Microsoft license survey
Hi, a while ago I've got an e-mail asking me to fill out a report about IT assets. They claim to work for Microsoft, that Microsoft has the right to ask for this information and I have to do it. Well, they also sent me a list of licenses purchases by my company in 2002 (25 Client Access Licenses for Windows 2000 and 3 Windows Server 2000 licenses). I have no records about these purchases, however, clearly I do not use any of this outdated software anymore. I told them so but they keep nagging. We use Windows desktops and have the licenses, as well as all software properly activated. Am I obliged to send a report about software used today? It is the first time in nearly 20 sys-admin years that I am asked to do it. Regards Peter
Petros wrote:
a while ago I've got an e-mail asking me to fill out a report about IT assets. They claim to work for Microsoft, that Microsoft has the right to ask for this information and I have to do it.
I wouldn't be sending them anything until they can authenticate and authorize themselves as acting on MS's behalf.
On Thu, May 09, 2013 at 04:23:07PM +1000, Trent W. Buck wrote:
Petros wrote:
a while ago I've got an e-mail asking me to fill out a report about IT assets. They claim to work for Microsoft, that Microsoft has the right to ask for this information and I have to do it.
I wouldn't be sending them anything until they can authenticate and authorize themselves as acting on MS's behalf.
me either. they're right about one thing - they do have the right to ask for the information. as a general rule, it's no crime to ask for information. whether they have the right to demand, or whether you have any obligation to answer is another matter entirely. without further details, it's impossible to say for sure. i'd guess not but take note that Microsoft and their front organisations like the BSA have been known to get special privileges (up to and including armed police-backed raids) when it comes to software license audits. i wouldn't be asking them to authenticate themselves, either. or respond to them directly. i'd be referring the whole thing to management who will likely refer it your company's lawyer (who will probably tell you that it was a mistake for you to reply to them at all). as sysadmin, it's not your responsibility to respond to every demand and request that comes along (you'd be vulnerable to social engineering attacks if you did). your responsibility is to refer such matters to management, to provide technical advice to them as required, and to follow any lawful instruction. that last bit about lawful instruction is important. if your boss tells you to, e.g., breach privacy law and give out customer details without a court order or otherwise contrary to what is allowed by privacy legislation, then you have a duty to refuse. you can be held liable for obeying illegal instructions. (and if they insist that you do it and that it's legal but you're unsure about the legality, ask them to put it in writing, preferably in the form of direct instruction including legal advice from a lawyer - even dodgy lawyers are averse to putting their name on written instructions to break the law. if you're still unsure, consult your own lawyer - your employer's lawyer works for them, not for you) NOTE: i am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. if you want something resembling actual legal advice, then consult a laywer. craig -- craig sanders <cas@taz.net.au>
Craig Sanders <cas@taz.net.au> wrote:
they're right about one thing - they do have the right to ask for the information. as a general rule, it's no crime to ask for information.
whether they have the right to demand, or whether you have any obligation to answer is another matter entirely.
Indeed it is, and if you want an informed answer to that question you'll need to consult a lawyer. It's possible that a licence could require you to disclose this kind of information to an authorized representative of the licencor, but this would have to be provided for in the terms of the licence. You would have to read carefully to find out. The last time I bought software from Microsoft was probably DOS back in the early 90s. I've bought a few machines since then with Windows pre-installed, but they all had the Windows partitions deleted and Linux installed immediately upon purchase, and I'm reasonably sure that destroying the software terminates any obligations under the licence.
Craig Sanders wrote:
On Thu, May 09, 2013 at 04:23:07PM +1000, Trent W. Buck wrote:
Petros wrote:
a while ago I've got an e-mail asking me to fill out a report about IT assets. They claim to work for Microsoft, that Microsoft has the right to ask for this information and I have to do it. I wouldn't be sending them anything until they can authenticate and authorize themselves as acting on MS's behalf. me either.
they're right about one thing - they do have the right to ask for the information. as a general rule, it's no crime to ask for information.
whether they have the right to demand, or whether you have any obligation to answer is another matter entirely.
without further details, it's impossible to say for sure.
I suppose what interests me is the 'legal status ' of a software licence. As an 'aspiring' inventor I am all to aware that plagiarizing a patent is not illegal; I have to take civil action against the offending party. Whereas I believe in Victoria plagiarizing a copyrighted publication is a criminal act; so if I was an author seeking legal compensation the first thing I would do would be to complain to the police; because a successful criminal prosecution would make an ensuing civil action much easier. In Victoria; is possessing and or using software without the requisite 'software licence' a criminal offense or merely grounds for a civil action a-la patents ? regards Rohan McLeod
On 09/05/13 16:23, Trent W. Buck wrote:
Petros wrote:
a while ago I've got an e-mail asking me to fill out a report about IT assets. They claim to work for Microsoft, that Microsoft has the right to ask for this information and I have to do it. I wouldn't be sending them anything until they can authenticate and authorize themselves as acting on MS's behalf.
_______________________________________________ luv-talk mailing list luv-talk@lists.luv.asn.au http://lists.luv.asn.au/listinfo/luv-talk I am sure its a fake/scam survey .. I have received it before, and it was clearly a scam to me. I don't remember the exact reason why I concluded it was a scam. As far as I remember there was a piece of information in it supposedly relating to me which was completely false and there is NO way it could have genuinely related to me.
So IT IS FAKE. Cheers Daniel.
On 9/05/2013 3:59 PM, Petros wrote:
Hi,
a while ago I've got an e-mail asking me to fill out a report about IT assets. They claim to work for Microsoft, that Microsoft has the right to ask for this information and I have to do it.
Well, they also sent me a list of licenses purchases by my company in 2002 (25 Client Access Licenses for Windows 2000 and 3 Windows Server 2000 licenses).
I have no records about these purchases, however, clearly I do not use any of this outdated software anymore.
I told them so but they keep nagging.
We use Windows desktops and have the licenses, as well as all software properly activated.
Am I obliged to send a report about software used today?
It is the first time in nearly 20 sys-admin years that I am asked to do it.
Regards Peter
_______________________________________________ luv-talk mailing list luv-talk@lists.luv.asn.au http://lists.luv.asn.au/listinfo/luv-talk Hi Peter,
We have a number of customers that have received these. Probably legit - all the ones we've seen have been. IANAL but failing to comply doesn't appear to be an easy option. Good thing you have nothing better to do with you time really! ;-) Brian
On Thu, 9 May 2013, Petros <Petros.Listig@fdrive.com.au> wrote:
a while ago I've got an e-mail asking me to fill out a report about IT assets. They claim to work for Microsoft, that Microsoft has the right to ask for this information and I have to do it.
Well, they also sent me a list of licenses purchases by my company in 2002 (25 Client Access Licenses for Windows 2000 and 3 Windows Server 2000 licenses).
Don't volunteer anything. They want to find instances of your company failing to comply with license agreements and make you pay for it all with penalties. If you volunteer to have them assist you in verifying license compliance then your company could end up like Ernie Ball. Escalate it to management and legal. Do nothing without written instructions from your management, the end result is likely to be unpleasant and someone will be blamed. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/
participants (8)
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Brian Parish -
Craig Sanders -
Daniel Jitnah -
Jason White -
Petros -
Rohan McLeod -
Russell Coker -
Trent W. Buck