I guess this just confirms what I've been thinking for a while now. I read the article below here: http://pages.prodigy.net/br0adband/Windows_XP_and_Service_Pack_1.htm
Windows XP and Service Pack 1:
Why The XP Keygen Won’t Help… For Long
Ok, all this fucking hullaballu and whining is getting on my frickin’ nerves. Let’s get to the gist of the matter.
Microsoft, in its infinite wisdom and infinite pockets, keeps track of every single stinkin’ Product Key, Product ID, Product Code, CD Key, Licensing Key, Volume Licensing Key, etc etc etc ad nauseum. What does this mean to YOU? It means that, for the time being, if you have used the popular “XP Key Recoverer and Discoverer 5.12” that’s out floating around on the Internet to generate a CD Key to activate/register your copy of XP (Home, Pro or Corp) you’ll be SOL (read: Shit Outta Luck) in a short period of time. “But why oh why?” you ask. Read on and you’ll hopefully understand.
For the purposes of this discussion I’ll stick to calling anything related to a “product registration code/key code/activation code” a “key” to make it simple. Got that?
Ok, since Microsoft has a complete database of every key ever made for all of their products, this time around with Windows XP it’s become even more of a chore for them (and a stick in their asses) since the whole basis of “Product Activation” centers itself around the key used to ‘activate’ Windows XP. When you purchase a retail copy of Windows XP, whether it’s the Home Edition or the Professional Edition, on the CD case someplace you’ll find a yellow sticker with a 25-digit string of alphanumeric digits known as the aforementioned ‘key’. They look something like this (and NO NO NO this is not a real key, just something for example):
Y34HR-1GHTU-W15HU-D4MND-L4M3R
(hint: If you read that key in ‘l33t’ you’ll get a super-secret message) J
Anyway, the key is 5 sets of 5 alphanumeric digits. The key itself follows a specific set of rules that can be found here at this page: Fully Licensed XP Product Activation FAQ.
Just to be brief, here is the important aspect of this information:
“The Raw Product Key is buried inside the Product Key that is printed
on the sticker distributed with each Windows XP CD. It consists of
five alphanumeric strings separated by '-' characters, where each
string is composed of five characters, as in
FFFFF-GGGGG-HHHHH-JJJJJ-KKKKK
Each character is one of the following 24 letters and digits:
B C D F G H J K M P Q R T V W X Y 2 3 4 6 7 8 9”
So what does all this mean? Nothing much really, just wanted to give you a short primer on XP keys, now on to the important stuff.
We’ve established that Microsoft has a record of all the keys THEY have made (every yellow sticker included with every CD whether it’s a retail product or an OEM release, remember this), does it sound like it would be all that hard for them to check the validity of the keys? It does? Why? You think it’s all that difficult for MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, Diner’s Club, etc. to keep track of the literally millions and millions of credit card accounts open at any given time? Nah, it’s a piece of cake. Microsoft is just doing the same thing.
Microsoft maintains a database of XP keys that is fairly simple to link into the Windows Update service used for updating XP with current software/bug fixes/hotfixes/etc. When you go to Windows Update looking for something a small exchange of data between your PC and the Microsoft servers is quite enough for them (‘them’ being Microsoft) to verify the existence of a valid key for Windows XP. What do I mean by ‘valid key’? I mean one that Microsoft itself generated and printed a yellow sticker for.
Got it yet?
This isn’t rocket science people. Let me explain.
Microsoft owns the operating system. You don’t. Even though you paid for a product, what you’re actually getting is the ‘right to use the product’, not ‘the product itself’. Welcome to the wonderful world of software licensing. Microsoft is merely taking the steps necessary to “protect its interests as far as software piracy is concerned.” Microsoft, by verifying the validity of a key by using Windows Update for this very function, is not breaking any laws by doing so. If you think they are, you need to read the EULA (End-User Licensing Agreement) that came with Windows XP. It’s not really that easy to get to once the operating system is installed, and if you’ve missed it already it’s not relevant at this point.
Here’s a new page I just discovered that, in essence, says what I’m about to say but it’s more technical than what I’m about to say: Volume Licensing Keys and SP1 - What REALLY Happens. As noted on that page, there are well over a BILLION keys in the database, all of them recorded and valid.
So what do I want to say? Just this: It doesn’t matter how many keys you make with the keygen. You can make BILLIONS for all I care. It’s just not going to matter in the end because Microsoft, by using Windows Update, will verify YOUR key against THEIRS. If YOUR key isn’t on THEIR list you lose. It’s really that simple. Generate all the damned Home, Pro and Corp VLKs you like, it’s not going to make one iota of difference. Your freshly generated keys might work for a short period of time, and bypassing or choosing not to use Windows Update at all will save you from a frozen PC for however long you choose to walk this path. BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE – sooner or later you’re going to get stuck.
My advice: Save some cash and buy the damned software. I personally own one Retail Home Edition copy, one Retail Profession Edition copy, one Corp <cough> <cough> Edition – commonly referred to as ‘The Devil’s Own’ warez release – and 3 Not-For-Resale copies I got from Microsoft directly, so I’m covered. J
I hope this helps, but I bet some of you are still hoping for some l33t warezer crack – which just might happen at some point.
Get a JOB. ‘Nuff typed.
Have a great day! J
©2002 p2, Inc. – prepared by br0adband@prodigy.net. All rights reserved. If you copy this give credit where credit is due. If not I’ll hunt you down and do things to you that even God himself couldn’t repair.
