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Microsoft Kills Windows 7 Activation Leak

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6:21 PM - July 31, 2009 by Kevin Parrish

Microsoft has acknowledged the leak of a special product key to Windows 7 Ultimate.

Microsoft's director of Genuine Windows Alex Kochis officially acknowledged the leak of a "special product key" for Windows 7 Ultimate RTM (release to manufacturers) in this blog, saying that the leaked key was meant to activate copies of the new OS pre-installed by a certain OEM partner (Lenovo).

Kochis also said that customers who purchase PCs with Windows 7 from Lenovo shouldn't experience validation issues despite the leak, however Microsoft has moved to prevent PCs from being sold that use the key in question. His blog also indicates that the leaked key will still work, but will be easily identified.

"Windows 7 already includes an improved ability to detect hacks, also known as activation exploits, and alert customers who are using a pirated copy," he said. "There is a hack that is said to enable, when paired with the leaked key, a system to install and use a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. Both the hack and the key are indications that a copy of Windows may not be genuine. The Windows Activation Technologies included in Windows 7 are designed to handle situations such as this one, and customers using these tools and methods should expect Windows to detect them."

Hochis also added that Microsoft's primary goal is to protect users from becoming unknowing victims, claiming that pirates (or customers who use pirated copies of Windows 7) are at a greater risk of identity theft and malware.

Source : Tom's Hardware US

Talkback
Add your comment
fogartini 08/01/2009 12:40 PM
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-20+

Canceling torrent

santeana 08/01/2009 12:47 PM
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-5+

fogartini :
Canceling torrent




lol

megamanx00 08/01/2009 12:48 PM
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-1+

Figured they would. Of course pirates will still hack it. Anyway I'd like for them to spend more time making sure the OS works right. I'll probably get win 7 eventually, but I'll wait till they put out a few patches for it ^_^. At least they did good buy letting alot of customers be lab rats, uh, I mean valued RC testers :D. Hopefully it won't have too many issues at launch but memories of the state of the Vista and XP at retail launchs don't fill me with hope :)

riquisimo 08/01/2009 12:50 PM
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it wont matter. Pirates will find a back door anyways. If it can be protected, it can be disabled.

Anonymous 08/01/2009 12:50 PM
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-11+

I love how its always "to protect people from virii and identity theft" rather than they just want their money since it really doesn't make you more vulnerable.

ohim 08/01/2009 1:00 AM
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asfew :
I love how its always "to protect people from virii and identity theft" rather than they just want their money since it really doesn't make you more vulnerable.


and if you take a lot of time and invest a lot of monney makeing an OS wouldn`t you like to protect your monney ?

Ciuy 08/01/2009 1:01 AM
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fogartini :
Canceling torrent



haha

same

reasonablevoice 08/01/2009 1:20 AM
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--2+


"and if you take a lot of time and invest a lot of monney makeing an OS wouldn`t you like to protect your monney ? "

Well, no shit sherlock. He is pointing out that they are lying or greatly exaggerating the "risks" so it sounds like they are looking out for their customers when they are just trying to scare people into not using a pirated copy.
I have a technet sub, so I don't have to worry about cracks and hacks, though if I didn't I would be running a cracked copy for sure.
$200-300 for an OS? No thanks.

tamalero 08/01/2009 1:40 AM
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theres new versions of orbit already, and they're all reporting it works, wondering if microsoft will suddenly disable them once windows update kicks in XD

nachowarrior 08/01/2009 1:51 AM
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nachowarrior 08/01/2009 1:54 AM
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shims506 08/01/2009 2:04 AM
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why wont you disable

back ground intelligence transfer and windows update

wouldn't that work and stop them from receiving info about your computer

duckmanx88 08/01/2009 2:10 AM
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nachowarrior :
Not to mention the fact that win 7 is still unstable compared to xp when multitasking. Not sure if i even want to keep it yet. Sage tv no longer works, and WMC crashes every 4-10 minutes, not to mention it steals focus when i'm trying to do other things like gaming. 300 dollars for something that has less functionality than something already in place? I second that "no thanks" stated above.



thats just karma for not buying the software for a measily $50.

apache_lives 08/01/2009 2:12 AM
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you can go fishing and expect the bait to not be attacked as it hangs around in the water for everyone to nibble at - your OS WILL be hacked Microsoft.

All your activation are belong to us :D

redgarl 08/01/2009 2:15 AM
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LOL @ M$ trying to argue that pirates aren't going to be able to crack W7 easily.

Some pirated copies of some software are actually better than the original... the sad truth.

redgarl 08/01/2009 2:23 AM
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ohim :
and if you take a lot of time and invest a lot of monney makeing an OS wouldn`t you like to protect your monney ?



If the OS was called Windows Millennium or Vista... would you argue about ripping off customers instead of antitrust big companies like Microsoft?

The same Microsoft unable to design a proper heatsink for the 360 that managed to screw up so many customers due to the bad design. The same one destroying PC gaming with the horrible xbox trash port philosophy Games for ... Live?

Look, I got my legal copies of XP and Vista through MSDNAA. I don't plan to buy another Microsoft Product in my life. Hell, they even scrap MSN messenger... HOW COULD IT BE POSSIBLE???

apache_lives 08/01/2009 2:25 AM
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redgarl :
LOL @ M$ trying to argue that pirates aren't going to be able to crack W7 easily.Some pirated copies of some software are actually better than the original... the sad truth.



Yeah cause then you dont have to ring Microsoft to activate after you use your licence so much!

nachowarrior 08/01/2009 2:28 AM
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computabug 08/01/2009 2:48 AM
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One of the reasons why I don't use windows... This crap exploits the power of my pc to use it against myself.

