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Windows Key Leak Threatens Mass Piracy
lou_soyur writes "A key code for installing Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 has leaked onto the Internet. Rampant piracy sure to follow fears Microsoft, so it's a safe assumption that their lawyers "would scour the Internet looking for the leaked code". The joy of closed source security at work."
I don't think leaks have anything to do with whether it is open or closed.
There are probably ten or fifteen leaked keys by now. Finding Windows keys isn't difficult, and never has been. Why is this news?
what's windows? i've never seen a window with a keyed locked.
Of course the key was going to be leaked- it was only a matter of time. It's the same way with all key based systems. Microsoft will still make just as much money as ever. (Keys were leaked all the time before product activation anyway) the poster spins this as though this is going to cause mass hysteria and pandemonium. What is meant by "closed source security"? An open source security program would be exceptionally easy to bypass, I'd think, since you'd have direct access to any encryption mechanism used.
-Ryan
AUWYHSTOT (Acronyms are Useless When You Have to Spell Them Out Too)
Someone pirating a WINDOWS OS!?!?!?! But that's crazy.
barzelay.net
The apparent owner of the 'leaked' key has disappeared today. Microsoft states there is absolutely no connection between the 2 events...
-------
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
-- George Orwell
Anybody who needs to run this server edition of windows is going to pay for it and probably buy a support contract to boot. Joe Downloader who decides he wants to run Windows 2003 on his piddly two generation old machine just to show how cool he is would never ever pay for 2003 in the first place, he'd just stick with the XP Home edition that his machine came bundled with.
Mountains out of Molehills, or should that be mothballs in the case of a microsoft losing market dominance?
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
The parent was posted by ekrout a known troll. It's blatantly obvious that he's a troll especially because of the goatse.cx link in place of his e-mail address. Mod him down. Mod all his posts down. Stop ekrout before he ruins Slashdot.
But I also didn't warez it, or receive it as a gift. So how did I do it?
Credit card fraud. Money wants to be free.
The poster forgot to link to the leaked key. A fix would be appreciated.
Only a scurvy dog would run the likes of this barnacle cover OS, yar.
How many of you clicked the article link hoping it would give the key :-D
(From the article)
Those copies of the software installed using the leaked code "won't be able to install future updates or service packs of access Windows Update," the spokeswoman said.
"They're caught between a rock and a hard place," Cherry said.
It's funny.. she's basically saying "Yes, they can install the retail version BUT they are screwed when all of our security holes and bugs are found." She seems to imply that if you don't update Win2k3 (note this is stated before it is even released!) you are going to have a junky product. Funny stuff.. only Microsoft.
When I read this article, I tipped over backwards in my chair and fell onto the ground unceremoniously. In my mind I told myself over and over again that this couldn't be happening and my lips seemed to keep mouthing the single word: "Why?"
Locking all the windows in the house and the sliding doors with locks that require keys to open, is my token gesture at keeping my computer equipment in the house and burglars out.
I know it doesn't work always. And my contingency escape plan is throw chair through window in case of fire. Which will work unless I install security window tinting. In which case I may need a special ice pick to get out. Hmm, that might double as burglar repellant.
-- it must be true, it's on the internet.
"Windows Key Leak threatens mass piracy"
If I'm reading it correctly (2am w/o coffee) it seems that the subject of the sentence --Windows Key Leak-- is acting --threatens(threaten)-- on the predicate --mass piracy--.
If MS is worried about piracy, shouldn't they leak *more* codes?
$cat
Um, I guess no one here's heard of what MS did with XP SP1.. if you upgraded from XP, and were using a pirated corporate key, you were OK.. but if you tried to do a slipstreamed CD install (that is, with SP1 included on CD, a full install from that CD), you were SOL when you tried the old key. A Friend Of A Friend of mine had some trouble with that himself.. but luckily some smart person had apparently held back some of the corporate keys from wider release, fearing that this might happen, and released the new key as the SP1 key.
Thus, a single keycode getting out isn't THAT much of a piracy threat - it can easily be patched. Now, a KEYGEN, on the other hand...
I don't know anything about what this key looks like (I assume it's just a short string), but I wonder if it could be expressed as an image, song, sequence of DNA in the human genome, etc. as deCSS has been...
Illegal prime number, anyone?
In Soviet Russia, the internet leaks YOU!
Phew thanks Lou_Soyur iam glad such a popular user thought that Slashdot would like to know about this, iam sure we will have a meaningful and mature discussion about Windows Security and the merits of protecting software with serial numbers
once agan thanks for bringing this to our attention, iam sure this raises the bar on technical writing and iam glad someone is so concerned that they thought the need to inform us all about this unique and interesting development.
yours faithfully
A.Wanker (your brother)
why the fuck is this news, a 12 year old with his head on backwards can pirate anything he wants given about 5 minutes of looking.
usenet, irc, ftp.
glad to see slashdot turning into something that resembles a 'pc corner' type offering in a local newspaper. get a clue or give up on reporting.
You just use a hex editor on the install binary. It's the same as all their old products.
Security. huh.
I still don't want it!
A spare Red Hat 9 key?
I still believe if you have to use windows go with Windows 2000. I bought a copy years ago, never have to worry about Service Pack 1 slowing, or activation woes. I would have to say Windows XP just from the default look made me cringe. Look at the new Office Beta's lately?
"Microsoft is banking on the thrice-delayed operating system to increase its penetration into the enterprise. But the stolen codes show the difficulty the company faces in protecting its valuable intellectual property and potential sales from thieves."
So, out of all the pirating going on, do you think that even 1% of it is coming from enterprise customers? I seriously doubt it, and I am sure they do as well.
I think its a "scape goat" tactic to justify expected poor returns on their newest sinking flag ship product.
Bye!
...the terrorists win.
This message brought to you by your Attorney General's office.
K4RBR-F3K42-M9RXG-48TPR-H6BPB
cheers !
http://slashdot.org/~lou_soyur
with any luck they will go ahead and block that key code from upgrading to SP1, therefor saving us from the pesky memory leak that SP1 is bound to cause.
slashdot, news for crazed liberal socialist zealots
That's not as far fetched as it might seem. You know, when the Russians had their revolution almost thirty percent of the population was required for agriculture. Today, with the changes in technology it's less than a fraction of one percent of the population that actually works in agriculture.
How about this. Under the new regime, we will give higher bandwidth allocations to those who volunteer to operate agricultural machinery.
Are ya with me!
What does open vs. close source have to do with this? Lets say that the "security" key (PGP/GPG) used by the FreeBSD release engineers, or the debian team was leaked? That's "Open Source", and equally bad (perhaps worse). Its nice to see the open-source community using FUD to attack a product/company. Grow up people.
By distributing "leaked keys" MS assures itself of easy market penetration -- like when they gave their browser away...
Get enough people using the software, and you can call it a de facto standard...
We apologise for the fault in this post. Those responsible have been sacked. -- Signed RICHARD M. NIXON
JB88F-WT2Q3-DPXTT-Y8GHG-7YYQY
Does anyone know of a code to install WinXP such that it doesn't have to be authenticated? Does anyone know how to get around authentication?
respect the selfless guys who release these keys to the public in the first place !! They don't get recognition (anybody got the name of this benovelent hacker/poster?, they risk being sued, they spend a helluva lota time on this.. three cheers ;) ;) hmm , gotta get get back to my Red Hat 9 installation meanwhile
Anyhow, this is not good publicity to accompany the launch of such a major product, especially when its supposed to be a security enhancing product.. but then lots of their launches have had such glitches.... the win95 launch video has become a rage... where gates and his sidekick are demonstrating driver installation in front of a large audiance and the ever-so-popular blue death screen popped up.....
Windows 2000 has been one of Microsoft's best products so far... I hope 2003 Server is better, despite this inauspicious launch
|/________
|\A|ALYS|
C'mon...A friggin' press release about A SERIAL NUMBER? And what's with C-Net? Good Christ, this isn't news. It's about as shocking as me waking up in the morning and not getting a BJ while feasting on a nice and toasty Egg Mcmuffin. Working in anti-piracy field for years, I like to quote a VP of Marketing at one of the largest software companies in the world. And wha "Piracy? We Love Piracy. Hoe else would 12 year old kids know how to use our products...School?"
This is what became know as the Devil's Own key when XP came out. Same idea. You use the key, then you can't install service packs.
It's your own fault for installing it. Just because you can't afford books for school doesn't mean you're entitled to learn. Same thing goes for new operating systems! Fucking pirates!
At first, when I saw this, I chuckled. Then, I thought about all the times I've seen stories on /. about some company using GPL'ed code in their closed-source product. That pisses me off. Microsoft has decided that, if you want to use their software, you need to abide by their license agreement, which includes the stipulation that you pay for their software. If you don't want to pay for their code, then don't use their software. Myself, I'm a Linux and Mac user. I obviously don't pay for Linux, and I gladly pay for OS X when I buy a Mac from Apple. Power of choice, people, but you can't have it both ways. Either respect other people's licenses, or don't be surprised when they don't respect yours.
We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
One thing missing - what's the key?
Make even shorter URLs - 8LN.org
... "mass piracy" is the object of utility, not the object of a transitive "threatens."
This is why Latin is superior for mechanistic parsing, because it would be the "ablative of utility" (or maybe the dative). These would be different cases than the accusative, which is usually the case for objects of transitive verbs in the active voice in the dead language.
Nevertheless, English flows well in speech and written text more or less, and has become the lingua franca for the Internet Age. Interesting stuff.
Yeah, this post is offtopic, but so is the parent. And I didn't find it funny, either.
Wow, a Microsoft product being product being pirated??? Its unheard of...its its, a sin! Its illegal. Oh yea, and it happens all the time.
pirate name generator
I used to work for a microsoft help desk that was supplied with the corporate software disks known at the time as "select", we used to get four or more copies of everything in every langauge Microsoft could be bothered with, and not a single thing required us to enter the licence keys in. They were "pre-installed".
