SP1 won’t outsmart Vista copiers

Friday, February 15th, 2008

Microsoft had announced that Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista, the successor to Windows XP, would give it better protection against unlicensed use, and would disable the activation crack circulating on the internet.

But the developers have only partly succeeded: a back door in Vista’s activation method can still be exploited to enable systems fully, without online activation. The technical hurdle is relatively low, because Microsoft issues big PC manufacturers (OEMs) general codes they can use on all preinstalled PCs. This lets manufacturers copy the same hard-disk image to thousands of machines, so customers don’t have to enable their PCs online. SP1 won’t outsmart Vista copiers - News - heise Security UK