If You Make It, They Will Crack It

If you run Windows as your operating system, then you run (or I might say SHOULD run) the Windows Updates via the net. It's your go-to source for the latest security patches and other fixes for Microsoft's Windows platform. Well the other week you may of noticed that Microsoft is trying yet another step hoping to overcome and deter software pirates from bootlegging their software, in particular Windows XP. It's called the "Microsoft Genuine Advantage". The goal was that when a user went to the Windows Update website to download and install the latest patches, that before you could get access to this, your computer was scanned to see if you were running a legit/legal copy of Windows. If it was legit/legal, then you could proceed to use their Windows Update site as usual. If it was illegal/pirated, then you were asked to call a number to report where you got your software from.

Microsoft thought that by doing this, those people that somehow "didn't know" they were running illegal/pirated versions of Windows could report to Microsoft where they obtained their copy. Then in exchange for this "tattle tale info", Microsoft was willing to send you a legit/legal version of the operating system. Seems like a good idea to stop software piracy in theory right? Well it didn't work, of course. Numerous measures have been taken not only by Microsoft, but by just about every software maker around to try and stop pirates. Obviously their efforts are failing if you look at how big of a problem software piracy is and will continue to be.

On average, the software industry loses about US$11 to US$12 billion in revenue to software piracy annually. Of the billions of dollars lost to piracy, a little less than half comes from Asia, where China and Indonesia are the biggest offenders. Piracy is also a big problem in Western Europe, where piracy losses annually range from $2.5 and $3 billion dollars. Piracy rates are quite high in Latin America and in Central Europe, but their software markets are so much smaller that the dollar losses are considerably lower. About $2 billion in piracy loses come from North America. The piracy rate in the United States has been relatively constant at about 25% over the past few years, which is the lowest rate of any country. This means that one in every four copies of business application software is used illegally. The large dollar amount in losses is attributable more to the fact that there are so many computers and computer users in the United States than to a high piracy rate when compared with the rest of the world.

So the "Microsoft Genuine Advantage" was recently cracked within 24 hours after Microsoft released their latest "anti-piracy" step. The crack was simple and can be done by anyone. Naturally you are wanting to know how to crack it right? Well of course I will tell you being that I enjoy sharing some of my underground info here. To disable the mandatory validation check of your Windows XP license, there is just 1 step.

Before pressing "Custom" or "Express" buttons
paste this text to the address bar and press enter:
javascript:void(window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all')

This will turn off the trigger for the key check. You will no longer need to verify your serial number to Microsoft. Let the piracy battle continue, but I can tell you who will be winning for a long, long time. Hackers = 1...Software Companies = 0

***UPDATE***
Right after I posted this, I tried the exploit myself and it's no longer active. Microsoft has fixed the JavaScript string. Of course there is yet another crack to get around the Windows Genuine Advantage program. Using the file "GenuineCheck.exe" in Windows 2000 compatibility mode generates a valid authorization key for all systems running versions of Windows XP. As of right now, this exploit is still active, but I'm sure Microsoft is actively working on fixing it too. If you would like detailed instructions along with screenshots of how this is done, visit www.sinhack.net/GenuineAdvantage