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Microsoft Allows Pirates to Install XP SP2
mkraft writes "On the tail of the previously asked question on whether Microsoft should support pirated copies of XP, comes the answer.
According to Computer Times, Microsoft will allow SP2 to be installed on any copy of Windows XP including copies with invalid license keys.
Microsoft decided "that even if someone has pirated copy of Windows, it is more important to keep him safe than it is to be concerned about the revenue issue."
There is no news of whether or not pirated copies will be allowed access to the Windows Update site afterwards or just allowed to install SP2."
Microsoft service packs don't require the previous service packs (eg XP SP1) to be installed, they contain all the updates thus far.
Many corporate cdkeys were locked out of the last sp2 build to try to fight piracy. The build would allow you to install the service pack but immediatly after login it would force the activation screen to you which you can not get around. Only solution was to format and install with a different key. More info here.
Yes, all you need to do is get a valid CD key, then change it. Follow the instructions here.
If you paid for a full retail version of XP, you would indeed be able to use it that way.
However, you didn't. You paid a fraction of the price for a limited license which allows you to use it on your laptop and your laptop alone.
Mmmm.. Donuts
It isn't just what he "meant" to say:
If you buy a full version, you have all these rights. What people fail to realize is they get an OEM copy of the OS with a new system. It is much cheaper than a full version, but also has 1 added restriction, it can only be (legally) run on that machine. If you want the full version, pay for the full version. If you only pay for a limited version (which is esentially what the OEM version is) then don't complain because you don't get the rights of the full version.
And before you say it, Sony has chosen to make it so you can only install the OS on a Sony machine, not MS. So the fact you can't install the OS on VMWare on the machine it came on is the fault of Sony, not MS.
"Information wants to be expensive" - Stewart Brand, the same guy who said "Information wants to be free"
As far as I know there are a couple different pirated copies of XP out there. There is the original DevilsOwn patched version, then there are the VLK/Corporate versions and so on. I am going to guess that the majority of people pirating XP are using the corporate version which AFAIK currently has no problem connecting to WindowsUpdate.
Now - even if Microsoft does block everyone with any kind of pirated version of XP out - what is stopping someone from setting up their own WindowsUpdate server (I have done so at my office) and allowing people to update themselves from there (unless of course the WindowsUpdate allows for the person to download and once it attempts to install finds the illegitimate key and then stops there).
With the piracy scene these days it shouldnt take but a couple days for someone to figure out a way around all this activation stuff and sometimes even MS makes it easier to get around. Take Office XP - it requires activation which can be gotten around and if you attempt to install updates (esp. Service packs) it will ask you for the original CD. However, if you just download the entire SP3 for Office XP you can install the service pack without ever needing the original disks for XP.
If you can program some sort of protection - someone else will figure out a way around it. MS Activation, PGP, etc, etc, etc. Almost everyone wants something for nothing and will spend a lot of time to figure out how to do it.
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aphex
I Steal Music!
Actually, SP1 doesn't check the validity of the license. It simply denies those who have a CD key starting with "FCKGW".
The SP1 fix for pirated copies of Windows XP is a simple re-registering of a newly generated CD key. No need to activate.
So basically if you installed a pirated copy of WinXP (that has activation removed) and used any other key besides "FCKGW...", you're good to go.
Not much of a "piracy prevention" system going on there.
We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
raises hand
I read that he *did* pay for the licence needed to run it on his laptop. It was bundled in with the price of the laptop. He's using it on that laptop. That Sony has crippled the copy he had does not negate that he does indeed have a licence. It's a technical issue, not a legal one.
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
Site licenses are only 'upgrades' according to Microsoft. You cannot purchase a volume license and put it on a machine without a valid license for Windows to begin with. That also means that if you buy a PC for business use, you cannot buy XP Home on that machine, and then 'upgrade' it with your volume license, either. You have to get 2000 or XP Pro instead.
I used up all my sick days, so I'm calling in dead.
they offer security updates on a cd for free
While 250 MB is a huge update, this is the first MS service pack (that I can recall) that actually consists mostly of new features and not just bug fixes...the security features of XP have been overhauled (new security "dashboard" control app, vastly improved firewall, and lots of "default off" security settings in Messenger, Outlook Express, etc.) and it includes a new version of IE with pop-up blocking built-in and extension management, a new bluetooth and 802.11x wireless detection/connection tool, and a number of smaller (but no less visible) enhancements (like a streamlined Add/Remove Programs tool).
The other issue is that if they want to keep all their workstations with the same OS company wide, they've little choice but to buy a volume license along with the Software Assurance. It's the only way they can be sure that they will be allowed to downgrade new machines or upgrade old machines to the standardized OS.
Like it or not, most Microsoft customers are stuck going in whatever direction Microsoft decides to drag them today.
I used up all my sick days, so I'm calling in dead.