![Windows Windows](http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/windows_64.png)
![Operating Systems Operating Systems](http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/os_64.png)
![Software Software](http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/software_64.png)
![Security Security](http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/security_64.png)
![IT IT](http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/it_64.png)
Microsoft Genuine Advantage Cracked in 24 Hours 522
jrobie writes "It looks like mandatory validation of your Windows XP license is now voluntary again. A simple hack has been found that disables the check.
BoingBoing has the story. "
I can't believe I was actually worried about this. (Score:5, Informative)
A simple hack has been found that disables the check.
It's simple, all right...as simple as the kids over at Microsoft who decided to implement an anti-piracy measure utilizing javascript without any input validation. Sheesh.
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:5, Interesting)
In a cost comparison, they probably figured a cheap, easy means to get people who otherwise did not know they had a pirated version to purchase outweighed trying to lock out people who knowingly run a pirated copy (i.e., people who will use this hack).
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:5, Insightful)
"Customers who discover they have a counterfeit copy of Windows will either be given a free version of the operating system or can purchase it for a discounted price, he said.
To get the free version of Windows, a customer must fill out a counterfeit report identifying the source of the software, provide a proof of purchase and send in a counterfeit CD of the software. If customers don't have all of that information, they can still fill out a counterfeit report and receive a copy of Windows XP Home Edition for $99 or a copy of Windows XP Professional Edition for $149, Lazar said."
So looks like even if you dealt in a shady off-the-truck operation, you would still be eliglble for OEM pricing.
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:3, Insightful)
This policy wasn't intended to fight P2P piracy (not directly anyway).
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:5, Interesting)
1) Let OEMs shift fraudulent copies
2) Get the customers to seek relief from said fraud
3) Collect evidence against OEM
4) Go after said OEM's pockets
5) Profit (fraud + copyright infringement + etc. = most likely more than enough to cover legal costs)
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:3, Insightful)
If you buy a vacuum cleaner, you expect a working belt to come with it.
But people who buy an open-box vacuum off the back of a truck and discover that there is no belt probably aren't going to complain to the vacuum maker. And if they do, the vacuum maker is going to laugh in their face.
Without the CoA, a Windows license/installation is no better than a vacuum cleaner bought off the back of a truck.
You buy a fax machine, you expect a reasonable amount of toner to come with
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:3, Interesting)
They aren't targeting the tech savvy people you happen to know, that's all.
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:5, Interesting)
"In a cost comparison, they probably figured a cheap, easy means to get people who otherwise did not know they had a pirated version to purchase outweighed trying to lock out people who knowingly run a pirated copy (i.e., people who will use this hack)."
Thank you for pointing that out -- it's a concept that's lost on many people. It's a bit like the locks that come on your car: they probably won't hinder that professional thief who wants your car, but they'll stop the amateurs.
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:3, Insightful)
Now, maybe some security measures will make it really hard for even those with quite a lot of expertise, but that's pretty rare. Most locks/alarms rely on fear and a lack of expertise, and that's pretty effective.
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:3, Insightful)
Many, many people have bought pre-built PCs with Windows loaded on it by a PC builder that was pirating Windows to his heart's content They just have no idea it's not legit.
Who wouldn't know ? (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't believe that there are many people who don't know that they are using a "quote" pirated "unquote" version of Windows. In the USA, it is extremely rare for unregistered versions of Windows to be used in Offices. And most people who buy PCs 'ready-to-operate' will have the Windows license included at a vastly reduced bulk price. People who build their own PC from components
Re:Who wouldn't know ? (Score:4, Interesting)
It was not a valid copy of Windows.
I turned them in to Microsoft after they were completely unresponsive to email and a phone call. What do you know - a few days later I got a package from UPS that they shipped out the day I called Microsoft.
Windows is not so cheap to the OEM that they aren't above sneaking one past Microsoft every chance they get. Illegal and immoral? Sure, but it is Microsoft they are ripping off, so most people aren't going to care.
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:2, Funny)
hahahahaha
after reading this http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=new+wind
Introducing Windows Vista(TM). It enables a new level of confidence in your PC and
in your ability to get the most out of it
LOL
ROFL
hahahahaha
etc ect
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:3, Funny)
Introducing Windows Vista(TM). It enables a new level of confidence in your PC and in your ability to get the most out of *YOU*.
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:2, Funny)
You mean I don't even have to hold down the Shift key?
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:5, Interesting)
Anybody know differently?
Re:I can't believe I was actually worried about th (Score:4, Interesting)
Not necessarily. Client-side Javascript code can write to a cookie, and the server can read that cookie on subsequent submits. The client side Javascript can even communicate the cookie to the server using the XMLHTTPRequest object, or with an iframe, eliminating the need for a subsequent user-initiated request.
