June, 28 2004

This morning I came across an example of a fake Windows error message advertisement. The web being the shady place it is, I wouldn't have blinked, except that (a) the advertisement was on the site of a respected newspaper, The Sydney Morning Herald and (b) it was advertising a Microsoft web site. Microsoft. Really.

Not only does the advertisement use Windows 2000-like icon sand colours, it also appears approximately in the center of the screen, where you would expect to see a genuine pop up box. (Screenshot, 102k gif, colours aren't great).

The advertisement claims that my computer has an unfixable virus, and - by hijacking Windows UI conventions, begs me to click the OK button. Of course, the advertisement has no way of knowing whether my computer has a virus, and the OK button is not what it appears to be.

It is the moral equivalent of sending someone a letter notifying them, "your bank has foreclosed your mortgage, ring this number to find out more."

I used to think Microsoft treated customers and potential customers with some amount of respect, but this shows that they do not. Using lies in advertising is not OK. Microsoft has dived sharply in my estimation.

So I dashed off a bleary-eyed, half-cogent note (it was early) on the Herald website's feedback form. Lee Stephens - Director of News and Finance, F2 Network - wrote back within a few hours to say that he did consider it a problem, that and would see if he could track it down.

When I hear more from the Herald, I'll let you all know. Meanwhile, the advertisement appears to have been pulled from the rotation.