The weird thing? was that we were allowed to make "evaluation" copies of these disks and "support" copies of these disks to give to our clients and engineers. And these evaluation and support disks used to get "lost" as fast as we could issue them. And after long discussions with the local microsoft office, they said they were fine with the evaluation and support disks. Ie microsoft sanctioned piracy, in the interests of having more client sites and more technicians with the skills to support them. Ie most of us technicians couldn't afford to pay for microsoft software to install at home so we could learn it. In fact I think that Microsoft and my company had an agreement that said that we were allowed to install microsoft software at home so long as we worked for that company (a microsoft solution provider). I later used this technique to get around the useless recovery disks that some PCs come bundled with, so that you can only re-build your system by formatting the hard disk again...Blech.
Funny how installing IBM mainframe software at home was never expected or required. We couldn't take that work home with us.
They could have used a timed key (valid only for a couple of weeks). All the machines in that company that leaked the key would have had to be installed (no user prompting, but still requiring internet connection) within the timeout period. If somebody stole the timed key, and re-adjusted their computer time just to get by the install, it would fail, as the computer would still need to connect to a MS-owned server with its own notion of time.
For something this easy (other companies like Symantec provide timed keys) not to be implemented can only be a sign of deliberate action.
"I'll give out (oops! I meant leak out) this free OS. Once people get used to it, then I'll charge a huge amount for all these other softwares and services. And I'll give major parties (i.e. sueable) a chance to get back on the right track by purchasing a valid license."
So this enterprise product, targeted towards business, can now be installed by 15 year old irc warez monkeys on their home pc's?
The subtle point is that their souped up gaming pc's will probably run this latest incarnation of windows better than the hardware available to most businesses.
drag me drop me treat me like an object
Haven't you heard the news lately? There are worldwide budget deficits, states are releasing prisoners at a rate that would spin your head. With so little revenue available, states are forced to cut down on housing prisoners. It's pretty bad business to spend money on providing a roof and food for a thug than to cut spending on services for the taxpayer. Would you rather take the money that would have benefitted a needy taxpayer to provide a thug with food, a bed, education and cable TV? The silence is deafening
Prosecuting white collar crime is a rarity nowadays. Except to make a public statement, you're pretty much in the free (pun intended), especially if you're White!
There hasn't been a better time to commit identity theft than now.
windows leaked a key that will end mass piracy? wow.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
They found the key. Run Dawn, Run!
This is FUNNY!!!
F U Micro$not!
I hope they lose millions and millions of dollars!
uhm... hi. My name is _________ and I'VE NEVER PURCHASED A COPY OF WINDOWS IN MY LIFE!
/. story. Most anyone in this community would know where to go to get a windows key if they needed one.
let's see here...
Windows 98, got key from a friend
Windows 98 SE, got key from a friend
Windows ME, got key from a friend, uninstalled the next day
Windows 2000, found a key on an altalavista search
Windows 2000 Server, "borrowed" a key from work
Windows XP Pro, hello mr. corporate no-registration key
Don't get me started on other microsoft products. Office XP has its own registration work-arounds as well.
I'm just surprised this made it to a
I would think this would be expected for any and all releases of software microsoft puts out. Hell, we can get software from my school for so dirt cheap, ($30 for Windows XP Pro) they might as well give it away for free.
"You had this look that of an angel, it was such a bad disguise" --Dishwalla
"It's about as shocking as me waking up in the morning and not getting a BJ while feasting on a nice and toasty Egg Mcmuffin."
I prefer the "leg McMuff" It's much better, always hot, not too salty and I don't have to wait in line...
What the hell is this story? Everyone has installed windoze with a 'borrowed' key before. Who cares?
Well, ok, not funny, more like, extremely aggravating. Is the continued claims of groups like the BSA. They, and their research numbers, are about as believable as pretty much ANYTHING that comes out of the RIAA's mouth.
Funnier still is this claim of increased piracy.
By whom???? Bob college student dicking around with a spare PC in the corner?
Ver few businesses will go without product licensing nowadays. It's just not worth it.
And speaking of not worth it, I HIGHLY doubt that now that we have our Win2k server and Active Directory up and running, and functioning with all the other systems (payroll, accounting, timeclock, inventory, etc. etc.) we are going to shel out MORE money for a new Windows Server platform....forget that. Last thing I want is to setup Server '03 and pray to God nothing complains. For what? What do I REALLY gain from the upgrade? DICK!
"The saddest words of mice and men, are not those which were, but should have been."
Have you no shame?
Anyways, I'm done replying in this sub-thread, way off topic and just ... ugh.
how is babby formed?
First of all, it is the corporation that is "robbed", if you can even call it that. And any inconvenience they might encounter, well it's a sacrifice in the struggle against corporate tyranny. Corporations are bad, remember? I consider myself a financial Robin Hood. I'm poor, so I help myself.
So if you judge ME evil, then what you are doing is throwing your lot with the truly evil and exploitative corporations. Are you sure your name isn't Bill Gates? Either you are with us (the people), or against us (evil, exploitative and uncaring corporations).
There is no shame in helping destroy an evil business.
I got two CD keys. One for me, and it says I should pass on this here other CD Key and pass-phrase to a friend. Here it goes.
CD Key: 32AHJ7342J96Z
Phrase: Hairy-Nipples
Glad to help out my fell AOL^H^H^HRedHat Linux user.
(I'm waiting for the group that cracks MS product activation. You know, you'll call a toll free number to get your activation crack from a snotty 16 year old in Kazblakastan. And after you hang up, your phone will ring five more times with porn offers.)
>inexpensive, fast, good - choose two
I have a similar thought about horse riding
desired direction, right speed, balanced in the saddle - choose two.
If I got speed and balance right, the horse was usually headed for the nearest low branch.
If I got direction and speed right, I usually wasn't in contact with the saddle. Ie standing in the stirrups.
If I got direction and balance right, usually the horse was stopped and eating.
Hmm wonder how I could bring it back to topic?
popular, secure, profitable - choose two?
-- it must be true, it's on the internet.
Wow, what a surprise. The same thing happened when Windows XP (devils0wn) came out two months before it was released. If you remember the FCKGW... key was blocked from Windows update and I'm sure that Microsoft will do the same with the one that they find floating around on the internet.
IIRC around the time of 95/98 a lot of companies were just shipping windows with a standard key which was bound around the country code and a load of 1's. Anyway if you really want a code for anything groups.google.com is your friend.
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
I can't think of job worth applying for that doesn't require knowledge of Windows. But even more jobs require knowledge of the alphabet. If I were in your position I'd spend the money paying for the alphabet first, then books, and if you have anything left over buy Windows.
...so we don't miss out on getting our own copy!
Why do you have to have the initial install key ?? .. (Hey .. it's a 30 day window period) and when you want to "Activate", you then have to pay.
Microsoft can simply give Windows (XP/2003) away for free
MS has banned the computers using massively leaked WinXP key from its "windows update" site. That means computers using the leaked key cannot get any updates and security fixes until a service pack comes out.
MS may do the same thing for this key as well. Also, as other posters have pointed out, companies are less likely to use pirated keys because of piracy and support issues.
would be more like it
Each pirated version of Windows running is one less copy of Linux or other variant OSes running. In order of their preferences, 1) Legit MS 2) Pirated MS 3) Alternative OS So they almost approve piracy.
Trolls dont like to be Flamebait, because they burn so well. Protect our Troll heritage!
Think THEN post.
You know you're reading slashdot, right?
Bet it was the same person who leaked the WinXP VLK! The 2003 key was posted on a private news server to which I subscribe last week, btw, so it's well and truly out of the bottle. MS will doubtless block the rogue key in SP1 (as for XP) but the "community" are probably working on a keygen right now.
Serial Key: K4RBR-F3K42-M9RXG-48TPR-H6BPB
Just a string of digits...this is one I thought up randomly, wink, wink.
W1ND-0W5-2S-A5-FR33-A5-L1NUX-N0W-C0MMUN1ST5 ...and someone at MS tells me that is Bill Gates who leaked the code!
With FREE Windows XP!!!
Microsoft Windows XP XP FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8
Microsoft Windows XP XP V7F92-PFYV3-Q7X9K-GJ2RM-YV29Y
Microsoft Windows XP XP CJXM9-8KT83-4XC3C-M2HWC-WJF8W
Microsoft Windows XP XP QB2BW-8PJ2D-9X7JK-BCCRT-D233Y
Microsoft Windows XP XP FM9FY-TMF7Q-KCKCT-V9T29-TBBBG
Microsoft Windows XP XP RK7J8-2PGYQ-P47VV-V6PMB-F6XPQ
Microsoft Windows XP XP DTWB2-VX8WY-FG8R3-X696T-66Y46
Microsoft Windows XP XP RBDC9-VTRC8-D7972-J97JY-PRVMG
By Microsoft as a way of getting Win2003 Server onto lots of systems that would otherwise run Linux. "Oh, dear, we've lost our key!" One has to wonder why a product like this even needs a master key. Surely system-builders and so-on can use product activation like anyone else: even if they can use the same key multiple times, nothing says they cannot activate it on-line.
Oh those damn pirates, now we will have to crack down even harder on all those people still using bootleg copies of Office 97!!!
Sig for sale or rent. One previous user. Inquire within.
> Seems we have the answer for Microsoft, don't we?
So your suggestion would be for MS to keep their source closed (they're going to anyway) and then give out the software, but sell the support?
And this would encourage good, easy-to-use, easy-to-configure, bug-free software with a consistent interface, I bet, right?
-fred
Sign #11 of Slashdot overdose: You see the phrase 'moderate Republican' and you wonder if that would be a +1 or a -1.