Go Linux. Screw the games that don't run on linux... my gtx260 may be overkill for HL2, but w/e, I ain't using an OS that spends half its time trying to make sure I'm legit and the other half actually working. I like Linux, 100% working ;)

Anonymous 08/01/2009 2:56 AM
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i'm having my illegal copy of windows 7 from torrents sites on my hard drive and i'm planning to install it in the next couple of weeks and see how it works.maybe if i'm satisfied with the product i'll buy an original copy from store in october

nurgletheunclean 08/01/2009 3:43 AM
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[citation][nom]my gtx260 may be overkill for HL2, but w/e, I ain't using an OS that spends half its time trying to make sure I'm legit and the other half actually working. I like Linux, 100% working[/citation]

Microsoft's foothold on PC OS is DirectX. Linux is great if all you want to play is a handful of OpenGL titles. But the vast majority of games need DirectX, which leaves Non-Windows users out in the cold.

As for the main story, of course Microsoft is going to invalidate the Lenovo key, it's easy to do before PC's actually hit the market.

Once Lenovo or any other manufacturer ships a couple million units, Microsoft won't be able to invalidate the Key. Exactly why Vista remains compromised. This is all just PR for Microsoft, since none of it really matters one way or the other. 95% of MS OSs are purchased by OEMs anyway. Laptops for $400 will come with Win7--so who's rushing out to upgrade their old PCs with Win7? A handful of enthusiasts-small potatoes. How many enthusiasts run an illigit copy? Even Smaller potatoes.

Again here's the age old question. If copy protection was perfect, does that mean pirates would buy the software? Or simply go without, or go with a free alternative?

As long as OEMs buy the software MS will be satisfied.

aspireonelover 08/01/2009 4:02 AM
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lol, I bet microsoft is just "saying" this again... just like vista "Oh, our new updates will permanently disable the crack." Did they even disable the bootloader crack? nope they didn't
Just so saying, it's always better to buy software(os included) other than to hack it.

randomizer 08/01/2009 5:00 AM
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nachowarrior :
Not to mention the fact that win 7 is still unstable compared to xp when multitasking. Not sure if i even want to keep it yet. Sage tv no longer works, and WMC crashes every 4-10 minutes, not to mention it steals focus when i'm trying to do other things like gaming. 300 dollars for something that has less functionality than something already in place? I second that "no thanks" stated above. If you hadn't noticed, karma doesn't apply to math. 1+1=2 and on is on and off is off. no matter what. Which means that windows 7 is still below par for the course.


So your experience represents the global experience? Listen to this guy everyone, his opinion matters, yours doesn't. :sarcastic:

eddieroolz 08/01/2009 6:03 AM
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computabug :
One of the reasons why I don't use windows... This crap exploits the power of my pc to use it against myself.Go Linux. Screw the games that don't run on linux... my gtx260 may be overkill for HL2, but w/e, I ain't using an OS that spends half its time trying to make sure I'm legit and the other half actually working. I like Linux, 100% working



And stuck playing 4 year old games with modern hardware...

randomizer 08/01/2009 6:06 AM
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eddieroolz :
And stuck playing 4 year old games with modern hardware...


It would be nice if developers and publishers decided to port their games to Linux. Instead they go where they get money and create a steaming pile of bloatware.

CChick 08/01/2009 7:05 AM
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CChick 08/01/2009 7:08 AM
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pirateboy 08/01/2009 8:41 AM
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klor 08/01/2009 9:01 AM
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-6+

MS lets (and wants) people use their os illegally. For the past couple of months, another new built was "leaked" every other day. Non of the OSs MS released had a serious copy protection (I know, everything made by humans, can be cracked by humans). As a result of this policy, almost all home user choose windows over linux sonce both of are free and windows is more compatible with their friend's/company's computers.

This leads to big companies and businesses to adopt windows based solutions thinking that they should be compatible with the majority of the users in order to maximize thier profit. And this is goal of MS. They make their monay through these companies; and it's a more stable source of income compared to end use purchases.

I was using linux as main os for the last 3-4 years and I was happy with it. Now I decided to try win7 (I'm not a fanboy of anything, I make my decisions by trial) since it's also "free". So far Win7x64 is going well; but let me tell you, you should give ubuntu x64 a try. I've been constantly upgrading my os with the new version when it comes out. I don't have to make a clean install to avoid my system becoming frankestein.

anyway, I didnt sleep well and I need a cup of coffee, thanks for reading this bs so far.

JonathanDeane 08/01/2009 9:27 AM
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I have Windows 7 installed on a virtual machine and I must say I am impressed! I am sure it will need a service pack before its at its peak but (general rule of thumb for an MS OS is wait for SP1)

My first reaction to Windows 7 "Pretty like Vista but fast like XP" seems to be finaly some balance with the OS not getting in the way of work and in general I like it.

I use Vista 64 right now and while its a good OS once you hack the hell out of it, Windows 7 seems better "out of the box". I know its popular to knock Vista but to me all OS's need some amount of tweaking before they are right. It just seems like Vista needs the most wrangling to get it working right.

Anyway cant wait for Windows 7 to come out for real, I may actually buy this one...

anamaniac 08/01/2009 9:40 AM
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I am a proud Windows 7 (acutally Windows 6.1, as 6.0 was Vista, and Win7 was built upon it, not earning the status of 7.0) lab rat.

I'll find a way around this though if I really don't feel ike buying it. =D
(Or if I buy home but I want ultimate.)


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