If they cracked Vista...

The more you tighten your grip, Microsoft, the more Windows copies will slip through your fingers.

It has not been a lot of time since the first Vista versions got released. Hackers have found much work these weeks by looking forward to ways to crack or circumvent the Vista protection measures.

In the specific area of product activation, there are a couple of known new technologies:

Multiple Activation Key

provided by Microsoft, enabling an administrator to activate a limited number of Windows Vista copies using a direct connection to a Microsoft server,

Key Management Service

installed in a computer of your intranet, activating Windows Vista copies in a limited number of computers.KMS is meant to work on business environments, where lots of computers are to be activated. Enterprise edition of Windows Vista is then the ultimate version to steal.

The most ingenious crack for Vista consists of a spoof KMS server working on VMWare. That is a so simple idea: Working on the Vista's routing tables and redirecting to the spoof server which delivers activation info.

You will soon find more and more tools which will turn Vista to XP's fate: being installed on almost every personal computer for free.

References

• Joe Wilcox, Vista Crack Means Big Trouble, eWeek's Microsoft Watch.
• James Bannan, Windows Vista Crack is Actually a Trojan, APC Mag
• James Bannan, Pirates Crack Vista Activation Server, APC Mag
• Ed Oswald, Hackers Find New Vista Activation Crack, BetaNews
• Ion C, Hackers Release Permanent Spoof Vista Activation Server, Playfuls.com
• Nancy Gohring, Pirates Hack Vista's Registration Features, PC World
• Paul Thurrott, Hacking Windows Vista, Windows Supersite
• Microsoft, Volume Activation 2.0, Partner Program
• Microsoft, Volume Activation, Volume Licensing