Actually, the problems with the CD-Key and service pack 1 are irrelevant now, since numerous websites detail how to change the key with a simple 3 step procedure. Anyone can look this up on any variety of search engines.
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
So they have to go and download the patches singly and then execute them. Big deal.
posting working serials here on slashdot? or are they all fake?
well try this, does it make sense?
Join the crowd
Build a tower
8 meters to the right
8 meters to the left
Forty meters in height
-
Wait for good weather
Tear down the tower
2 people will help
Questions will follow
3 days just have passed
-
Does anybody wonder
Probably
X is a hard letter
T is much better
Together they fit
-
You should know already
8 again a typo?
Good lord it's fun
Help them spread there software
Greed is a sin
-
7 sins there are
You should have got it now
You remember that 'fuck you' tombstone?
Questions?
You got it.
... would microsoft have the dominance it has today?
If people didn't have access to pirated versions of windows since day 1, how many average home users could have afforded it? I'm not talking about the advanced users I'm sure you all are, but the average mum & dad & 2.5 kids that have just bought a computer to write some letters up or send some email. These families use outdated hardware running old prepackaged software until a friend lends them a newer version of windows or msoffice or whatever to remain compatible with work or school. Without this pirated software would these children be exposed to the overpriced software and become reliant on it in later years?
I propose that maybe just maybe, piracy aids microsoft in making the average joe reliant on their product so in later years when they can afford it, they dont even consider any other competitors. After all, as someone has already said, its not the big businesses that give ms their profits using these codes, is it?
Oh, never mind.
There are two kinds of people in the world: those with loaded guns, and those who dig.
Stolen codes are often traded with the Microsoft software, typically on Web sites, newsgroups or Internet Chat Relay (IRC).
That's from the news.com article, it's good to know that sites other than slashdot have lazy editors.
Security is only as strong as the weakest part, and I seriously doubt that's with the encryption algorithm here. Remember this system is not designed to protect your computer from outside threats (like SSH, etc), it is to protect the operating system from the user. The threat model and problem being solved are entirely different.
Why attack the encryption algorithm directly? Instead reverse engineer and bypass the parts of the OS that invoke the license checks. Or fool the probes which try to determine your hardware signatures. "Borrow" a key. Or for that matter just be sure to run IIS, as it lets perfect strangers run any applications they want on your computer, it should just as easily let you use your own computer too without any security checks :-)
I do have two important observations though:
But I think you just made that up
Unless you know something we don't
Like you work for Microsoft
Less chance of actually having a third valid serial
So it seems, anyway
Hey, or maybe you just nicked it from work
I still don't believe you
Thanks and goodbye!
Thanks, but I just don't want that Microsoft Server 2003. Not even for free. I am just not interested in it.
Signature deleted by lameness filter.
I have had to pay for that f*cking operating system for about every PC that I have ever bought, even though I don't use it. It's only right that other people who actually want to use it shouldn't have to pay for it.
Somehow I fail to understand how this would threaten PIRACY. I've always thought leaked windows keys threatened microsoft sales.
oh well...
>> The leaked key codes cast an unexpected shadow over the launch of Windows Server 2003 later this month. Microsoft is banking on the thrice-delayed operating system to increase its penetration into the enterprise. But the stolen codes show the difficulty the company faces in protecting its valuable intellectual property and potential sales from thieves.
... fire-up BSA, colect the missing licences, charge as much as they want for new installation and so on.
Microsoft tactics again, nothing else. They currently need to enter the server market and push Linux out of there. So they will try with all means to increase the instaled base of the WinServer 2003 - it doesn't matter with or without licence. Later they will come with BSA and collect the fees, no doubt. The current statement has a double purpose - first to show to the world how much Microsoft is losing on piracy and second to inform the people that they can install Server 2003 without paying. The first one is typical Microsoft FUD - "We are weak, pirates rob us constantly", this will help them also in the monopoly trial. The second one says generally "Hey there is a key on the wild, just get it and install WinServer if you need it"
Are the MS executives stupid enough to beleive that a sysadmin that has received a key for installing a bunch of WinServer-s 2003 will not leak it on the Internet? No, they are smarter than anyone else when it comes to money, just the target is different - to get a maximum number of installations, become monopoly on the server market, and then
The same story is repeating again and again, they can not give WinServer 2003 for free (like InternetExplorer) because the DoJ will nail them immediately, thay can only play the "illegal but free" game and hope that the sysadmins will byte - and may will, especially in the poorer contries. So I beleave the fixed keys are built into the code exactly with the purpose to allow the "widespread piracy". Why does WinXP does not have such fixed keys? MS officials may say "Because it is a client OS, it is not installed in volumes". Bzzzzt - wrong, the clients are usually installed in volumes, the servers are usually 1 to 10 compared to the clients. The answer is because MS has already monopoly on the client side, they do not need new installations, they need money for the existing ones. The server market is different, MS needs "piracy" in order to become the de-facto standard on the server.
Put the CDROM in the slot, boot the machine, and nobody gets hurt. ARRRRRRRR!!
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Until you download the keygen with integrated key changer.
What? You didn't know there was a working Windows XP keygen/key changer floating around out there? Consider yourself informed.
main(c,r){for(r=32;r;) printf(++c>31?c=!r--,"\n":c<r?" ":~c&r?" `":" #");}
Microsoft should plant serial numbers that stop working after 1000 hours of use. Search on google, get 10,000 of these serial numbers.
If you don't like M$ prices then use open source.
Open source development is my way of competing with the low-cost programmers in India...
Please post a link to this keygen, thx!
Some section of the populace (usually the l33t crowd) will get the key, get the disks and install the O.S, then run around saying that's exactly what they did.
What a brilliant marketing effort on M$'s part - just look how much you are all talking about it now, thinking how good you are. Guaranteed a bunch of you have the key already.
later, on another revenue drive when 2k3 is fully released, M$'s dog the BSAA will go after the people who served so well to promote thier product, whilst they reap the benefit of yet another unofficial beta program.
You think you are 3l!+e, that you are the 0wn3r, pfaff, You don't even know you are being used.
Start using software you don't have to steal.
this is, in actuality, very very on-topic. Stupid moderators. ITS THE KEY YOU MORON.
Yeah I guess piracy isn't a concern when you're giving away your stuff (code, soft) and making profit from somewhere else (maintenance, counseling, certification).
But keep in mind that sometimes it just doesn't work any better (or implies "higher ethics"). When I know a company is releasing underdocumented or buggy code on purpose just to keep gauging from me ("deluxe docs", counselling...) there's a thin line you sometimes don't know where it exactly is.
... what's even worse is when they steal from you both ways (seen any macromedia packaged doc?)...
A couple of things
1) Open Security != Open Source
2) Open Source != No Key (PGP ring any bells ?)
So just to clarify
1) If I create an SDA using PGP this is Open Source Software with a key
2) There are closed source security elements that have put their code out for review, including by the Goverment
3) Red Hat give you a key to access their premium rate support.
4) You made a glib comment that hit the MS Bad, OSS good Slashdot button and got modded up
5) This just means there are lots of people on Slashdot who don't understand this either.
Sheesh, you can have key restricted open source software, that is the idea of privacy and security for starters, the whole aim of VPNs etc etc. The issue here is in part _how_ the key (think private key) is issued. What MS want to do is make it simple for volume installers. Now what they could do is supply a bunch of USB keys to these volume suppliers that must be inserted during install. So give them 20, or 30, or whatever ghosting 30 at a time is a reasonable upgrade plan (no-one in a large company goes overnight for a total upgrade).
The issue is 1) Process 2) The nature of the security.
NOT whether its open or closed source.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
That's silly. My piracy isn't threatened by this leak. In fact, if I were to guess, I would think this leak will increase piracy, not threaten it.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
Hi, I need a serial for the latest Linux kernel, version 2.4.20, the old serial doesn't work anymore. I'd prefer a keygen over a crack.. TIA!!
:)
*now waits for the obligatory 'Me too!!' posts*
They've been ripping people off since DOS -- why is it news that we rip them off too? Christ, they were probably the first software to get pirated, and all their stuff is out and about before they release it. The real question is, WHY THE HELL DOES ANYONE CARE?
:)
You guys all hate MS so much and love Linux, why even comment -- why not just laugh
I really think that the submitter thought it was the actual installation SOURCE CODE that got leaked. Otherwise it really does not make news - I mean, Heck I had access to Win2K pro a whole MONTH before it was on shelves (yes it's the final build).
My life in the land of the rising sun.
Posts here seem to suggest that everybody who knows what a keyboard is, can find a Key using nowt but a search engine. So who benefits from the publicity?
Software pirates? They already knew.
People who don't like Microsoft? Good for a laugh for about half a second, I guess...
Microsoft? More people with experience using their servers? Right now if you're a poor student you're likely to know a thing or two about Linux server configuration, especially since you can do it with a box you bought for $20. Or BSD...
Microsoft again? Hey, a media storm for the ingnorant to support this Pallid Big Brother nonsense? Or is that too cynnical..?
No more security patches for Fully paid up NT licences. Hmmm...
You pays your money, and you takes your choice...
apt-get lacks the option "stuffed" It's a feature.
I don't hate them, the sheer speed at which really useful application can be developped in Excel VBA is a breakthrough. (XL97 is just fine, upgrade? Why?) But then Excel has all those unstable algorithms in their stats functions that everybody has known about for years and years...
I've been given X, Gnome & KDE. Now Give me VBA in OOo, Gnumeric or Kspread, & I'll give you Linux, Undisputed king of the office desktop.
And you never ever have to reinstall the OS. Sure.
But I can guess at two reasons why it comes just now:
Perhaps this "leak" is to take attention away from new releases of excellent servers: OpenBSD 3.3, RedHat 9 (even w/4 business hour response time), and Mandrake 9.1.
