Microsoft worked hard to make sure Windows Vista was as pirate proof as possible, but as our investigation shows, those wily pirates don’t give up easily.

Hacking the Windows Vista activation process is the preferred method of cracking Microsoft’s latest operating system. In fact, various tricks and workarounds have been suggested to activate non-legitimate copies of Vista.

Obviously, we don’t support piracy, and for informational purposes only, here’s an overview of how pirates are cracking Windows Vista activation.

1. By Paradox

A group of software engineers known as Paradox found a method of bypassing activation in Windows Vista. The group provided tools and information on how to trick a Vista installation (x86) into acting as if it is installed on an OEM machine.

The Windows Vista activation crack by Paradox took advantage of how Vista validates on OEM machines.

OEMs like ASUS, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Lenovo and Acer ship their machines with pre-installed version of Vista that doesn’t require product activation. These companies embed certain license information into their machines, which can be validated by a Widows Vista installation, removing the need for further activation procedures.

The installation of Vista activation crack requires hardware-embedded BIOS ACPI_SLIC information signed by Microsoft together with a matching product key and OEM certification. The combination will render the Vista installation indistinguishable from a legitimate copy of pre-activated Vista shipped by the respective OEM.

Vista activated using this crack can download Vista patches and updates.

2. By Key Management Server

Another group of hackers used a VMWare image and a VBS script to simulate a local Key Management Server (KMS) which can generate valid Vista product keys.

However, the downside of KMS is that the activation is only good for 180 days. This is made to discourage people from bringing in their personal machines to activate them.

3. By KeyGen tool

An unknown hacker claimed he had created a KeyGen tool to crack Windows Vista’s activation process by generating a valid Windows Vista activation key.

Although a few claimed that they’d found a valid activation key using the tool, many who tried KeyGen gave up in frustration.

Few days after KeyGen was released, the hacker confessed he never gotten it to work. But despite his confession, some still believed that his tool will work with slight modifications.

The above techniques apparently can crack the activation process of Windows Vista.

However, when it comes to security and protection, then nothing beats a legitimate copy of Vista.

For more information, here is a detailed list of which Vista activation crack gets Microsoft attention.

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Related:

Know which Vista activation crack Microsoft wants to resolve

One Click Activation Crack for Vista

Microsoft won’t attend to all Vista activation cracks

Vista SP1 to block activation hacks

How to backup your OEM Vista activation

Entry was posted on Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 at 3:41 pm under Security, Vista.  Print This Post

Read more entries by Ruben Francia.