User:Emprovision/Sandbox 1
Emprovision (formerly known as EMPROvision) is a failed product-advertisement campaign and accompanying software suite that was secretly produced by Microsoft in 1994.
Beginnings[edit]
In 1994, Bill Gates noticed that while the Windows operating system was advancing greatly, along with Microsoft’s Office suite, he knew that a well-timed response from another company could begin the fall of Microsoft. In order to ensure this did not happen, he created a top-secret operation known as Microsoft Office and Windows Advancement System, or Operation: MOWPAS. This advertising operation used many different mediums of convincing computer users to use their product, including subliminal messaging, smear campaigning, and viruses that spread to non-Microsoft programs. However, a bill that had been being pushed for several months finally was finally passed by Congress. This bill allowed the FBI to research company operations with more ease. Out of fear being caught, Bill Gates discontinued the program and removed all traces of its existence.
Second Forming[edit]
After Windows 2000 was released, Bill Gates noticed that Apple’s Mac computers were gaining a position in computing. Still worried about a possible overthrow of Microsoft, Bill decided to reform Operation: MOWPAS; however, he chose to do it with a more legal manner. Also, he released small details about the project (“a marketing device”, “customer-oriented field tactic”). The new project was named EMPROvision (Electronic Marketing Program Research Operation). The ‘vision’ was added to denote that the project was a beta, and was expecting future results (within their ‘vision’ of the future). However, the leaking of EMPROvision information could damage Microsoft publicity, so Gates hand-picked each of the members of the project team, which was composed of about 50 employees. To lead the project, he chose Dave Cutler, due to his dislike and avoidance of publicity and media. To offset the questions of Cutler’s whereabouts, he released rumors that Cutler was working at the Windows Azure project.
EMPROvision began with several Microsoft ad campaigns, along with automated marketing programs (AMPs). One such AMP used website generators and search bots to alter Google PageRank results to profit Microsoft. Another was a spambot, which used language filters and generators, along IP Address anonymizers to post topics that advertised Microsoft on many internet forums in a realistic manner. Forums sponsored by sites such as InvisionFree and ZetaBoards were attacked heavily.
Cancellation and Attempted Retiring[edit]
When production began on Windows Vista, Gates decided to transfer many of the employees working on EMPROvision to Vista. Unfortunately, EMPROvision, which was already undersized and received little attention or funding (due to the secrecy), could not sustain itself after the downsizing. Serious bugs in the AMP programming were left unfixed, and in July 2007, Gates decided to formally cancel EMPROvision. Since curiosity around the EMPROvision project could not be dispelled, Gates released documents giving a vague outline of EMPROvision’s work and cancellation. In these documents, Gates referred to the project as Emprovision, which led to the popular spelling used today. Several of the members that worked on Emprovision were called back to the project for a short time to cancel and remove any trace of it completely, just like its predecessor, Operation: MOWPAS. Unfortunately, due to unfixed bugs in the programming, a lacking of members working on it (secrecy was still to be sustained), and because the programmers had expected to ever need to cancel it, Emprovision had spread too much to be removed. Its widespread effects could not be tracked, so the programmers decided the only way to even possibly remove them was to spread a worm across major servers that would render the affected computers immune to Emprovision. The worm, codenamed, PRINCE (Program to Remove and Independently Control Emprovision) failed completely, due to a huge bug. After all information on the project was deleted from Microsoft hard drives, Gates decided to forget removing Emprovision from the rest of the Internet, hoping that home antivirus software would slowly destroy it. To ensure its future destruction, Microsoft added it into its Windows Live OneCare utility’s definitions.
However, evading antivirus programs seemed to be one of its few strong points and is known to still be spamming on various online sites, having moved from just forums to also attacking site such as YouTube, deviantART, Cnet, and Windows Live. There are also suspicions that a former Emprovision programmer left a backdoor in the virus, and that he has been controlling its programming since.
References[edit]
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