Windows Vista activation cracks appear to be increasing in numbers. However, Microsoft is apparently being selective about which Vista activation cracks the company is going to address, as it has no intention of addressing every single crack.

According to a post by Microsoft Senior Product Manager Alex Kochis on the Windows Genuine Advantage developers’ blog: “Our goal isn’t to stop every ‘mad scientist’ that’s on a mission to hack Windows. Our first goal is to disrupt the business model of organized counterfeiters and protect users from becoming unknowing victims.”

“This means focusing on responding to hacks that are scalable and can easily be commercialized, thereby making victims out of well-intentioned customers,” Kochis added.

Let’s take for example the BIOS hacks that allow pirates to circumvent the anti-piracy features that are built into the Windows Vista and to understand which Vista activation cracks are getting Microsoft’s attention.

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

Companies like ASUS, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Lenovo and Acer embed certain license information into the BIOS of their machines, which can be validated by a Windows Vista installation, removing the need for further activation procedure as well as anti-piracy checks.

The first method to crack Vista activation through BIOS hack was by editing the BIOS entry through the use of BIOS editor. This method requires that the end user has skills, is risky and not scalable. A single executing error can permanently disable the PC’s motherboard.

The second method uses special software that fools Windows into believing that it is running on a qualifying system. This method is easier to implement for the end user, scalable, but easier to detect for blocking purposes.

If Microsoft needs to resolve one and only one method from the above, which method do you think will it choose? Obviously, the second method.

So, the next time another Vista activation crack appears, you should be able to quickly work out whether Microsoft will bother addressing it. For more information, here is a more detailed list on which Vista activation crack gets Microsoft attention.

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Related:

One Click Activation Crack for Vista

Pirates give Microsoft a headache with Vista activation cracks

Microsoft won’t attend to all Vista activation cracks

Microsoft workaround allows indefinite Vista use without a Serial Key or Crack

Microsoft Versus the Experts on Vista Activation Workaround

Entry was posted on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 1:10 pm under Security, Vista.  Print This Post

Read more entries by Ruben Francia.