Keith Devens .com

Eh, a verification app could be faked too, as Microsoft couldn't enforce that the verifier was actually downloaded from them and valid.

Well, they were limiting downloads per day because the file was so big. If they were to offer a tiny validator they could offer unlimited downloads of that. If you didn't download the validator from Microsoft, you should have. Or, on the other hand, all it would take would be to list the MD5 or SHA hash of the file. Most people who're savvy enough to download a Windows service pack not through Windows update but over Bittorrent would probably know enough to be able to verify that.

Or heck, Microsoft should open their own Bittorrent tracker. The point is, rather than saying "Hey, you downloaders should be careful becaues you can't be sure the file is the one we offered", they went and threatened legal action for piracy! Though, you could make an argument that they have to do that because otherwise they may have to support people who screwed up their computers by downloading service packs that have been messed with.

In any case, I definitely don't get the sense that they're acting out of concern for customers, which was my point.