Windows XP and Service Pack 1:
Why The XP Keygen Won’t Help… For Long
Ok, all this fucking hullaballu and whining is getting on my frickin’ nerves. Let’s get to the gist of the matter.
Microsoft, in its infinite wisdom and infinite pockets, keeps track of every single stinkin’ Product Key, Product ID, Product Code, CD Key, Licensing Key, Volume Licensing Key, etc etc etc ad nauseum. What does this mean to YOU? It means that, for the time being, if you have used the popular “XP Key Recoverer and Discoverer 5.12” that’s out floating around on the Internet to generate a CD Key to activate/register your copy of XP (Home, Pro or Corp) you’ll be SOL (read: Shit Outta Luck) in a short period of time. “But why oh why?” you ask. Read on and you’ll hopefully understand.
For the purposes of this discussion I’ll stick to calling anything related to a “product registration code/key code/activation code” a “key” to make it simple. Got that?
Ok, since Microsoft has a complete database of every key ever made for all of their products, this time around with Windows XP it’s become even more of a chore for them (and a stick in their asses) since the whole basis of “Product Activation” centers itself around the key used to ‘activate’ Windows XP. When you purchase a retail copy of Windows XP, whether it’s the Home Edition or the Professional Edition, on the CD case someplace you’ll find a yellow sticker with a 25-digit string of alphanumeric digits known as the aforementioned ‘key’. They look something like this (and NO NO NO this is not a real key, just something for example):
Y34HR-1GHTU-W15HU-D4MND-L4M3R
(hint: If you read that key in ‘l33t’ you’ll get a super-secret message) J
Anyway, the key is 5 sets of 5 alphanumeric digits. The key itself follows a specific set of rules that can be found here at this page: Fully Licensed XP Product Activation FAQ.
Just to be brief, here is the important aspect of this information:
“The Raw Product Key is buried inside the Product Key that is printed
on the sticker distributed with each Windows XP CD. It consists of
five alphanumeric strings separated by '-' characters, where each
string is composed of five characters, as in
FFFFF-GGGGG-HHHHH-JJJJJ-KKKKK
Each character is one of the following 24 letters and digits:
B C D F G H J K M P Q R T V W X Y 2 3 4 6 7 8 9”
So what does all this mean? Nothing much really, just wanted to give you a short primer on XP keys, now on to the important stuff.
We’ve established that Microsoft has a record of all the keys THEY have made (every yellow sticker included with every CD whether it’s a retail product or an OEM release, remember this), does it sound like it would be all that hard for them to check the validity of the keys? It does? Why? You think it’s all that difficult for MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, Diner’s Club, etc. to keep track of the literally millions and millions of credit card accounts open at any given time? Nah, it’s a piece of cake. Microsoft is just doing the same thing.
Microsoft maintains a database of XP keys that is fairly simple to link into the Windows Update service used for updating XP with current software/bug fixes/hotfixes/etc. When you go to Windows Update looking for something a small exchange of data between your PC and the Microsoft servers is quite enough for them (‘them’ being Microsoft) to verify the existence of a valid key for Windows XP. What do I mean by ‘valid key’? I mean one that Microsoft itself generated and printed a yellow sticker for.
Got it yet?
This isn’t rocket science people. Let me explain.
Microsoft owns the operating system. You don’t. Even though you paid for a product, what you’re actually getting is the ‘right to use the product’, not ‘the product itself’. Welcome to the wonderful world of software licensing. Microsoft is merely taking the steps necessary to “protect its interests as far as software piracy is concerned.” Microsoft, by verifying the validity of a key by using Windows Update for this very function, is not breaking any laws by doing so. If you think they are, you need to read the EULA (End-User Licensing Agreement) that came with Windows XP. It’s not really that easy to get to once the operating system is installed, and if you’ve missed it already it’s not relevant at this point.
Here’s a new page I just discovered that, in essence, says what I’m about to say but it’s more technical than what I’m about to say: Volume Licensing Keys and SP1 - What REALLY Happens. As noted on that page, there are well over a BILLION keys in the database, all of them recorded and valid.
So what do I want to say? Just this: It doesn’t matter how many keys you make with the keygen. You can make BILLIONS for all I care. It’s just not going to matter in the end because Microsoft, by using Windows Update, will verify YOUR key against THEIRS. If YOUR key isn’t on THEIR list you lose. It’s really that simple. Generate all the damned Home, Pro and Corp VLKs you like, it’s not going to make one iota of difference. Your freshly generated keys might work for a short period of time, and bypassing or choosing not to use Windows Update at all will save you from a frozen PC for however long you choose to walk this path. BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE – sooner or later you’re going to get stuck.
My advice: Save some cash and buy the damned software. I personally own one Retail Home Edition copy, one Retail Profession Edition copy, one Corp <cough> <cough> Edition – commonly referred to as ‘The Devil’s Own’ warez release – and 3 Not-For-Resale copies I got from Microsoft directly, so I’m covered. J
I hope this helps, but I bet some of you are still hoping for some l33t warezer crack – which just might happen at some point.
Get a JOB. ‘Nuff typed.
Have a great day! J
©2002 p2, Inc. – prepared by br0adband@prodigy.net. All rights reserved. If you copy this give credit where credit is due. If not I’ll hunt you down and do things to you that even God himself couldn’t repair.
