Vista Cracked
A working crack to bypass the Windows Activation service has finally come into existence. There have been many workarounds to make Vista work without a valid license key but this is the first permanent fix.
A well-known hacking group calling themselves Paradox provided the crack. Score one for the hackers.
How does it work?
Microsoft allows large hardware manufacturers (e.g. ASUS, HP, Dell) to ship their products containing a Windows Vista installation that does NOT require any kind of product activation as this might be considered an unnecessary inconvenience for the end-user. Instead these so-called “Royalty OEM’s” (Original Equipment Manufacturers) are granted the right to embed certain license information into their hardware products, which can be validated by Windows Vista to make obtaining further activation information (on-line or by phone) obsolete. This mechanism is commonly referred to as ‘SLP 2.0′ (‘system-locked pre-installation 2.0′) and consists of the following three key elements:
1. The OEM’s hardware-embedded BIOS ACPI_SLIC information signed by Microsoft.
2. A certificate issued by Microsoft that corresponds to the specific ACPI_SLIC information.
3. A special type of product key that corresponds to the installed edition of Windows Vista.
If all three elements match, Windows Vista’s licensing mechanism considers the given installation a valid, system-locked, pre-activated copy that does not require any additional product activation procedures.
Viola, free Vista!
