. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/49 "2006-09-19T21:08:40Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] So my mom comes over to work on a project we’re doing, and we’re both using the same AirPort for internet. Meanwhile, I’m using Excel and she tries to boot up Word. And gets a _ **fucking piece of shit error message** saying “Too many computers are using this copy of Office. Word will now shut down.”_ !!! [/QUOTE] The Pirate Edition of Office not only shuts down Word, it shuts down Excel and then posts the following: _Arrrgh! Prepare to be boarded. Pirates will reformat your hard disks in 5 seconds. Press any key to continue._ [QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Is there anything I can do about this besides paying the assbastards another exorbitant license fee? [/QUOTE] Sure. Make your mother buy her own software! ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/50 "2006-09-19T21:53:41Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] Yes. Repeatedly. Starting with Post 3. Read the thread before responding; it’s not even that long of a thread. Not to bust your personal chops, but c’mon. [/QUOTE] Here’s a brush. That lowflying WHOOSH really messed up your hair. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/51 "2006-09-19T22:00:43Z")
[QUOTE=drm] Mine is the Student and Teacher edition (which I bought when I was a student for the record) so I suppose that matters. [/QUOTE] Yep. 3 product keys are Student Teacher Edition only. > [@](#): > > Most of you seem to be highly intelligent, articulate drones. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/52 "2006-09-19T22:10:24Z")
OK, OK. Dealing with all you well-scrubbed information technologists is driving me nuts (and I’m _not_ talking pirate talk when I say that). I’ll use some other word processor next time I have to network with my ma. I’ve spent my last dime on Micropenis product anyway. _AND THAT INCLUDES THE ASSGOBBLIN’ LICENSE FEES,_ which I have no intention of ever incurring liability for again. Aaaaand I’m going to ask all my buds to give back my free CD burns of long-out-of-print 78s, too. If BMG/Sony wanted people to hear that stuff, it’d all be on sale in shrinkwrap at Virgin Megastore. Right? _Riiight???_ ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/53 "2006-09-19T22:13:03Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Jesus. I really _have_ awakened the drones here. [/QUOTE] I’m not a drone. I just like to point and laugh at idiots. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/54 "2006-09-19T22:16:48Z")
I’m actually not an idiot. But I play one on the Dope. Usually when The Man pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![Greenback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/2bfe46/32.png) [@Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/55 "2006-09-19T22:18:18Z")
[QUOTE=Smeghead] Here’s a brush. That lowflying WHOOSH really messed up your hair. [/QUOTE] Thank you. I didn’t think someone would miss that. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/56 "2006-09-19T22:30:40Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] OK, OK. Dealing with all you well-scrubbed information technologists is driving me nuts (and I’m _not_ talking pirate talk when I say that). I’ll use some other word processor next time I have to network with my ma. I’ve spent my last dime on Micropenis product anyway. _AND THAT INCLUDES THE ASSGOBBLIN’ LICENSE FEES,_ which I have no intention of ever incurring liability for again. Aaaaand I’m going to ask all my buds to give back my free CD burns of long-out-of-print 78s, too. If BMG/Sony wanted people to hear that stuff, it’d all be on sale in shrinkwrap at Virgin Megastore. Right? _Riiight???_ [/QUOTE] Yeah, because there’s no qualitative difference between sharing a few long-lost tunes and making unauthorized copies of a current software package that retails for four hundred bucks, from a software company that’s a founding member of the BSA. If you had any balls at all, you wouldn’t have bought it in the first place. Sucker. Then again, you’re a Mac user. You should be used to being ripped off. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/57 "2006-09-19T22:53:19Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > Yep. 3 product keys are Student Teacher Edition only. Interesting…thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/58 "2006-09-19T23:06:24Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] I’m actually not an idiot. But I play one on the Dope. Usually when The Man pisses me off. [/QUOTE] Fair enough. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/59 "2006-09-19T23:32:20Z")
Doug, you and your mom are mere human beings. You should know that your interests are as nothing to the might and power of Microsoft. It’s a big important corporation – that’s why it writes the user agreements, not you. You have no right to complain about anything, as the “drones” here have informed you. You have the right to remain silent, and that’s about it, where big important corporations are concerned. Remember: business before people, always. It’s the American way. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/60 "2006-09-20T00:13:51Z")
[QUOTE=black rabbit] Then again, you’re a Mac user. You should be used to being ripped off. [/QUOTE] Hey, look, an ignorant jackass PC user showed up to spout off “I paid less for my piece of crap, virus-loaded, spyware-sucking, bluescreen of death computer but will be paying far more than what I saved in aggrevation, grief and taxes on stupid people, so I am jealous of Mac owners for not having to deal with that and will ridicule what I am too stupid to understand” bullshit, surprise surprise. It’s not like you don;t see that on every messageboard for idiots out there. Too bad this one is supposed to be fighting ignorance, not bragging about living in it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290.md?page=4)