StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Why am I not suprised? still, this isn't the worst we'll see.

The folks over at Engadget have come across another exploit that allows users to permanently activate Windows Vista using crack files and some registry trickery. The TimeStop Vista cracks only works on 32-bit versions of Windows Vista, so those looking to crack 64-bit versions of the operating system may be out of luck.

The crack effectively stops the countdown times to mandatory Vista activation and freezes the countdown timer at 43,200 minutes (30 days). The countdown timer will not reduce any lower than 30 days.

The makers of the crack note at the bottom of their "instruction manual" that "This article is for educational and informational purpose only." Microsoft likely isn't taking too kindly to this latest activation breach and likely already has a team working to patch up the exploit.

I don't think MS is going to do much about it, so far everything they do activation wise seems pretty easily broken and they never really fix it, i think they do it just to catch those that aren't tech savvy (which is no small number) and probably to get some stockholders off their backs, but they don't make it too hard due to that whole "it's going to get pirated, so we'll rather they pirate our stuff" thing Gates once mentioned.

I get a feeling that it's an arms race.

On one hand we have Microsoft.

On the other there are tons of crackers piling up on Vista.

Microsoft has two advantages here: Windows Update, and Windows Genuine Advantage. Windows Update can be used to break activation cracks (which can instantly become really obnoxious if you're past the thirty-day limit when your crack just got killed), and WGA can make it a pain in the ass to download things directly from Microsoft as leverage against the smart ones who don't dick around with activation cracks and go for pirated copies of Volume License versions of Windows.

There are ways around it, sure. Microsoft will likely always be one step behind, sure. Those who are determined to use Windows without paying Microsoft for it will manage to do so. There is no 100% solution to this, and Microsoft knows it, but Windows Update and WGA make it much more difficult for John Q. Public to casually pirate Windows than it was before XP.