Having dealt with the SoftMod Windows Vista activation crack, Microsoft will start hunting down and “killing†pirated copies of Windows XP Professional, the flavor of the operating system labeled by the company as most popular with pirates. The software giant has cooked and will release an update to Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications designed to sniff out and flag as non-genuine unlicensed or otherwise hacked copies of XP Pro. Alex Kochis, senior product manager, Windows Genuine Advantage, revealed that the latest update to the anti-piracy mechanism was capable to identify the latest fake and stolen/leaked product keys, as well as any cracks or additional methods used to bypass the activation process. At the same time there are other enhancements introduced to WGA Notifications by the refresh. “With this release we've improved the design making it easier to install the update and to stay up to date with the latest release of WGA. This release focuses on the product edition that we find is most often counterfeited, Windows XP Professional,†Kochis added. “This update includes the latest validation information including recently stolen or misused product keys and other information.†Microsoft has also tweaked the installation process of WGA Notifications. The WGA refresh will be served automatically to Windows XP operating systems that have Automatic Updates enabled, and the installer will allow the user to deploy the update on the next reboot after the bits were downloaded. Users that have already integrated past WGA releases with the operating system will have the bits updated in the background, and will not need to go through the installation process again. “After installing this version of WGA Notifications on a copy of Windows XP that fails the validation a users experience of Windows would include (same as with the last release) first a message at their next logon indicating that they might be a victim of software counterfeiting. They would see that their desktop has changed to a plain black background and they will see a persistent desktop notification above the system tray as well as messages from the system tray offering additional information and ways that the customer can report the piracy or obtain a genuine copy of Windows,†Kochis revealed. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-to-Kill-Pirated-Windows-XP-Professional-107775.shtml Code (markup):
don't worry, i have full confidence in the special community, they say if it can run, it can be broken
Well time for the cat and mouse game to start again. Does Microsoft really think they will stop a determined pirate?
they can never do it...most geniuses using cracked softwares and os, dont update unless they r a stupid blonde.... (so accusing) PS: I'm half asleep...
I wish they could find all of the cracked versions to be honest. We all know they cannot though. They will most likely find countless "fake" versions.
Set your automatic updates to notify you when new updates are available but not install. Then choose what updates you want to install. Only an ass would install WGA on a cracked Win XP Been doing this for several years without problems....
If i remember rightly, once comes a fix.. then comes a crack.. fix.. crack.. fix.. crack. So i wonder how long it takes until the crack of the fix arrives?
No matter how they try, there will always be pirated copies available. Maybe if they would stop been money robbing git's, over-pricing their products, there wouldn't be as much piracy?
the genuine customer pays and complains and waits for the fix.. ( sad user ) the pirate customer installs and when they find it, reinstalls ( happy user ) so microsoft doesnt like its users to be happy?
biggest step they could take to satisfy the user is to allow a 3 user license agreement on all the software. I have a PC and a laptop and am not willing to pay for 2 copies of anything. I would not buy 2 cd's for each of my hi fi systems. Its silly
It is silly to buy 2 cds when you have two computers... microsoft is just trying to milk more money. Sigh...
I have heard of legitiment copies being stopped buy these guards. I did a test on my pirated copy to make sure it wasn't stolen. Micro$ucks said it a was a 100% legit copy. =P
Linux is the best option if you don't want to pay for an OS. Using pirated versions of software is dangerous (often riddled with trojans and malware) and not worth the hassle IMO.
What about SP2 ? It does not come with WGA and if I turn off updates ( which is the most common way to protect yourself ), no one can "kill" my system ( at least, not Microsoft ) !