Warp2Search.net » News » March 2007 » Vista activation cracked by brute force

It looks like Microsoft's unhackable OS activation malware has been hacked.
It is a simple brute force attack, dumb as a rock that just tries keys. If it gets one, you manually have to check it and try activation. Is is ugly, takes hours, is far from point and click, but it is said to work. I don't have any Vista installs because of the anti-user licensing so I have not tested it personally. The method of attack has got to be quite troubling for MS on many grounds. The crack is a glorified guesser, and with the speed of modern PCs and the number of outstanding keys, the 25-digit serials are within range. The biggest problem for MS? If this gets widespread, and I hope it will, people will start activating legit keys that are owned by other people. Read on at Inq

12/11/2006 03:50 PM: Hackers Find New Vista Activation Crack by Newsfactory
With all the talk about Microsoft's stepped up efforts to curb piracy through Vista's new activation methods, it may all be for naught after some crafty hackers figured out a way to crack the Vista A...

10/26/2006 06:28 PM: Microsoft clarifies Vista activation to bit-tech hacks by Newsfactory
We get on the blower to MS and find out what is really happening with the WGA activation in Windows Vista. It turns out that enthusiasts aren't in trouble after all. Bit-Tech ...

The_GURU Unregistered

#66065 Posted on: 03/02/2007 09:30 AM I remember when this happened for XP after M$ claimed it was uncrackable. Good times.

scyphe Unregistered

#66067 Posted on: 03/02/2007 02:02 PM It affects customers, not only the company. That makes it REALLY BAD. When/if this tool comes up with keys that are already out in the wild, it will cause legit customers a lot of grief. It's like breaking in and stealing their boxes with the license keys on them.

Nemo Unregistered

#66068 Posted on: 03/02/2007 02:08 PM Nah.. the really reaaly bad bit is MS putting in WGA DRM and all that crap... then charging a fortune for the OS. If MS charged £50 a pop for the OS every in the World would be using it ..... and the opirating problem wouldnt be a problem. Greed is whats driving this problem. MS's greed.

sphinxer Unregistered

#66069 Posted on: 03/02/2007 02:28 PM This is a traditional inquirer bullshit as always. Anything in the world can be cracked by brute force, it will take years of trials for a normal person to generate a valid serial number that can be activated online. Inquirer bullshit.

NT Unregistered

#66070 Posted on: 03/02/2007 02:36 PM Read at the forums where the crack has been posted and see the result people got.

scyphe Unregistered

#66071 Posted on: 03/02/2007 03:41 PM If people don't want to pay for Windows they are free to use Linux. Greed is what's driving the problem, greed of people completely okay with stealing other peoples license keys. And the WGA & DRM stuff is just a bullshit thing to use in an argument since most people don't seem to understand what DRM is. DRM allows people to watch DRM-protected content. It does not stop people from playing non-DRM-protected content. How is that a problem? It's just paranoid ignorance. But I'm not concerned about people running pirated copies of Windows, my concern is when pirated use keys that OTHER people have PAID for out of pure greed (ie. not wanting to pay). THAT's bad.

Nemo Unregistered

#66072 Posted on: 03/02/2007 03:42 PM @sphinxer hehe go read the forums matey... seems the Inquirer isnt bullsh*tting... perhaps you are? as you've obviously got a lot more street cred.... LMFAO

apathy Junior Member Posts: 1 Joined: 2003-09-26

#66075 Posted on: 03/03/2007 01:44 AM DRM is just another way to control the user and cause them problems. I hope this is devastating for M$, the endless grief that activation has caused ever since XP came out, change one piece of hardware and you have to reactivate, do it 2 or 3 times and you have to call them to get it activated only to be put on hold and then when they do answer it's some ***** from India who you can't even understand, the auto prompt never works, a huge pain in the ass thanks to the greed at M$ and did it save them some money? Who knows, XP can be had for free with the notorious "corp" version and all those activation problems forced me to install that version even though I own legit versions, am I a criminal? In the eyes of M$ and liberals I probably am a criminal.

jago_ai Unregistered

#66076 Posted on: 03/03/2007 03:25 AM Yea b/c Linux can do _EVERYTHING_ that a Windows-PC based system can do right? /rolls eyes I swear...all your Linux snobs need to get out of your head that Linux is the end-all-be-all replacement for Windows.

Warp2Search.net » News » March 2007 » Vista activation cracked by brute force