Is it legal? Windows 10 or 11 as a server
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Use case:
Small veterinary office with less than 10 computers, about 7 employees.Software is AVImark. A veterinary records managment program. It requires a shared network path and also to run Guardian (a service that runs on the server in order to make the program work.).
Is Windows 10 / 11 legal to use as a server in this case? (The software vendor AVImark) says it is.
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@CCWTech said in Is it legal? Windows 10 or 11 as a server:
A veterinary records managment program. It requires a shared network path and also to run Guardian (a service that runs on the server in order to make the program work.).
If it was only the network path it would be okay. Mapped drives are allowed in limited amounts from Windows desktop operating systems. But any use of a network service that talks over the network or that is used by more than one person at a time requires a Windows Server license to be used.
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@CCWTech said in Is it legal? Windows 10 or 11 as a server:
(The software vendor AVImark) says it is.
Do they say that the license allows that in the US? Or do they only answer on a technical level?
If they make the claim that the Microsoft license is wrong, in theory they could be prosecuted. But if they only recommend the use or answer that technically it works, they aren't answering quite what needs to be asked.
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Windows licensing uses "duck rules" meaning... if it looks like a duck and acts like a duck, it's a duck. If it looks like a server or acts like a server, it's a server.
If anyone refers to the Avimark installation as a server, that pretty much answers it.
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@CCWTech said in Is it legal? Windows 10 or 11 as a server:
Use case:
Small veterinary office with less than 10 computers, about 7 employees.Software is AVImark. A veterinary records managment program. It requires a shared network path and also to run Guardian (a service that runs on the server in order to make the program work.).
Is Windows 10 / 11 legal to use as a server in this case? (The software vendor AVImark) says it is.
No, you cannot. AVImark is incorrect.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/UseTerms/Retail/Windows/11/UseTerms_Retail_Windows_11_English.htm
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@Obsolesce Yeah, it's pretty clear to us. We shared a link to this post with the client so hopefully he sees this. We shared the same info with him but he keeps trying to interperet it in a way that supports his opinion, even though it's extreemly clearly written.
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@CCWTech said in Is it legal? Windows 10 or 11 as a server:
@Obsolesce Yeah, it's pretty clear to us. We shared a link to this post with the client so hopefully he sees this. We shared the same info with him but he keeps trying to interperet it in a way that supports his opinion, even though it's extreemly clearly written.
FFS this is not new. Tell your "client" that you will be happy to report them to Microsoft.
I put client in quotes because they are acting as their own IT. Why are they bothering to hire you.
Report them to the BSA
https://reporting.bsa.org/r/report/add.aspx?src=us&ln=en-us -
@JaredBusch said in Is it legal? Windows 10 or 11 as a server:
@CCWTech said in Is it legal? Windows 10 or 11 as a server:
@Obsolesce Yeah, it's pretty clear to us. We shared a link to this post with the client so hopefully he sees this. We shared the same info with him but he keeps trying to interperet it in a way that supports his opinion, even though it's extreemly clearly written.
FFS this is not new. Tell your "client" that you will be happy to report them to Microsoft.
I put client in quotes because they are acting as their own IT. Why are they bothering to hire you.
Report them to the BSA
https://reporting.bsa.org/r/report/add.aspx?src=us&ln=en-usBSA (from what I can see, doesn't cover Microsoft) but Microsoft has their direct reporting method.
But yes, he's become so toxic that we just can't deal with him as a 'client'. Way to many good clients out there to worry about instead of him.
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@JaredBusch said in Is it legal? Windows 10 or 11 as a server:
Tell your "client" that you will be happy to report them to Microsoft.
WTF?
Why would anyone "be happy to report client" to any other vendor (here Microsoft) for violating any agreements between you customer and other vendor?EDIT: I am not saying that you should not refuse to work with such client, but "reporting" them?!?
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@Mario-Jakovina said in Is it legal? Windows 10 or 11 as a server:
@JaredBusch said in Is it legal? Windows 10 or 11 as a server:
Tell your "client" that you will be happy to report them to Microsoft.
WTF?
Why would anyone "be happy to report client" to any other vendor (here Microsoft) for violating any agreements between you customer and other vendor?EDIT: I am not saying that you should not refuse to work with such client, but "reporting" them?!?
You are saying you'd happily ignore someone stealing from someone else? What if you saw someone steal a lady's handbag on the street, you'd not report it? Sure, you'd not assist in stealing it, but you wouldn't tell anyone?
Also, for most MSPs, they are partners with Microsoft and don't just have the obvious ethical obligation to report, but in many cases actually have a legal obligation to report.
And keep in mind, it isn't just stealing from the software vendor (although that has to be enough), it universally results in stealing from IT because they end up hiring crooks to assist them in stealing the products and don't pay IT professionals since no real professional is going to participate in the theft.
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As someone who has been told straight up that we'd not be given work because another "MSP" was offering to steal software for them, I can tell you that it is not okay in any sense to just "look the other way" when people are being outright criminals. This isn't an accident, or a grey area. This is just stealing no different than swiping your phone off of a table while you are looking the other way.
‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.'
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@JaredBusch said in Is it legal? Windows 10 or 11 as a server:
I put client in quotes because they are acting as their own IT. Why are they bothering to hire you.
Right, in this example, this isn't an IT relationship. It's a store relationship. @CCWTech is a legal representative of Microsoft in this case and the client literally told @CCWTech (and asked them to repeat it on to Microsoft) that they wanted to not pay because they intended to pirate the software instead.
In this case, the theft is not only from Microsoft, but from @CCWTech as well. Both have financial damages to claim from the theft. And the "client" actually stated TO THE VENDOR their intent was to pirate the software.
So it's not actually about reporting to Microsoft, it's only about filling out the official and required documentation internally.
Not doing so would actually be actively covering up an act that the client themselves reported.
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@Mario-Jakovina said in Is it legal? Windows 10 or 11 as a server:
Why would anyone "be happy to report client" to any other vendor (here Microsoft) for violating any agreements between you customer and other vendor?
That's not what is being reported. The thing being discussed is violating the contract between the client and the vendor, for which @CCWTech is a legal representative. This is a business partner relationship and not reporting it would be a violation of the partnership.
Think of it like if you and a friend opened a cafe together. You own 90%, your partner owns 10%. A thief steals from you but only your partner witnesses it. They steal enough to qualify as grand theft (this isn't a petty situation like a candy bar or a coffee, this is more like someone stealing the espresso machine) and your partner knows about it. Would you be okay with your partner not telling you and not informing the accountants to write off the loss? Of course not, he'd be helping steal if he did. He has a business responsibility legally and ethically. You don't have to prosecute the thief if you decide not to, but you have a legal right to know that it happened and your accounting team needs that information for tax reasons and other data analytics.