Or perhaps it is to drum up sympathy in congress for new legislation which could be used to mandate DRM in the U.S. This would hamstring the U.S. IT sector and many public institutions by taking money out of already tight budgets and sending it to Redmond in the form of forced purchases of new hardware and software.
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
Am I the only one who thinks that the new Microsoft anti-piracy efforts will turn more people to using Linux? After all, while many people in the United States can afford to buy Microsoft software this is not the case in foreign nations. Persons, who due to their financial conditions (i.e. In certain European countries a monthly salary of $200 is considered average), generally used pirated Windows software will now move to Linux simply because they would no longer be able to use new, expensive Microsoft products. Right? Or am I missing something here?
-em3
make oldconfig deps modules bzimage install
If that doesn't work for you, there are others!
yeah right, i'm sure M$ purposely leaked that info so W2K3 will be popular with the masses. it's a M$ gimmick for like forever now, and has far never failed them (they get popular, strong hold of its monopoly, and earn billions)
I can't help but wonder if this will case MS to put in some code to disable this particular key or force it to activate on the net? Of course they can't do this for all keys but it might slow things down.
Of course by now I expect more keys have been leaked
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
Who needs service packs when installing one introduces 10 problems more than there previously were? My system is sane without them thanks.
The devil's key may be M$-speak with respect to themselves, not for the general public.
After spending several hours looking over this latest release from the 'Redmondian Army of Doom', I have mixed feelings about this key as a whole but I still find myself strangely attracted to a few of it's verses. It is as if parts of it were composed by choruses of lilting angels while other parts we're slapped together with the premediation of a four year old making mud pies. Lets take a look at this new key... verse, by haunting verse, shall we?
C4C24-
What a stunning beginning! Almost symetrical, yet still off balance even with the repeating C's and 4's. The 2 was a discordant shocker at first, but the more I read over it, the more I found that it acted as a 'front porch', if you will, for the firmly concluding 4.
QDY9P-
This is that "Mud Pie" verse that I alluded to earlier. After such a strong beginning with "C4C24", "QDY9P" is a total dissapointment. I think the problem here is the 9. The "QDY phrase is an intriguing start to this verse but the 9 just throws away any semblance of order.
GQJ4F-
This is without a doubt, the most playful and funky verse in the key. The central "QJ4" is a sassy and taunting invocation of some well known classical themes which takes on a whole different tone when sandwiched between the "G" and the slightly naughty "F".
2DB6G-
Probably the most memorable verse in this work, I kept humming "2DB", "2DB", "2DB", "2DB" to myself all afternoon. This cadence was a welcome change of pace and helped move this key back in the right direction toward the finale.
PFQ9W
What a triumph! This final verse had me on the edge of my seat in anticipation as each new character played on the preceeding ones with a curious mixture of both lust and fury. The "PFQ" opening is both sensual and vulgar at once, but when blended into a "Q9W" clarion call, the effect is awsome and should stand as one of the great Windows Key verses of all time.
"A microprocessor... is a terrible thing to waste." --
GeneralEmergency
Well, I think you forget one huge fact:
Pirated copies are very important for the distribution of Microsoft products.
There are of course ways to improve security - why still use such general keys? Look at e.g. Mathematica, they have far better protection mechanisms.
I postulate that piracy is tolerated and helpful for Microsoft, they will never try to generally stop it. They have of course their ways to reduce piracy, especially by intimidation and bad conscience.
The more the Microsoft monopoly grows, the more they can pressure and reduce software pirates without losing market share.
You will see: Palladium/TCPA will also not stop piracy.
I would not wonder if Microsoft released this key by themselves..
I thought that MS responded to this longstanding problem by putting code in later service packs that disables machines running on leaked keys. (Or at least, getting your permission to do this in the EULA - dunno if they've actually done it yet.) So a naughty server manager would be faced with the choice of running an increasingly old and unpatched copy of Windows Server, or updating it and finding that it had been remotely broken by MS.
Don't you know, foo? Slashdot and grammar don't mix!
On a sidenote, Taco is a perl coder, right? And he is kind of dyslectic.
This also seems to be the case with just about everyone I know that cites perl as their prefered language.
Why is it that perl coders are always the worst spellers?
Is Larry Wall the nemesis of all grammar nazis?
Inquiring minds want to know!
"First lesson," Jon said. "Stick them with the pointy end."
Tell you something.
Microsoft lawyers underestimate the ingenuity of good software crackers. Before long, a good cracker will reverse engineer the software and circulate a key generator based on the software's key encoding algorithm. That's generally the bad thing about serial number based software; they're predictable.
- IP
In the land before time, or rather, the world of software before Windows XP, Microsoft OS's didn't require activation, but they did require CD Keys. Mostly this was a fiasco as ANY legitimate cd key could be used ANY number of times for that version of the software. Many will remember the NT4 days and the ever-popular 111-1111111. Microsoft got smarter for Windows 2000, but not by much. The not-so-easily-forged 25 character cd key introduced with Windows 98 was used, which at the very least prevented people from making up cd keys. However, it was soon discovered that with a simple change of no more than TWO characters to an easily-editable text file, the cd key requirement could be eliminated! Toss those keys away! This one made it super convenient to install Windows, and the piracy raged on. This hole is still wide open, even with the latest service pack.
Microsoft did start wising up, however. Summer of 1999 saw the first ever "activation" efforts implemented in Microsoft Office 2000 in certain markets, notably US education, Australia, and New Zealand. This was a successful pilot program and with the release of Office 2000 SR-1 in summer of 2000, all retail versions of Office 2000 incorporated this technology (known back then as "registration.") This, too, however, was quite simple to defeat using a corporate install feature normally reserved for large-scale deployments.
The release of Windows XP saw another big step forward for Microsoft's anti-productivity tools (excuse me, "anti-piracy efforts"). Same 25-character cd keys, but you have to "check in" with Microsoft to verify you haven't handed the key out to 25 of your closest friends. Windows XP activation is actually quite a bit more lenient than most people realize... you can change a significant amount of hardware and not be forced to reactivate, and the biggest secret is that if you don't check in with MS Activation servers for a period of 4 months, they'll wipe your history clean and you can activate anew with ANY hardware configuration. Enough room for even the heaviest geek to make all the changes he wants.
Once again, however, product activation was easily defeated. It wasn't long (well before the retail release for that matter) before someone got ahold of a corporate copy (no activation required) and let it loose on the net. The biggest change with Windows XP was that the difference between retail and corporate versions was a whopping 10 files, including one that was almost 13 MB. Not so easy to make your retail copy activation-free, but it can be done. The ramifications were clear: there was to be no more swapping of retail and corporate keys. It was too easy for Joe User to find a few characters on the net and defeat all the anti-piracy efforts MS had spent months developing.
And here's where we connect with the article. First of all, cd keys to install Windows Server 2003 have been out since before it was originally posted on MSDN (which, by Microsoft's own admitting, was less than 4 hours after RTM). The problem was, all those cd keys were from retail distributions which required activation. Yes, a "reset" patch was quickly coded which virtually made the activation requirement non-existent, but these things have been known to have been "corrected" in service packs. The public was clamoring for a "corp" release, which would eliminate the activation altogether. Insiders had access to the corporate release but it was worthless without a key... a key somebody was probably going to lose their job for if they divulged it. Almost a week went by, and then early yesterday morning, a key was located and the corporate release has been forthcoming. This wasn't the first key and it's not the only key, but it is special in that it is the first "volume license," or "corporate" key to be released.
The article fails to mention that the key MUST be matched with a corporate release. Once again, the unique files from retail and corporate editions are about 13 MB, but those files can be found on the web in
how does a key being leaked threaten piracy at all? i mean wouldn't it actually help it?
IMAGE VERIFICATION IS EVIL!
Since this is a corporate key for servers, surely the licensee can provide to Microsoft a defined range of IP addresses where their servers might be found. The activation servers could look for activations from other addresses and reject them. Of if the user used a non-online method for activation they could require some other form of ID before getting the confirmation code. Someone tell me why this wouldn't work.
I don't see Microsoft's problem here, are they naive enough not to know that a serial key will barely delay a pirate release by an hour?
Or maybe it's just their marketing spin machine churning out crap about linux commies and software pirate terrorists that want to end the world.
Just think of all those poor coders in Redmond who are going to be poor and starve as a result!
Stick Men
How many "leaks" does this make now for them? Sometimes I wonder if this is not intentional. So they can trumpit their DRM malarky.
My karma is not a Chameleon.
Seedy bar. Toilet stall door.
"For a Good Time "
This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
You mean people would actually *choose* to pirate *Windows*? Now that's sick...
The process essentially locked the activation code to hardware, in theory, preventing the key from being used to install the software onto another computer. Microsoft banked on the process for reducing widespread piracy of its Windows products. For example, the Redmond, Wash.-based company estimates that about half the copies of Office in use worldwide are pirated.
why continue to fight a battle you are obviously not winning?
Now I know there are those who stick by their guns and honestly won't use a free version of Windows over Linux or whathaveyou, but it would seem that a majority of people find Windows A-OK as long as they don't have to pay for it.
So if Linux, BSD, etc. are so much better than Windows in as many ways as I read here every day, why are so many of you still using Windows while preaching the value of free (beer & speech) software? Could it be that you just want the beer?
There's a Mercedes gap too. I want one and can't afford one, but it's not government's job to do anything about it.
If you think this is far fetched, consider that it has already happened for MS Office for OS X. Users who applyied the first service pack found their installations were nobbled if they had been registered using widely know serial numbers.
It would be no more difficult for MS to do the same with Windows 2003 Server. And given the nature of the product and the huge revenue MS see themselves losing, you can expect them to pursue servers using the hacked serial numbers extremely vigourously with prosecutions and raids galore.
