Fergie's Tech Blog

Another way past Windows antipiracy found

Joris Evers writes in C|Net News:

Microsoft's efforts to fight counterfeiting have hit another snag with the posting of a new method claimed to get around a Windows piracy check.

The check is meant to prevent people with pirated copies of the operating system from downloading additional software from Microsoft. By changing a setting in a Microsoft validation tool called "GenuineCheck.exe," it's possible to generate a code that will validate the Windows software on a machine as genuine even if it is pirated, according to a Web site publicized on Thursday in a posting to the popular Full Disclosure security mailing list.

Microsoft would not confirm that the method works, but the software maker is investigating the issue, a company representative said. "It is not a surprise for us that those who never intended to pay for software would try to find some way to circumvent Windows Genuine Advantage," the representative said.

posted by Fergie @ 8/06/2005 09:26:00 AM