Before buying Office X question...

[ksignorini]

I have heard that Office X sends some data over port 2222 and some port in the 3xxx range for piracy checking (I've read about how it works so no need to explain) and I'm concerned about my privacy.

I've read that it transmits to other Office copies running on a single subnet, but what I haven't got a clear answer on is: does it send anything to Microsoft? I've also heard that it pings Microsoft on startup (to check for a net connection?) but again, does it SEND anything to Microsoft?

Is there a clear YES or NO to whether or not anything gets sent to Microsoft by Office? I would hate to buy it and then be worried every time I use it that someone is watching over my shoulder.

Thanks,
Kent!

[Scottish]

If you buy it legally, what's the problem?

Scottish

[karavite]

I have a legit copy of Office X, though I got it a student discount - $47 (what it shuld cost for everyone for crying out loud). Although this isn't really appropriate for this forum, I know plenty of people who have copies of Office X (thought not MINE!) and they are still walking in the sunshine, so you should be fine.

[ksignorini]

The problem is that if one piece of info can be sent by the app to an external site (which I've now been assured it isn't) who's to say that anything off the machine can't be?

Isn't that what makes spyware so bad? The not know what it's sending out?

I just don't want to think of Office as spyware, I guess. I'm glad it isn't.

Kent!

[symphonix]

Enter these two lines in the terminal. They'll configure the firewall to block access to the two ports MS Office v.X uses to send its info.

sudo ipfw add 0 deny udp from any to any 2222
sudo ipfw add 0 deny tcp from any to any 3464

[symphonix]

Ooops! I've just run word and done a port-scan on myself, and it seems that the updated version of office has moved its port to 3107. You'll want to deny that one too.

I own a perfectly legitimate copy of office which I paid for (even at student prices I think its a rip-off, but I use it, so I paid for it). I am not a pirate, I'm just one of those paranoid people who uses PGP on my email and blocks all my cookies: I don't want to be a "target audience" for some marketing ploy.

So add:

sudo ipfw add 0 deny udp from any to any 3107

[GrBear]

Personally, I just bought Appleworks, which so far has been excellent at reading and writing Word .doc files.

I'd rather have my eyes gouged out with a red hot spoon, than to give Microsoft what they want for the retail version.

It's bad enough that I have to admin their crap at the office, I don't need to give myself stress on my system at home.

At home, I'm 100% Microsoft free, and proud of it!

[karavite]

GrBear - I envy you. I gave away my dick for Appleworks when I sold an iMac a few years ago - it was horrible on 9.0 or 1 (crashed constantly) and I regret not having that for an upgrade to X. ClarisWorks was an awesome program and I think the best "office suite" around. Instead of 4 awful applications that are anything but "seamlessly intergrated" (what an overused term) ClarisWorks (and AppleWorks) allow you to put text, paint, draw, spreadheet or database "objects" in any document. I think it is so slick how when you click on an object, you get its corresponding toolbars and menus. Office completely blows when you try and merge document types - it is still a joke on Windows or Office X. Word has its own tables while Excel is something else... and don't even get me started on sharing files or images across Visio and Office on the PC.