Not that I expect them to go to all this trouble, and I'm definitely not saying that they are doing that now. I'm just saying it is theoretically possible.
Re:Simpsons flashback (Score:4, Funny)
bwahahah (Score:5, Funny)
Re:bwahahah (Score:5, Funny)
Gates: "Same thing we do every night, Stinky. TRY TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!"
It works... for now (Score:5, Interesting)
Sadly, Microsoft will issue a new version of Genuine Advantage that disables the hack and make you use the new version before you can use Microsoft update, so I believe this is only a temporary reprieve. I guess it will be a back and forth between MS and and hackers until MS has secured Genuine Advantage.
I've got a licensed, genuine version of Windows, but F them for making me jump through hoops to receive continued support. I paid for this and I shouldn't have to keep wasting my time to soothe their paranoid brows.
Just another reason to keep trying new Linux distros and updates on my testbed system until I find one I like enough to switch (tried so far: Ubuntu, SuSE, CentOS 3.3, Linspire, Knoppix, Mandrake 10). Already using OpenOffice, Firefox, and Thunderbird and have a WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP) set-up for development work. Going to Linux is a small step, but there are a few apps (like video editing, graphics editing) where I just don't have the patience to spend a whole bunch of time learning Linux apps that are 'almost' there in terms of their UI. Maybe I'll hit the Crossover Office site to see if they've gone to gold level support on some of my must-have Windows apps yet.
- Greg
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:It works... for now (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:It works... for now (Score:3, Interesting)
I would recommend trying WINE (Crossover Office is a spinoff of WINE) first since it is free. What I'd like to see is for WINE to start providing a "Windows Alternative Update" where they provide all the DLLs they've been reverse engineering as an alternative update for the Windows 2000 users that are about to get screwed.
Re:It works... for now (Score:2, Insightful)
An interesting view point, which is quite pervasive.
So why should you get free continued support?
Now, if you had paid a maintenance fee (quarterly, yearly,
But free?
You could of course argue that the company has a moral obligation to provide updates, and in fact it makes good Public Relations sense to prov
Re:It works... for now (Score:5, Insightful)
So why should you get free continued support?
Now, if you had paid a maintenance fee (quarterly, yearly, ..), then you would of course get updates for the life of the maintenance contract.
But free?
It's supposed to be free because that's how Microsoft has done it. If they want to change it, change it. But define that change clearly and prominently at the time of sale.
Lots of smaller software companies sell you A & B & C packages:
If Microsoft wants to follow that model, fine. Do it... on all new copies of XP they've sold. But for the prior ones, stop adding hoops and checks to make sure I paid. I bought it, I installed it, activated it, I've done enough to qualify for my updates.
- Greg
Re:It works... for now (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It works... for now (Score:5, Insightful)
If I buy a Television (OR motherboard, hard drive, child's car seat, shingles for the roof, combine for the wheat harvest, CNC press brake for the machine shop, etc.) that doesn't work I can get my money back.
If it works when I get it, I use it correctly, and it breaks in a short period of time (because of a hidden weakness in the product) I get it fixed for free.
In most industries, anyone who doesn't follow that rule goes out of business very quickly.
I think that we are just used to software being an exception.
Re:It works... for now (Score:5, Interesting)
If I buy a Television (OR motherboard, hard drive, child's car seat, shingles for the roof, combine for the wheat harvest, CNC press brake for the machine shop, etc.) that doesn't work I can get my money back.
If it works when I get it, I use it correctly, and it breaks in a short period of time (because of a hidden weakness in the product) I get it fixed for free.
In most industries, anyone who doesn't follow that rule goes out of business very quickly.
I think that we are just used to software being an exception.
Which is, of course, silly. When's the last time you turned in a stolen car for a recall/repair? When you do, they'll look up the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) and make sure that you're legally entitled to the free repair.
Microsoft is doing the same thing, here. Bitch all you want to, but your license number is effectively the "VIN" for your software. Why shouldn't they have some reasonable means to check it?
Prediction (Score:4, Funny)
To appear tomorrow on Slashdot:
javascript:void(window.g_sWGACheckVersion='2.0')
Re:It works... for now (Score:5, Insightful)
How long before someone creates a phishing site that lets people download a 'genuinewindows.exe' that's not so genuine?
But (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It works... for now (Score:5, Informative)
Microsoft has been saying don't run unknown EXEs and ActiveX controls. They do sign all of their controls so for those of us who check before we run something we can validate that they're actually from Microsoft or some other trusted party before we run the app/control.
