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Seattle - Microsoft is abandoning a so-called "kill switch" in its Vista operating system that was designed to hobble pirated versions of the top-selling software, the company said Tuesday.
The world's largest software company disabled the feature after legitimate users complained that frequent glitches restricted use of legal copies of the operating system.
The kill switch worked by forcing users of Vista to validate their copies when a software update was needed. If the copy could not be validated, the kill switch would block all but the most basic features needed to run a computer.
Under its new strategy Microsoft will continue check validation of Vista, but instead of hobbling suspected pirated versions, the company will now bombard users with pop-up notices urging them to get a legal copy.
"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," Microsoft vice president Mike Sievert, said in a statement.
"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."
Microsoft said the previous system had been successful in reducing the number of fake copies of Vista to half the level of XP, the previous Windows operating system.
The change will take effect with the release of Service Pack 1, a major update to Windows Vista. Microsoft said it had pursued legal action against more than 1 000 dealers of counterfeit Microsoft products in the last year and taken down more than 50 000 "illegal and improper" online software auctions.
The new system will come into effect with the release of the wide-ranging Vista update in the first quarter of 2008, the Microsoft said.
- Sapa-dpa