Now I wonder how much revenue is *actually* lost as opposed to counting illegal installs and assuming all those equal lost revenue. People who use hacked serial numbers are not those who would be interested in spending $$$$ on the original in the first place.
Microsoft doesn't make its money off Windows... Office is Redmond's cash cow, and you hardly ever hear of leaked Office volume-license keys.
If you ask me, the leaked Windows 2003 Server volume-license key was probably deliberately leaked by MS a marketing tool, similar to how some studios leak albums early on P2P networks as MP3s.
Sysadmins will download Windows 2003, install it on an isolated test box with the leaked key, like it, and go legitimate if their Director accepts the cost/proposal. "See boss, with the new Compatability tab, we can finally migrate our proprietary software from WinNT4 Server!"
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START
"Company X, Here's an email with the key to unlimited software installs, and therefore more or less unlimited money. Please don't give it to other people. Thanks, Microsoft"
add that to:
"Hello employees, it's the boss of Company X. Here's the key to install all the software in your email -- please don't take it home and steal other software with it."
SURE! There are a lot of people out there who wouldn't handle that responsibility well.
stuff |
Instead of worrying about a leaky Windows key, why don't you just use this to kill it?
"A utility to disable the Windows key and context menu key on newer 104-key Windows 95 keyboards. Great for preventing interruption of DOS or DirectX games."
The leaked keys are for a prerelease version of Windows 2003. The final cut hasn't been released yet. Wouldn't it be possible for Microsoft to change the key encoding scheme before the final release? Of course, it would only be a matter of time before the new keys get leaked.
you can expand market share now, and then extract punative damages and send the salesperson to the Big Communal Shower With Slippery Soap and not pay one red cent of comission for it.
damn. They are smarter than us.
Just a few months ago my wife's company upgraded their entire install base from 98 to 2000 overnight -- couple of thousand desktops with no human intervention. SMS server and a bunch of software from other vendors allows this to happen.
WTF does people pirating windows have to do with the security of the OS? Or is there something I'm missing.
/* It's amazing the damage someone with a stunted sense of humor and mod points can do to your karma. */
By releasing a "new version" every 18 months or whatever it is the scope for more bugs is increased.
/sbin/init -- /usr/sbin/syslogd -s /usr/sbin/inetd -wW /usr/sbin/cron /usr/sbin/sshd ./Maildir/ /usr/libexec/getty Pc ttyv1 /usr/local/sbin/httpd /usr/local/bin/safe_mysqld --user=mysql
Big re-writes for the sake of bumping up the version numbers to drive sales is not the way to build robust systems.
Using vanilla Windows is suicide. I mean, just look at all those entries in Services. Learning what they all are and how they could make you vulnerable is quite a task. And with each new version you have to go through it all again.
compare that mess to
root 0 (swapper)
root 1
root 2 (pagedaemon)
root 3 (vmdaemon)
root 4 (bufdaemon)
root 5 (syncer)
root 6 (vnlru)
root 23 adjkerntz -i
root 72
root 79
root 81
root 83
root 178 qmail-lspawn
root 193
root 21597
root 55316
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
Insanely high software prices threaten Mass Piracy.
The Key's are just a means to an end.
-=-Ze End-=-
Conclusion: Dave Miscavige is mightier than Bill Gates
How about YOU work for free and the rest will just live off your work?
....... the first try's always free.
Don't quote me on this.
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
I Think that MS realizes that eliminating piracy is a double edged sword, espescially in countries where piracy is rampant. If they are able to eliminate piracy altogether, the prohibitive cost of windows will surely encourage the growth of Linux in these countries. When a single copy of windows costs 2 months of your salary, the investment of time it takes to learn to use Linux and reduce your reliance on propriotary software seems very attractive.
-- Knowledge shared is power lost. -- Aleister Crowley
The original posting said "The joy of closed source security at work." Then the poster above me said "security through obscurity NOT effective security."
Maybe I'm just a little thick, but you're talking about encryption, when the issue here is piracy control. We're not talking about keys to unencrypt data, we're talking about keys to activate software. How would an open security algorithm have protected them in this case? If the key-checking algorithm were public, couldn't people simply brute-force numbers through the (now public) algorithm, generating keys till the cows come home?
So I repeat, and am sincerely interested: why the snide comments about how much better open is than closed, and how obscurity is a bad method of protection (despite having successfully protected the product for, what, a couple of years now?)? How would an open solution have protected the product any better? Note that I'm not talking about opening the entire product, since I'm not interested in this degrading to a "Linux vs. Microsoft" argument - the comments were specifically directed at this particular security component (the anti-piracy key checking algorithm), so that's what I'd like to hear you defend, if indeed it is possible, in the context of an open solution/algorithm being superior to a closed one.
Any takers?
Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
Nice poem.
..it's a pretty funny poem .. but is it illegal for me to recite to others ?
..it's a nice poem .. pretty funny too .. I like it.
I like it, honestly
I dont think it should be, after all
Hey guys! I have the secret key here, but you'll have to crack my top-secret ROT-13 encryption!!!
Hfr:Yvahk:Vafgrnq::Qbag:Obgure:Jvgu:Zvpebfbsg:
- The only way to win is to not play the game!
Wow this is cool.
.. and would like to see more examples of it.. I really have a fascination and appreciation for the art.
Are there any databases of poetry like this?
Personally, I think this sort of poetry is amazing
Companies are scared of the BSA they Buy software
Students Pirate software and lean to use it then implement it when they get real jobs
Home users Pirate software because they think they will not get caught.
We are talking about 2003 server , that's SERVER , anyone pirating it is learning and testing and then paying for it in their corperate enviroment.
and speaking as someone who sets up PCs with addon software for people, I get sick of typing in those keys especially with those impossible to read fonts.
A pirated key may well speed up implementation of this O/S in the same way that MP3s help sell deverse Artists Albums.
so don't help microsoft by spreading this key
let then cause their own demise and help free (beer and Speach) software come out on top where it can.
--you know how to get ahold of an OEM version. OEM versions *have* no license or activation codes; they're intended for bulk installation by manufacturers.
Generated key + rip of corporate edition = WPA is pointless...
Funny how you mention the X-Box as a prototype hardware-enforce monopoly. From what I recall, PS,PS2 have hardware locks in them as well and DO have to be modded to play unlicensed/unsigned games on them.
The video game industry has been doing this for years. As soon as MS does it it's a hardware-enforced monopoly.
Volume License Keys are designed to make it easy for the volume licensing guy to install. Microsoft does the best they can without pissing off the customer.
You're right on one fact, piracy is bad for everyone - open and closed source. Open-source software loses attractiveness if the person would just pirate whatever they want, and closed-source businesses lose money.
nt
But granted, I think microsoft is a little naive in beleiving that this system is safe and noone will leak the keys. They shouldn't act suprised. Though my conspiracy theory is that this is intentional so they will have a direction to point a finger when sales of this product fall flat.
You'll soon see figures released claiming how the rampant piracy and this one leaked code have cause the company BILLIONS in damages.
*sigh*... it's getting old.
Microsoft keeps arguing that the purpose of Product Activation is to stop piracy. That's ludicrous:
First, weeks before XP was released there was the infamous leaked corporate copy of XP readily available for download in convenient ISO format.
Second, Microsoft stated that anyone using the leaked version of XP would not be able to update to SP1. However, a week before SP1 was released tweaktown.com had figured out and posted a way around it.
Third, now the exact same thing is happening to Windows Server 2003.
Exactly how did Product Activation stop piracy? It didn't. What does it stop? It stops what I call sharing. That's when a friend uses his copy of Windows to upgrade a friend's computer. That is what Product Activation has stopped and nothing more. (I'm not saying that sharing is OK, but it's hardly piracy!)
Maybe Product Activation is also Microsoft's attempt to get the average person used to paying for upgrades. Maybe it is a step in the direction of Palladium, i.e., getting the average person used to the idea that Microsoft controls their PC, and not the other way around. It could be a lot of things, but it is clearly NOT intended to stop real piracy.
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
Windows piracy is definitely bad news for OSS. However, not to such a great extent in this case of Windows Server 2003, which won't particularly appeal to the average joe who's already got a pirated copy of Windows XP.
For example, the Redmond, Wash.-based company estimates that about half the copies of Office in use worldwide are pirated.
Guess they should just stick with the copy of Works or Corel Word that came with their PC right? I love the hypocrites that post here that Linux and OpenOffice are "not good enough, have too small a user base, etc" and then turn around and type away on their pirated copies of WinXP Pro and MS Office. Windows users who pirate ANYTHING have no right to defend MS, in fact, they should have a contingency plan in place to defend THEMSELVES if MS ever decides to make a role model out of them.
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws-Plato
I've looked, I can't find it. The only "keygen" that appears to be out there rotates through a dozen known VL codes.
funny munging
To all those who believe MS pirated (oops leaked) this key out - why would they? It would be a terrible business mistake! They (MS) wouldn't do so because then people would find out how crappy their new OS is ahead of time and _no one would buy a copy at all_ thus sending them spiralling into bankruptcy! ;-)
:-)
If you took this post seriously then you need help!
Did you realize you had the link to your normal username info at the bottom of the post.
Bill Gates loves to talk about the economic transformation that is happening in China. - "China is just in a league of its own and it's like no one else is paying attention" . I wonder does it bug him that the transformation is happening mostly on pirated software?
As it is happening 92% with pirated software - what does that say about software's role in economic development? Go out and pirate - 75-cent copies of XP and Office for everyone! Perhaps developing countries should mandate piracy?
Bill Gates and Steve Balmer are smart men. Why aren't they and Microsoft forcing the software piracy issue like they have done in Taiwan? Presumably they are not doing it out of goodwill. If they did we would see large write-offs on the donations in the MS Annual Report.