Re:It works... for now (Score:3, Interesting)
Microsoft's channelling Dennis Farina... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It works... for now (Score:5, Insightful)
Just because you are a fast jumper doesn't mean it wasn't a hoop.
Re:video editing on Linux (Score:2)
All well and good if I want to make the sequel to "Sky Captain", but not quite the simplicity of Premiere Elements.
- Greg
Great! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Great! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Great! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Great! (Score:2)
Yes, you can, but you're missing the point. It's not hipocrisy, though only small, petty minds are troubled by such a thing as that.
The point is, this is a 'main-stream' news site, and gets a lot of traffic. The best way for a company to find out about an exploit they need to fix is for it to get lots of 'high-level' coverage.
That's why when you find an exploit you can use for something, you generally try to 'keep it on the low.'
Got it? Most of us could probably have found this just as easily if it ha
Re:Great! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Great! (Score:3, Interesting)
I consider *anything* identifying me or where I bought something to a major corporation to be a security risk. Corporations cannot be trusted to act benignly towards consumers; the profit motive is against it.
Javascript?? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Javascript?? (Score:2)
Does anybody know if Herr Gates is scheduled to meet any important people soon?
Not for long (Score:5, Funny)
Unbelievable. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Unbelievable. (Score:2)
Re:Unbelievable. (Score:4, Informative)
But if you are using ANY validation control in ASP.NET, you sure as hell better be calling Page.IsValid on the server side instead of relying on the javascript functionality. well, I guess this assumes you knew that the validation controls can be ran from the server side...
Get the hack here! (Score:4, Funny)
http://www.linux.org/ [linux.org]
That's a story? (Score:2)
Oh well, sucks to be Microsoft. Now they've had their anti-theft security cracked again. Everyone's got to be laughing at them.
The pirates be losin' their cuttin' edge, arr. (Score:5, Funny)
Shocking stas gathered by program (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Shocking stas gathered by program (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Shocking stas gathered by program (Score:3, Interesting)
as always (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm Speechless (Score:2)
This is their absolute best?
Weapons and Armor (Score:3, Insightful)
Which is much of WHY, in a race between weapons and armor, weapons always eventually win.
Can't really be suprised (Score:2, Insightful)
That answers that.. (Score:3, Funny)
"Flamebait"??? Why? That was funny! (Score:2, Troll)
Javascript?? (Score:2)
Actually MS sites work pretty well with firefox (I do not know if it looks or works different in IE since they do not make a version for linux (they made one for SUN, hum, maybe give that a try....))
Re:Javascript?? (Score:2)
Article Text (Score:3, Informative)
Microsoft "Genuine Advantage" cracked in 24h:
"This week, Microsoft started requiring users to verifiy their serial number before using Windows Update. This effort to force users to either buy XP or tell them where you got the illegal copy is called 'Genuine Advantage.' It was cracked within 24 hours."
Before pressing 'Custom' or 'Express' buttons paste this text to the address bar and press enter:
java script:void(window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all')
It turns off the trigger for the key check.
Re:Article Text (Score:5, Funny)
More then one way (Score:5, Informative)
piracy leads to marketshare? (Score:3, Insightful)
Cracked in 24 hours, /.ed in 40 posts, GRRR. (Score:2)
MS will just use another technique then. (Score:2)
And wanna bet that MS is gonna obfuscate the issue ever so slightly in the update description to make it appear to a person that doesn't read it very carefully that the update in question actually fixes an issue far more critical to the user than it really is, when in actuality it's only really critical to Microsoft?
Since BoingBoing is getting hammered... (Score:3, Informative)
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Microsoft "Genuine Advantage" cracked in 24h:
window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all'
AV sez, "This week, Microsoft started requiring users to verifiy their serial number before using Windows Update. This effort to force users to either buy XP or tell them where you got the illegal copy is called 'Genuine Advantage.' It was cracked within 24 hours."
Before pressing 'Custom' or 'Express' buttons paste this text to the address bar and press enter:
javascript:void(window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all')
It turns off the trigger for the key check.
Link [theinquirer.net] (Thanks, AV!)
MS Released this for legt users (Score:2, Interesting)
That's why choosy SysAdmins choose LINUX. (Score:2, Insightful)
Is that anything like Military Intelligence?
---
Somewhere in Redmond, a developer is emptying his desk.
Can Also Just Find a Direct Link (Score:3, Informative)
http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/1/5/815d
to get the anti-spyware program.
