Microsoft TechNet Cyberdouchery

A link made the rounds recently for a publicly available site wherein a person could sign up for a free version of Microsoft TechNet. As was my suspicion, it was too good to be true.

Fine, I’ll live.

That page is now offline of course…

The part that pisses me off is this email from “[REDACTED] Inc.”

Dear Dave,

Microsoft contracted with us, [REDACTED], Inc, to conduct the TechNet Plus Pilot Study program research and manage the activities of the pilot study. Our records show that you have recently signed up for a free TechNet Plus subscription through a registration link that was made available without authorization on a public blog.

The registration link is part of a proprietary study and the party that shared the information was in violation of the terms and conditions to which they agreed to participate in the study. Membership to the Pilot study is limited and all members of the program are required to first meet survey requirements and then complete tasks and assignments over a two month period in order to qualify for and have access to the free TechNet Plus subscription. Since this was a privately conducted pilot study, at no time was it ever intended that a free TechNet Plus registration link would appear on a public internet site, which was done in violation of the terms to which participants agreed upon registering to participate in the pilot study.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience, but for this reason, we have deactivated your subscription, as well as all other subscriptions resulting from the unauthorized publication of the TechNet Plus Pilot Study program registration link on a public blog. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience.

Kind regards,

The [REDACTED] Team

If you are interested in a TechNet Plus subscription, please follow the link to purchase: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/renew.aspx

This e-mail and all files transmitted within are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Please do not reproduce, print or forward any material received unless granted express permission by the sender. Thank you, [REDACTED], Inc.

The research and communications administered by [REDACTED], Inc is conducted according to the highest standards of the Market Research Society’s code of conduct. Your information will not be shared with any third party for any reason.

Microsoft is committed to protecting your privacy and has commissioned [REDACTED] and its partners (click here to read [REDACTED]’s privacy statement) to oversee the Survey and collect survey responses and communicate with interested respondents and individuals. Should you wish to no longer receive e-mails from [REDACTED], please send an e-mail to [REDACTED] with the word “remove” in the subject line.

Please notify us if you are receiving this message in error at [REDACTED] and delete all contents of this email.

Review Microsoft’s Privacy Statement here.

address removed

Blow me.

If you make something publicly available with no description attached you get what you deserve. There was no authorization required to access the sign up page. No controls were bypassed. “Private”? Someone should have their head examined. And no, I’m not bound by your email footer.

So, due to [REDACTED]’s fuck up, all the people who signed up for the “free” TechNet are out in the cold.

Hey Microsoft. You might want to consider getting a refund.