The real driver is that Microsoft wants to get market share to lock-in the market. In ten years time when China is far wealthier their lawyers will come calling - much like they have done in Taiwan. Despite China's "one china" policy - Microsoft obviously has a three-china intellectual property protection policy (HK, Taiwan, & Mainland).
This smacks of illegal dumping. Dump your product on the country to effectively eliminate the chance of any local competition appearing and shut out your competitors. Once the country can afford to pay the $1000 a user MS Office + MS CAL + MS XP fees send in the lawyers. The switching costs at that point will be too high and they will be forced to pay. This is exactly what Microsoft did in Taiwan - supposedly a part of China.
What should developing countries do? Sue Microsoft for dumping. How can the company be held accountable for the actions of other people selling pirated products? In Canada recently, Tobacco Companies were held accountable for allowing smuggled tobacco to be illegally dumped from the US. Microsoft is playing an equally sinister game. It is obvious that Microsoft will in the long gain from piracy in China, much like a company illegally dumping products below cost can profit in the long term.
Software piracy is the number one problem for Linux and Open Source software in developing countries and something must be done about it.
Complete Article
JB88F Windows key leak threatens mass piracy
WT2Q3 By Joe Wilcox
DPXTT Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Y8GHG April 7, 2003, 6:15 PM PT
7YYQY A key code for installing Microsoft's
-
K4RBR Windows Server 2003 has leaked onto the
F3K42 Internet, a loss that could lead to
M9RXG widespread piracy of the software.
48TPR A Microsoft representative confirmed the
H6BPB leak late Monday and said Microsoft was
-
C4C24 investigating the matter. The leak comes
QDY9P more than two weeks before the software's
GQJ4F scheduled release on April 24.
2DB6G The leaked code appears to be from a
PFQ9W Microsoft corporate customer that
Join Tor today!
Personally, MS's recent activation policies piss me off...
.jpg.exe is not a picture)..
I have 3 licensed copies of windows xp... They all worked pretty much fine, UNTIL my network got a funny virus (thank you family members who don't understand that
so hence,
i reformatted
attempted to reinstall xp
yet every single one of my 3 PAID FOR keys claimed that "THIS KEY HAS BEEN USED ALREADY BLAH BLAH BLAH"
WTF??!!!
screw you MS!!
i realize you can call ms regarding this, but i'm not gonna sit on the phone calling long distance, for 30 mins per key i need working every time i reformat...
so what do i do?
download a pirated winxp sp1 iso for the meanwhile..
and download gentoo linux, install it on an extra pc, and start getting ready to switch.
-judging another only defines yourself
I believe it's happened in the past where Microsoft's patches will check for this key and deactivete the product if it's found. So if you go to Windows Update and download the latest service pack, it will disable your copy of Windows, citing a "Warez" key as the reason, and to please contact Microsoft to obtain a valid key. And with all the built in vulnerabilities, your basically forced to keep on top of the updates.
From what I read of the article, I understand that this release of Windows is aimed at the Enterprise Server Market. I don't think corperate server OS piracy is much of an issue, not many companies would justify the risk of running unlicensed software when the cost of a license is relativly trivial. This is most likely only going to allow all the little guys who would never be able to pay the licensing fees anyway. Microsoft isn't going to loose much revenue. If anything this helps MS.
It's always the same.
3/4 of the participants don't understand what the subject is about, and start using stuff they heard someone say about data protection once in another topic to tear down what the other 1/4 are saying about the real subject, piracy control.
1) "Security through obscurity" can provide reasonably effective piracy control, besides whatever is bad about it.
Open source will never be capable of doing that without help at the hardware level (whether it's an oldfashioned dongle or Palladium).
2) From the moment they've got to be handed out to people who aren't protecting their own personal property with them, keys and passwords have a tendency of getting out.
PS: this is _not_ a plea in favor of Palladium or any other hardware DRM scheme.
How many times have I gone to cracks.am for a crack on-site to be blinded by porn because I'm so used to Mozilla blocking everything.
"Sorry grandma, but porn gets you free software."
Taco: "We want Slashdot to be a forum where you can say what's in your heart, but we simply can't defend an anonymous poster who violates copyright law." -- of someone with the resources to vigorously defend their copyright. Hey, we don't give a flying fsck about the author of "Old Ike".
It would make total sense. They don't care about catching pirates and crackers because those will always find a way around it. I suspect they WANT people to steal the software and upgrade their systems and servers. Medium and small businesses would be their target - once you upgrade to Active Directory it's kind of hard to roll back. Ad of course Microsoft is going to put an activation feature in that will break your server that's using this stolen serial. The only way to fix it is to activate it with MS aka cough up the money. 10 grand here, 20 grand there and soon you start talking real money. Large organizations are not their target because they have corporate licenses that cover user accounts, exchange licenses, ms office,etc. My company ends up paying twice for the OS on newer machines - they come with a valid real OEM serial from Microsoft and then microsoft gets us again when they do licenses for the entire org.
Microsoft's got a few webpages up that talk about Windows2003. It actually looks rather impressive.
You can sign up for a preview of the operating system.
Also, be sure to catch the launch event at a city near you!
Join Tor today!
The only people who pirate their software are students(who can usually get a copy for $15 from the school bookstore...) and losers living in their mom's basement.
Just my 2 cents...
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
K4RBR-F3K42-M9RXG-48TPR-H6BPB
Say, that makes me think; for me to want to use MSN search instead of google, will they make it able to look up leaked MS keys?
> ..., so it's a safe assumption that their
> lawyers "would scour the Internet looking for
> the leaked code". The joy of closed source
> security at work."
Someone today posted binary only copies a new
program which contains code licensed under the
GPL. The new program is being copied with wild
abandon, so it's a safe assumption that lawyers
representing Richard Stallman and the Free
Software Foundation "would scour the Internet
looking for who posted the code". The joy of
GPL'ed software.
Anyone else read this as GLib?
I need a hobby.
T
---- It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again. It does this whenever it's told.
..they expected people to pay for this crap?
Must-not-watch TV!
MS has banned [theinquirer.net] the computers using massively leaked WinXP key from its "windows update" site. That means computers using the leaked key cannot get any updates and security fixes until a service pack comes out.
MS may do the same thing for this key as well.
--- And I'll do what I did as well.
1. Go to Circuit City or a Gateway shop
2. Check side/bottom/rear of a PC
3. Enter found w98/m3/2k/xp serial in trusty PDA (sharp 730, qwerty layout)
4. Use XSETUP, change the install product code.
5. ???
6. Upgrade!
Rampant piracy sure to follow fears Microsoft, so it's a safe assumption that their lawyers "would scour the Internet looking for the leaked code". The joy of closed source security at work."
Now, this is uncalled for. Why shouldn't MS keep an eye out for stolen copies of its software? Why should open source advocates be stealing it from them? The core idea of OSS is that of freedom.
If MS wants to embrace closed source, let them; if they want to spend kajillions of dollars keeping it closed, let them. "Scouring the Internet" will neither harm OSS nor those who prefer to use it.
... to gather definitive piracy data. Just track the number of times the key is used vs the number of copies sold. Then they can put a _definitive_ ratio to the number of pirated copies versus legitimate copies. At least there would be some facts instead of wild ass statements like:
...
"For example, the Redmond, Wash.-based company estimates that about half the copies of Office in use worldwide are pirated."
Of course, someone might have to leak the result to the public
"Consensus" in science is _always_ a political construct.
Hmmm...a key is leaked. Server 2003 no doubt has "ET Phone Home" technology. What if...what if that technology collects IP addresses from "leaked" keys, sends them back to M$ and they simply pass them on to the BSA and 6 months from now we hear of a "major piracy bust" across the globe! Hmmmm >
I vote for adding Microsoft to the Axis of Evil.
This post expresses my opinion, not that of my employer. And yes, IAAL.
My housemate bought a pre assembled computer, with no operating system from a small shop. It came with a fucking XP licensce and hologram stuck to the side of the case.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
According to the article, Microsoft's responce to stolen activation codes is to make it impossible to apply service packs to software activated with those codes. That won't keep people from using the stolen software, but it will keep them from applying bug fixes and patching security holes in the stolen software.
Let me say that again. It will stop people from applying security patches to the stolen software. That means that the next big MS worm will have a large installed base of unpatched, and unpatchable, MS servers to exploit.
This situation hurts every person who uses the Internet.
Stonewolf
Personally, my servers run Linux, and I wouldn't want that POS Windows crap SWALLOWING anything from my network. Linux is my server OS of choice, what difference does it make which or how many versions of their "software" the "code" unlocks? I'll stick with Linux, thanks... Disc 3 of RH9 is almost done downloading too... so, NYEAH! to Micro$haft.
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." -Thom
I thought windows was already pirated heavely
I can hardly believe that Microsoft would activate millions of installations of Windows 2003 with a single key.
With all the trouble to put a unique identifier on each CD, it seems like it would be little enough hassle to require the user to enter the identifier on the web or over the phone to completely activate the OS. You know, give me your key and I'll give you Your Unique Magic Key.
Didn't they even read the articles about how all DVDs were encrypted with a single key and got liberated in one fell swoop from that fantastic piece of copyright protection when the key was discovered and made public?
My paranoid side says it's all a conspiracy to illustrate the perils of widespread piracy/terrorism/hackers (MS has enough cash to take a hit on the revenue loss) so that TCPA/Palladium gets a more receptive audience with lawmakers and the gullible public at large.
"Provided by the management for your protection."
...really give a flying fart anyway about this leaked key?
Along with a "make your own XP key" utility. Good luck, guys, and remember, the best security is robust even when transparent.
1. Join the crowd ...
2. Build a tower
8 meters to the right
8 meters to the left
Forty meters in height
3.
4. Profit!
Nope. His way is better.
