Vista Activation Crack Downplayed by Microsoft

In his blog, Microsoft's Alex Kochis downplays the significance of Vista Loader 2 as a serious potential tool for Vista piracy. His position is that Microsoft's "first goal is to disrupt the business model of organized counterfeiters", and that the threat posed by Vista Loader is effectively limited by the technical expertise required to use it.

However, the latest version of the tool, which originated in China and has been circulating since late March, emulates the BIOS changes needed to convince Vista that hardware is a legitimate OEM platform. Version 1 required modifications to the physical BIOS image, which severely retricted its range of deployment. However, by sidestepping this difficult operation, Version 2 opens the door to much wider exploitation. Furthermore there have been three revisions to Version 2 in rapid succession, widening the range of BIOS emulations as well as providing bug fixes and enhancements. The tool is thus obviously attracting black hat attention, and there are already numerous public comments to the effect that it is extremely easy to use. For these reasons, Heise feels that Kochis' optimism could prove somewhat premature in this case.

(mba)