SP1 Unsuccessful in Preventing Vista Hacks

"The other A. N. Other" writes "It seems that Microsoft has been unsuccessful with SP1 in preventing hackers from turning a pirated, non-genuine copy of Vista into genuine copies that pass activation. The article initially looked at two of the most popular hacks (OEM BIOS hack and the grace timer hack) but after a little digging ZDNet were able to transform a non-genuine install into a genuine one. 'After a few minutes of searching the darker corners of the Internet and a few seconds in the Command Prompt I was able to fool Windows into thinking that it was genuine.'"

Comments

Re:Black Screen of Death...

[morgan_greywolf]

So, if the screen goes black on users who have a genuine copy, maybe they can use this hack? Or would this be illegal? Although it would then be like tricking Windows into -realizing- it is genuine... It would be a pretty clear violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and similar laws in countries outside the United States -- bypassing a security system designed to prevent copying. Might be okay in Canada, though. I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, and you if you want legal advice -- go hire a lawyer.

Re:How does this work?

[rriven]

Can someone please explain to me how they can get a non-genuine copy to "pass activation"?

Sure, some OEM versions don't need activation, all they need is the correct SLIC table embedded in the bios to tell vista that it is a OEM computer and a OEM product key.

With that you will not need activation and you will be Genuine. So you are right it does not pass activation, just like the VLK keys of XP don't pass activation, because it is not needed.

There are tons of sites about it

On a side note if you buy a computer that is OEM Vista Home Premium you can use the SLIC table in your BIOS and get Vista Ultimate, just by changing your key. Once again no activation

Re:This is nothing new

[ericlondaits]

Perhaps not in the US, but they do in the rest of the world.

At least here in Argentina most home and small office users have pirated copies of Windows. Although it's bundled in brand computers, most people buy computers assembled by small computer shops or by themselves, because there are much much cheaper than buying Dell, Compaq, etc.

OEM copies of Windows, though much cheaper than boxed versions, are expensive enough to have a big impact in the price of a custom-built PC.

Re:Here we go again...

[DMUTPeregrine]

The Install.exe files are actually MoPaQ archives. Just copy the install.exe from the broodwar CD to the starcraft folder and rename it to BroodWar.mpq

Here is how to do it:

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're running a hacked copy of Vista already, then run voatk tools v2.5 to uninstall previous cracks, reboot, then run VST X-Free 2.1.2.1.2 to activate with the following instructions:

1. open tool
2. click "install key"-button and wait for OK-box
3. click install (the install button to the right, in the Select OEM... area)
4. click activate and wait for OK-box
5. click reboot
6. done smile

This works on both x86 and x64 systems.

Re:Black Screen of Death...

[misleb]

So, if the screen goes black on users who have a genuine copy, maybe they can use this hack? Or would this be illegal? Although it would then be like tricking Windows into -realizing- it is genuine...

You know, it's funny... I've often found it easier to crack a piece of software than it is to track down my legitimate license. I can imagine does that with VIsta. If I were running a legitimate version of Vista and changed my hardware (or whatever causes Vista to require a to require you to reregister), I'd sooner install a crack than spend any amount of time on the phone with Microsoft.

-matthew