Have fun in the fields, Boris.
But i mean it!
.02
Microsoft has been known for "accidently leaking" lots of software.
If we really want to hurt microsoft, let us help them secure their software so people HAVE to pay for it to run.
Think of all the people out there without valid licenses? If you can't run windows and are not prepared to pay the money for a new copy, maybe they might switch to an alternative that *just* happens to be ready and waiting for them *cough linux*.
Just my
Maybe they wouldn't have such a huge problem with people stealing their OS's and Office software if they wouldn't charge $300 on up for normal people to buy it. What small family can afford to spend $300 per license so they can use Word to write their kids term papers??? How about dropping the price to $99 for Office Suite and $99 for the OS or maybe even $50 for the OS. Or unbundle the office suit so people can just spend $45-$50 on word and excel. Afterall thats the only thing people really use anyways. Their markup is so large to start with they would probably still be making a profit, maybe more so because people would be more willing to spend money to buy it instead of just stealing it.
now i'm looking for a key code on my red hat distro. darn, i guess its a windows problem? :o)
How are they gonna find it? Using MSN Search?
Oh there is one...you have to leave it running for quite awhile (I don't know exactly what it is doing) and it will create good XP (and office) CD keys.
Take a look at the register article.
http://theregister.co.uk/content/4/24065.html
Am I the only one who picked up on the "B6G" inverted fifth?
/.'er loses it after anything more sophisticated than root-5th-octave.
Yep, 'fraid so. The typical
Gimme a red guitar, 3 chords and the truth.
...that the Iraqi Minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf , says that in no way has Windows 2003 been compromised by a leaked serial key. In fact, there are no hackers anywhere near Windows 2003. In fact, Windows has never been hacked nor have keys ever been leaked.
wow, you cracked blowfish and 3DES?
t able/openssh-3.6.1p1.tar.gz
you must have a big brain!
or do you mean you used this serial to activate it?
ftp://mirror.csit.fsu.edu/pub/OpenBSD/OpenSSH/por
My belief is that they tolerate/accept/encourage (select depending on conspiracy theory threshold) dodgy codes getting out into the wild. Why?
1) Big shops dont care - they just pay the MS license fees. Its simply easier that way.
2) Medium sized shops are not going to run hooky copies anyway - too professional or more than their jobs are worth
Which leaves...
Small shops and hobbyists. If they abondon these guys then Linux/BSD will take over in that space. MS recognised years ago that today's hobbyist is sometimes tomorrow's decision-maker. Keeping them on MS products keeps them familiar hence within comfort zones. People buy based on comfort zones and what everyone else has got. Simple as that. Make it too hard for Joe Soap to install Windows and what have you got? A gap! And guess what MS is terrified of filling that gap...?
Each pirated version of Windows running is one less copy of Linux
Why does everyone always assume that if you run one OS that means you can't run another? I have a tri-boot, I run WinME, Redhat, and FreeBSD on the same machine. Running multiple OS's gives you the best of all possible worlds (except for the fact you can't also run OS X.)Though I have never and would never pirate an OS (too risky - a little tampering and a corrupted OS could fry your PC), my understanding is taht people who do often run dual boot systems so this 'one less copy of linux' stuff is crap.
There's a growing sense that even if The Future comes,
most of us won't be able to afford it.
-- Lemmy
I understand some of the logic for Microsoft's Product Activation system. I get the whole activation after installation, but what I don't get is the shut-down part. The prog will take a snap-shot of your hardware upon installation. Then if you hardware changes too much it will shut you down. Will the system stay functioning if you make a number of changes over time, or is it just the number of hardware changes that sets it off? Either way, the program will still detect a number of recongized components. So how does it come to the conclusion that it has been pirated? At the risk of anthropomorphizing, until software is installed, it has no awareness. Once it is installed, it becomes aware of the hardware it is installed on. Pirated software is the same way, it is unaware of anything until it is first installed. Then once it is installed, it also becomes aware. All that said, what is the logic that was used when Microsoft decided that if software detects a number of hardware changes, it has been pirated. The best analogy I can think of is a person and their clone. Until you go to an outside source, there both the person and the clone will think they are the original. But Microsoft's deacivation system would be like the original person getting a heart & lung transplant and their immune system decides that they are now a clone. Can anybody explain this to me?
What's new is the response. They are not just leaving it to their shills the BSA this time and may be using their new EULAs to look at everyone's systems. Quoth the article:
The Microsoft representative made clear that the company will scour the Internet looking for the leaked code. "Our legal department works aggressively on that kind of thing," the representative said. Stolen codes are often traded with the software, typically on Web sites, newsgroups or Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
You have to wonder if they will use ISP records of OS use. They could compare the registration records and then use their EULA terms to log into non "activated" machines for which they also have no records and turn them off or alert the BSA of it and other unauthorized software found.
The privacy concern is in the search. In a perfect world that would be bad but the world and M$ in particular are far from perfect. Innocent people will pay the price for trusting M$. People using these keys legitimatly will have their personal files mulled over by M$ clerks and they might be falsly reported to the BSA. People using cracked codes without knowing it will also suffer. A crooked shop or consultant might very well have used the registration codes to extend their earnings.
Ah yes, this is the true joy of the closed source world. You are so grateful for your software that you agree to be searched at any time and treated like a criminal. More irksome than that is that a public network, the internet, will be abused to acomplish the searches. BARF.
DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
*ahem*
Neener
Neener
and, finally, Neener
That is all.
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick
Judging by the number of keys being posted I wonder if they are going to be removed by /.'s runners or is microsoft going to threatent them first.
/. or any site in trouble they could get their astroturffers to post throw away keys that plan to be invalid. With this they can shut down the sites, threaten even more huge fees and legal action if the sites don't manage to remove them all, make the site pay for any damages, give out info of who posted the keys, etc.
Gee if MS really wanted to get
True, nothing new about cracked Microsoft junk. Remember how M$ helped themselves to system access, auto updates and the ability to remove copyright infringing material found? It sounds like they will use this as a pretext to start digging through M$ systems.
DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
If Microsoft were to disable/ block whoever is using a leaked key, then I would bet that we will see some viruses that will modify the actual genuine S/N into a pirated one.
I read that, I just can't get my paws on the keygen (or anyone else that could find it). It's no big deal - my company pays for all its software and mine too, I just want to see it in action.
funny munging
How is sharing with friends and family not piracy? I always thought piracy was installing software on a computer that it was not licensed to be used on. Also Microsoft isn't stupid, they know that people that are bound and determined to pirate their software are not going to be stopped by activation. The people they intenend to stop are people like Joe User who isn't aware that it is illegal to pass copies to their friends and family copies of Windows XP and really have no clue that things like cracks and leaked keys are on the internet for it.
With all the possible variations of posting text strings, eg. as images, watermarks in images, or in ascii variations like l33t and ascii art, it'll be a lot tougher than just doing google searches for the code.
I'm surprised M$ hasn't figured out some crazy floating license scheme by now, so that such universal keys are unnecessary. A floating scheme would likely make sysadmins choke, but I'm sure MS could come up with some black box you plug into the net that issues floating 'boot licenses' for corporate customers that need it. (shrug)
In this account B. Gates welcomes Chinese software theft publicly.
y =c net
'Gates shed some light on his own hard-nosed business philosophy.
"Although about 3 million computers get sold every year in China, but
people don't pay for the software," he said. "Someday they will, though.
As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll
get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect
sometime in the next decade."'
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-212942.html?legac
That could answer any questions about the motivation "the world's richest
man" might have, wouldn't you think so?
In this account B. Gates welcomes Chinese software theft publicly. 'Gates shed some light on his own hard-nosed business philosophy. "Although about 3 million computers get sold every year in China, but people don't pay for the software," he said. "Someday they will, though. As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade."'c net
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-212942.html?legacy=
That could answer any questions about the motivation "the world's richest man" might have, wouldn't you think so?
I'm sure this will get marked as a troll, but honestly, how is the distribution of a Windows 2003 install key newsworthy? They've been leaked in every pre-release and retail version from '95 on.
With XP, you got 'net based authorization, which people got around by removing a file from the OS. It's going to happen. People pirate software.
As far as I can see this is about as much news as the "Buy an Xbox and make MS lose money!" stories.
Just calling it as I see it. Let the flames commence.
What does the Church of Scientology have to do with intellectual property?
Mod parent down, illegal. OMG! Is this what you MS lawyers call "working aggressively?"
What's important about the GPL to most of the slashbots is not the license...
:)
But the fact that you can download and use the software for free.
Well guess what pirating Microsoft software means?
They're being entirely consistent in their arguments.
"How is sharing with friends and family not piracy?"
Because there is no monetary incentive in letting someone copy something. If merely sharing a copy of an OS or a music CD is piracy, the term "piracy" loses it's meaning. Piracy originally refered to being attacked at sea, having all of your possessions stolen, and being left for dead. Now it means making a copy of a CD. How is that analogous?! Is stealing someone parking space piracy?! Is cutting in line, i.e., taking someone's turn, piracy?! Is stealing someone's boyfriend piracy?! What does the term "piracy" mean if so many acts means piracy?!
And using piracy in a sharing context is ambiguous. When Microsoft and the press say that Product Activation is necessary to stop piracy, the meaning of that statement changes when you learn that it will never stop real piracy, i.e., people copying and selling the software.
Why can't Microsoft be honest? Tell the world the sole purpose of Product Activation is to stop people from loaning out their copies. Why mangle the English language to avoid saying the truth?!
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
*whew*, for a second there I thought the warez sites were in danger.
Mass Piracy is threatened!
Quick, somebody save Mass Piracy!
You don't suppose that those codes have been leaked because MS may need to delay the release (again), and don't have and any good reasons left?