Different Way to Crack It... (Score:5, Informative)
Product Activation wouldn't be bad if... (Score:5, Insightful)
I have enough PCs that I'd pay $300 for a "home site license." Microsoft could create such a thing without any hassle because for many households, it'd be worth it. All they'd have to do is make you send a copy of your driver's license or something in the mail and then if someone tries using your serial number that doesn't share the data on your driver's license, they go after them for infringement. That way, product activation doesn't harass law-abiding users.
I'd love to use Longhorn because it looks like a good release, but damned if I'm going to buy it and get 2 "harassment-free" installs. If I buy it, you can bet that I'll only buy it after I've either gotten a cracked CD or found a site license serial that actually works like the ones that XP uses. Every windows license I have is valid, though I use cracked CDs just to get around the PA. Seesh, why am I forced to behave like a common criminal? I can't wait to be able to switch back to OS X at this rate...
Re:Product Activation wouldn't be bad if... (Score:3, Insightful)
For $199 (A single user license is $129), you can get a 5 license copy of OS X - They call it the Family Pack.
No activation required!
People just dont get it. (Score:2)
As for the rest of you, if you think Windows is so bad, why pirate it?
From the "rejected key" page (Score:3, Interesting)
To quote from Microsoft's own rejected key page:
Did you know that Windows XP can keep your computer up-to-date automatically with the latest updates and enhancements? You can set Windows to recognize when you are online, search for downloads from the Windows Update Web site, and deliver them directly to your desktop. Genuine Windows validation is not required to use the Automatic Updates feature.
So... whats the point?
Re:From the "rejected key" page (Score:3, Informative)
Which is fine by me. Patch the security wholes without bugging me, just my style.
My tin foil hat on: was this really a crack? (Score:4, Insightful)
Which leads me to put my tin foil hat on and say: was this really a hack? Or is Microsoft happy to have this effect 99% of people on earth, and allow the 1% of techies who are unhappy about this either for privacy reasons, or because they have have a "pirate" edition of Windows, to get around it and stop complaining? I don't really see this as getting one over on Microsoft, smart authoritarian hierarchies often leave little safety valves for discontent like this around, allowing a few people to get away with breaking the rules, instead of them going about trying to change or get rid of the rules.
If you bought a computer with... (Score:4, Interesting)
Windows XP from a legitimet source (say Toshiba, as I've seen that mentioned in a couple of posts) and you fail to authenticate, call their support. If they don't solve the problem double quick, write your eterny general. They lied when they sold you the laptop. THEY need to fix it (not you).
If this is a common problem, a class action suit will be created and the manufacurer will have to answer for it. If the manufacturer feels it was actually MS that caused the problem, then they will file suit against them.
All this is academic. I use linux...
Just disable the tool (Score:3, Informative)
I cracked it nearly 6 months ago ;) (Score:5, Informative)
I mean, it was just so easy and obvious; I can't believe everyone else hadn't already found out about the easy ways to bypass it long ago.
Possible explanation (Score:3, Insightful)
Just links back to article in summary (Score:2)
Re:WTF (Score:2)
Re:WTF (Score:5, Informative)
And now for something completely different (a comment about the article): I'm pretty sure the one who programmed this check knew that it wasn't bulletproof, and maybe it's just a case of a "proof of concept" project which suddenly becomes a "Gone live" project. - It will be pretty easy for them to fix, but it really is a huge embarassment for them, and you would think that a company with that kind of resources had rules to cover things like that (as in Rule #302742314 "Clientside checking is only okay if followed by a Serverside check").
Re:WTF (Score:3, Funny)
Re:YES... (Score:2)
And you'll see plenty of action in prison, my friend.
Re:only for the geeks (Score:2)
*This is based on the assumption that the average Windows user is, in fact, a chimpanzee.
Re:only for the geeks (Score:5, Interesting)
But for some inexplicable reason, Microsoft is unable to authenticate my info. Which leaves me with no alternative but to use the crack if I want to continue to use XP on that system.
Re:Way to go M$ (Score:5, Insightful)
Fairly.
Don't mistake MS's "see, we tried" pretend attempts at security, and their "this hurts our bottom line" real security.
The original XBox still has no generally applicable software-only crack for it, after several years in the field. Real security.
This new "please don't pirate Windows" joke lasted 24 hours. Why? Microsoft WANTS people to pirate Windows. Very, very few private individuals would pay $300 for an OS plus $300 for an office app suite. However, if "everyone" uses it already, then the sort of customers who do buy, such as businesses and governments, will far more likely go with Microsoft.
Call me paranoid if you want, but NO modern attempt at secure authentication has any excuse for not using server-side verified, AES-encrypted communication. A pathetic little unverified Javascript toy? Gimme a break.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Windows Vista will be even harder to crack (Score:3, Funny)
When did Linus turn into an OS?