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From: sdo@celerity.UUCP (Steve Oualline)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: Microsoft Access trashes disk
Message-ID: <356@celerity.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-Oct-85 14:35:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: celerity.356
Posted: Wed Oct  2 14:35:05 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 6-Oct-85 14:50:50 EDT
References: <53400078@trsvax>
Reply-To: sdo@celerity.UUCP (Steve Oualline)
Organization: Celerity Computing, San Diego, Ca.
Lines: 53

In article <53400078@trsvax> gm@trsvax writes:
>
>     What do you do when your program summarily announces that it is "Trashing
>Program Disk"? It happened to us while we were reviewing Microsoft Access--a 
>new telecommunication program. We had diligently performed the hard-disk
>installation and had successfully run the program a dozen or more times.
>Suddenly we were assaulted with an error message that struck fear into our
>hearts:
>
>			Internal Security Violation
>		    The tree of evil bears bitter fruit
>			     Crime does not pay
>			      The Shadow knows
>
>     And finally the punchline: "Trashing Program Disk." 

If this happened to me I would write the following letter to Microsoft:


Dear Microsoft,

	I was running a legal copy of Microsfot Access when it displayed the 
message "Trashing Program Disk".   The program disk I was using was my 40 meg
hard disk.  I examined the disk and it looked like all my programs and 
data were intact.  However I could not be sure that your program did
not trash any of the program or data files by modifing them is a subtle way.

	I had to re-install all the programs that were on my hard disk to
insure that they were ok.  I also had to examine all my data files to make
sure that your program did not trash them.  This process took 5 hours of
my time.

	Your neglience in allowing such a program to exist and the malicious
error message that resulted cost me 5 hours of time.  My time is worth
$25.00 an hour, so you owe me $125.00.

	If I do not receive a check within two weeks I will turn this
matter over to the courts.



					Sincerely


						Joe User

---------------------------------
If they did not respond within 2 weeks, I would file suit in small claims
court.  

Software manufactures should never install malicious copy protection in 
their software.  We as users must take strong action against this type
of programming.