What I find funny is, that it's like this story (urban myth perhaps) about the woman who had a thriving business of disposing of peoples dead pets in a big city for about $50. Other disposal options were too expensive for many people, so she made a stack of cash.
She would simply buy a cheap and nasty ($5) suitcase for a couple of bucks. Put the dead animal in it, and leave the suitcase at a crouded train station. Of course, the suitcase wasn't sitting there long before someone steals it.....
You can draw many parrellels of this MS situation here. I guess after 911, this scenario might not be advisable.
Anyways, the kind of people who rip off proprietary software, are not the types who would actually shell out the mega bucks for it anyways - even if it were no warez or serialz available for them.
Mathematics Professors across the nation have received cease-and-decist letters this week from the attorneys of both Microsoft and Metallica, citing violations to several clauses of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.
...
The ancestors of Archimedes of Syracuse, Ludolph van Ceulen, William Jones, and the Chudnovsky brothers have been fined for their contribution to this code-breaking algorithm. Calculating compound interest for all sales lost since 200 BCE, Metallica is seeking 72 quintillion dollars in damages--James Hetfield, the lead singer and guitarist of Metallica, was asked to comment on his thoughts of pi, to which he simply replied, "ARRHARAA!@#@! Me like cherry#@!!"
Yo buss dis: the fishman affidavit
OT VIII A
HCO BULLETIN OF 1 OCTOBER 1969 SECRET WHY THETANS MOCK-UP
Dis question be de mos plaguin one in Dianetics and Scientology, an shit. De ONLY way a detan evuh gets in trouble, de ONLY way he can git trapped or become part uh a clustuh be by mockin-up and makin pictures uh fucked up experiences. An' why record all fucked up experiences? Dis too ain't bad assed sense. One can break it down it by a yearnin fuh events by havinness and othuh ways, but dese do not factually lead to a total solution. De real reason stems from a characteristic uh a detan. He never totally gives up. Dere is, seeminly, a skreak uh resistance or resentment dat makes a detan wish to persis in de same place. If he cannot, he will do so covertly, an shit. All powuh comes from de ability to occupy a point. De base dat separates two terminals mus be firm or dere gonna be no exchange uh energy.
De effort to weaken a detan be to make him relinquish his point in space. Covertly or overtly a detan seeks to assert his position in space. If he cannot do so overtly he does so covertly, an shit. When a detan be moved unwillinly from a point or position, he evun den refuses to give up dat point, but MOCKS IT UP. He also mocks up de events uh his departua as a part uh de action of mockin up de point he be leavin. Dis, unwittinly, gives him a picture, a engram. Now let us see if dis deory holds true in practice.
A. Jus ahead uh any engram dere mus be an effort to retain a position an' dere mus be a point or location bein mocked up. Dis be true. You can blow an engram witout runnin it by spottin its firs point in space an' time. In a secondary, "Where didja firs hear uh de loss" be a vital question.
B. In a Contact Assis gettin a person to touch a guen de point where he wuz hurt wit what wuz hurt will blow de engram.
C. Gettin a person to locate isas (locations) dat be not safe produces blows uh engrams witout runnindem.
D. Exact an' accurate datin sometimes blows an engram. Those times when it does not, it should blow when de location be exactly spotted.
E. Implants an' traps wuz done mainly to keep detans out uh an isa. De detan, resentin an' resistin mocks up de place anyway an' so implants himself.
_____________________________
A detan too easily substitutes a mock-up fuh a point in de real universe. One could also say dat a detan, by mockin up, warns himself a guens show nuf points in space or isas in de Physical Universe. Anxiety be solely not bein able to be in show nuf places an' not where one be either. See what I'm sayin? Makin folk leave be de mos unpopular action unless one also freesdem to be anywhere. Transferrin folk be a degradin thin to do todem. Jail denies a detan all spaces except where he be placed an' note dat detans be made very miserable in Jail. Jailin is a sho way to confirm criminals an' also to makedem crazy as well. Any detan, stuck in an engram, be assertin de effort to be at de point where he wuz hit at de beginnin uh dat engram. An engram derefo be a refusal to leave a place at which force wuz exerted to drive one away, an shit. Reversely, one can refuse to be held at a place where one does not wish to be, but dis be a negation uh a place, a not-is uh it and its time.
Powuh uh choice ovuh where one be an' where one ain't be thus a key to engrams. Finally - a detan mocks up because he covertly refuses to abandon a location unduh duress an' not-ises de place where he does not wish to be but must. Usin dese facts one can blow engrams witout runnindem.
Some sample questions: What point (location) be unsafe? What location could you has held absolutely? Where didja firs git an intimation uh danger? What place would you rathuh not be in? What effort would it take to hold (that) (a) locatation? wukin wit dis you will see a doe open to a highuh level than Dianetic R3R. But realize dat it be only fuh a high level detan. Dis be de road to returned pers
If you repeat a lie enough times, it is eventually perceived as the truth.
Biodiesel : domestic, renewable, clean, and in the fuel tank of my bone stock 2002 New Beetle TDI
Um... maybe because the binary is much, much, much larger than the serial number?
After all, even if the only binary is 650 mb (simplifying here), doesn't that mean that it would require about 169,728,000,000 digits to represent it? That means that if the digits of pi are pretty much random for all we can see (which seems to be a pretty good assumption, if you can predict digits of pi, you could probably keygen...)
Probability of this occurring by chance: 0.1 x 10^169,728,000,000.
Now, let's get a sense of what 10^169,728,000,000 is. Well, 10^100 is a google... which is greater than the number of particles in the known universe.
This math is all way-simplified and possibly wrong, but it should be, you know, within a factor of 100,000... which still makes this completely infeasible.
A 10-digit serial number is merely a probability of 0.1 * 10^10, which can possibly be calculated.
Although it would be easier if you broke it into two pieces...
These are the worst fake Nostradamus quatrains ever.
Does it come with AOL?
But I can only put in the first 25 letters. Which ones do I put in?
I used (and i guess still could if i was so inclined) to install NT4 and Office 97 after i lost the keys just by typing random numbers into the keybox. I also still remember my win 95 serial. Now we have these 25 char alphanumeric keys and it's hell if you lose a box. And windows is still pirated. Fail imo.
Ready, for Windows converts? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
RTFM n00b!
You're not smart enough to use Linux.
Linux doesn't have that RAID driver, its not Linux's fault.
Kernel panics? You set it up wrong you fucking n0ob!
Duh! You used the wrong distro you fUck1nG 1di0t! You should have used Debian of course!
Duh! You used the wrong distro you fUck1nG 1di0t! You should have used Gentoo of course!
Duh! You used the wrong distro you fUck1nG 1di0t! You should have used Redhat of course!
Duh! You used the wrong distro you fUck1nG 1di0t! You should have used LFS of course!
I'm wondering why this does not happen more often!? This seems to be a really big deal for Microsoft, but naively I would think that such keys are leaked to the internet every day. Or are these keys usually heavily guarded as "company secrets"? Are there stiff fines imposed on the companies if their assigned key becomes public knowledge?
I hope you feel the same way about my personal story. I'm personally stealing GPL software (these idiots were dumb enough to give out the source!), rebranding it, and selling it! Of course I'm not distributing the source either, you OSS suckers (should that be OSSS?) can, uh, suck on it.
FUCK THE MAN, yeehaw!
I'm not sure about the places were everbody else works, but where I work we have so many oprotunities to no license things correctly, but we do because we are an organization (actually a university). I'm pretty sure that most companies also buy all of their software in good faith, or they at least don't knowingly steal from a software manufacturer. I think the only people that are probably stealing this software are the nerds that put this software on a computer at home because they are willing to pay the $500 to $2000 is costs to legally license Windows Server... It's not like the key codes aren't going to get out there after April 24th... The codes will get out from their OEM customers and the other groups that have product keys that don't need to be activated...
This whole thing is just free press for Microsoft to help announce their release date. I didn't even know when the release date was and our organization is a Tech Net + subscriber and have the RC2 installed... Maybe my head is just in the sand...
All I can say is, "Arrh, Matey!"
To mail me, remove the 'mailno' from my email addy.
"Yeah. It smells, too..."
He'd say, "We're gonna smoke 'em out" when asked about his stance on piracy. Then he'd roll over and play dead for Capn' Bly. Ahhh... if only the commander in thief would put down his crackus pipus for a little while. Maybe he'd stop "choking on pretzels". Republicans suck asshair. Moderate this you mother fuckers! Logic bomb: The first person to mod this comment down must admit that they sucked my choad and liked it. There are no other options.
What I find particularly frightening about this is that there are "Windows enthusiast groups." Maybe the writer of the article mis-spelled euthanasia?
Just my $.02,
Ron
Impeach Barack Obama for violating the Constitutional requirement to be a "natural born" citizen to hold the office of P
Bypass the parts of the os that invoke the license checks
Yeah I'll take the OS encrypt it and give it to you along with an open source program which will decrypt it given a key (but I wont give you the key). Lemme see how you bypass the license check mechanism and install it.
.ACMD setaloiv siht gnidaeR
No monitary incentives? Surely you cannot seriously use that arguement. The monitary incentive is makeing it unneccessary for a user to purchase a legit license to be able to run Windows.
As for making a copy of the cd? Go right ahead, just make sure that you use a legit cd-key when you are installing Windows from the copy and that use of the cd-key is within the boundaries of the EULA.
As for stealing a parking space? How can you steal a parking space, unless you payed for the space it is not yours, from a legal point of view, in the first place.
Now comparing the software to music, this I like. Music, like software can be used by anyone, as long as it is only coming from one source per license, or cd in the case of music.
As for Microsoft not telling the truth about it, just call their tech support and ask them, they will have no problem telling you that. It was developed to stop piracy, however do you really think Microsoft is stupid enough to think that there is a 100% gaurenteed way to stop piracy, personally, I don't.