MSFT Leak Day: Office 2010, Halo: ODST

News
By Kevin Parrish
published

The latest build of Office 2010 and Halo: ODST is now hitting the pirate scene. Arg!

Apparently, Microsoft is in dire need of better security, as two unreleased products are now making rounds on the Internet. On today's menu, anxious pirates have prepared a tasty two-course meal for gamers and professionals alike: Halo 3: ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers) for the Xbox 360, and a recent build of Office 2010. Softpedia is reporting that Microsoft is investigating the Halo leak, however the company stated that the leak was rather small, limited only to France... for now.

"We are investigating a very small breach in our distribution process around the early delivery of 'Halo 3: ODST' units," Microsoft said. "We are also investigating Xbox Live accounts that show activity related to Halo 3: ODST and will take action against those we believe have procured copies of the game illegitimately.” Additional reports indicate that more than 100 copies were leaked, and that gamers playing Halo: ODST will not be banned from Xbox LIVE. Still, expect the game to hit the torrent scene soon.

Softpedia is also reporting that Office 2010 build 14.0.4417.1000 Beta 1 (32-bit and 64-bit) has also illegally gone public, available at "third party sources" according to the website. As the name points out, this build is also labeled as a Beta release rather than a technical preview as seen back in July. This version supposedly offers a few new changes in comparison to the previous build (14.0.4302.1000).

The TechnoPath offers a few screenshots that shows an enhanced Back-Stage. There's also a new Upload Center to store and share your documents online. Additionally, the Activation system has been improved, and there are newer icons for all the Applications.

Kevin Parrish
8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • apmyhr
    I don't think the Office leak is a bad thing for Microsoft, especially considering its just a leak of the beta. Professional users will never use pirated software in their business environment. If anything, this just gives Pros a chance to try out the software at home, get to know and like the new features, and then beg their IT departments to upgrade.
    Reply
  • Pei-chen
    I don't understand why software pirates want to attract more attention to themselves. Wouldn't releasing the software after retail cover their ass better and still achieve the same objective? Just look at Somali pirates; they are being hunted because they attacked a high profile target.
    Reply
  • darkxuy
    Softpedia is reporting that Microsoft is investigating the Halo leak

    Yep, they don't care about Office leaks. This follows the Microsoft line of thinking "if a software has to be leaked, it better be ours"
    Reply
  • JohnnyLucky
    Office 2010? We're still using Office 2003!!!
    Reply
  • BIG BROTHER SEES EVERYTHING!!! 0_0
    Reply
  • coonday
    What is with France and leaking the Halo franchise? Remeber when the Halo 2 campaign was leaked but the entire thing was in French?
    Reply
  • brokenticker
    Funny.....My local Wal-Mart has an ad poster at the front door advertising a release date of Sept 22 for Halo ODST. And then of course there's here. http://halo.xbox.com/ so how is this considered a leak?
    Reply
  • Broken, they sold the game early, August 22nd, mis-reading the proper date on the packages, and before being able to pull it off the shelves they had already sold over 100 copies of the game, then piraters ripped it and slapped it on a torrent. Hence the leak
    Reply