It's official: Pirates crack Vista at last

bob:

Now is better time then ever to switch to Linux, I dont want to experience XP nightmare all over again :(

Chainsore:

What a surprise. A 'nix fanboi suggesting we should all use linux because Vista has been cracked... ;)

ayam666:

Anyone has a copy of pirated Linux? I have never seen one... how come...? :)

Crossroads (New user):

Er - Beacause Linux is free? It's called open source?

Sp33d d3mon (New user):

Well, what if you Bit TOrrent a version you have to pay for like SLED...

612massive:

Xp was a solid build,especially if you set up the security policys correctly.Im dual booted right now,with pro and the bios emulation.I havent ran a firewall or av on the pro side for well over a year.Stupid,you may say,but like I side,if you set the policys up right,there are no probs.I do scan it everyonce and awhile,just to be sure,with 5 different flavors of av,and its always negative.Vista is 'it',if it wasnt,all the peole who buy it wouldnt.Its a very secure os.Like anything,if you have 'hands on' to it,yes it can be exploited,just like mac or anything else.Face it,as far as ease of use,its the future.Not everyone went to school for computers,and wants to bang out a command line to get something done.They just want a no brainer,easy to use ,secure os.Microsoft gave it to them.They deserve the money people will spend on it,no one else has came up with a better alternative.As far as piracy,the amount of people who will actually use this is a drop in the bucket,compared to the volume of people who will never search out a forum like this,let alone care,they just wanted the no brainer computer experiance.The people who coded vista deserve just reward,and ms,financially ,will recieve it.Reverse engineering and piracy will never go away,thats like taking away a humans intuition.

So what,its cracked...for now..and the battle will continue.Ms will figure out away to do a 'search and destroy' update,and the fun will continue.The only people who actually use the majority of pirated material are just in it for the thrill of the chase.the average computer user,95% of users,have no idea this stuff goes on.They hear about it,and then go back to being programmed by the tv.

The release group who released this are very talented inviduals.

I didnt know there was a food or beverage profile for these types of indivduals,.Beer and pizza?Sounds like anybody on a saturday night

Samurai X:

I agree totally ;)

KRowe:

Does it make you feel better to know you are following the 'no brainer' crowd? I contend that you ARE the no brainer crowd--you just don't know that because of the obvious limitations associated with your condition.

Secure? In comparison to what? Thats really rich, the only OS less secure than Microsofts newest OS is its last OS. ROFL.

So secure you need 5 av. LOL, apparently we have ourselves a real pro here. Lets go over a few quotes from this enlightening post shall we?

Xp was a solid build,if you set up the security policys correctly...[omitted]...there are no probs.

If that is true then you must be a genious cause all of the experts I have heard talk about this disagree with you as well as MS since they now make both av and firewalls for the OS. If they only had you to help them they could have saved all that time and $ by just setting it up right. Your routers Linux based firewall probably had nothing to do with that.

Vista is 'it',if it wasnt,all the peole who buy it wouldnt.

Haven't you read this article? People steal their Wintendos as often if not more than they buy them. Anyone who thinks that because they added clearlooks to XP MS deserves 750 bucks for each PC on the planet needs their head examined.

Face it,as far as ease of use,its the future.Not everyone went to school for computers,and wants to bang out a command line to get something done.

Apparently, you haven't tried Linux in a long time. But ignoring Linux you haven't even tried a Mac...ever. If you think Mac is harder to use than Windows once again get your head examined.

They deserve the money people will spend on it,no one else has came up with a better alternative.

Correction. This sentence should read "I am a complete moron, please ignore everything I'm about to say".

Ever notice how a person intelligence is inversely porportional to their love for Windows?

Anonymous Coward:

Ok, so this crack works....
but for an operating system that's supposed to check DRM'ed content 30-60/SECOND, I can't see this lasting very long.

I may be wrong about this, but couldn't Microsoft check for BIOS emulation during activation? Kind of like how starforce looks for daemon tools before running? And hopefully without a rootkit (like starforce)

That seems to be the weakest point in this crack.

Any comments / corrections?

Someone:

...Vista detects the emulator...and a new crack/emulator is developed. No matter what MS do, vista will be pirated. Any security enhacement, will only delay things a bit, but never make it impossible.

APC Joke:

To the editor,

Of late you journalism is nothing short of irresponsible. What kind of an article headline is that Vista cracked at last? What do you mean at last? Hoping for this have we? This is nothing short of a joke. You have the responsibility to be somewhat objective and in the IT space certainly not promoting piracy.

So Vista activation has been cracked, any google search will tell you that, it does not mean you need to post the exact name of the exploit and where to get it. As with the Windows Mobile 6 story you have again disgraced your brand. I am sure that the vole will be pleased with APCMAG. Be since to see tomorrows news on your site reporting Microsoft have filed a law suit against APCMAG.

Idiots.

Anonymous4165:

What?!?! Are you some crusty old fart with more money then most of us make in a lifetime?

Screw you and your bought copy of Vista. Anyone with half-a-brain knows you NEVER use a new OS from MS for the first year (or until they say they are coming out with a new OS)

APC Joke:

I am not a crusty old fart with loads of money. Piracy has it's place, don't get me wrong.

The point of my post was to outline the poor ethical position the journalist took in this case. It is usually looked at as being unethical posting news that details locations of and promotes piracy.

And by the way I have not purchased Vista either.

potatoe:

ok, now we know your not a crusty old fart with loads of money, but just a modest boring fart...good for you X)

Anonymous One:

Wow, I didn't know Bill Gates visited apcmag.com

Let me guess, you're an old fart with a very large income, and a staunch supporter of anything that has to do with milking people out of money. Well, it's things like this that make me smile; not necessarily because Vista was cracked (I knew that was going to happen, so I wasn't surprised), but because I know people like you are sitting there, staring at a computer screen, cursing under your breath, because you know copy protection is hopeless. I love that.

As for me, no thanks. I don't feel like dealing with the Vista nightmare. Anyone who has read about some of the inner workings of Vista (anyone read the "Vista Cost Analysis" paper?) knows it's not worth the headache (and I'm not talking about copy protection measures).

I'll stick with XP for Windows installs. I pirate XP to. I did actually buy a copy of Windows XP Pro (from a reputable seller), but the disc was in horrible shape when I obtained it and didn't work for very long.

So, since I felt cheated out of the 4 remaining activations (and because I hate limited activation and activation in general), I got me a reliable copy; a gift that keeps on giving for as long as I decide. The damaged disc wasn't M$'s fault, but the activation crap is.

antigonas:

disc was in horrible state when you got it? and it did not work for very long? WoW! dude, you're so full of it...

Anonymous One:

Wow, I didn't know Bill Gates visited apcmag.com

Let me guess, you're an old fart with a very large income, and a staunch supporter of anything that has to do with milking people out of money. Well, it's things like this that make me smile; not necessarily because Vista was cracked (I knew that was going to happen, so I wasn't surprised), but because I know people like you are sitting there, staring at a computer screen, cursing under your breath, because you know copy protection is hopeless. I love that.

As for me, no thanks. I don't feel like dealing with the Vista nightmare. Anyone who has read about some of the inner workings of Vista (anyone read the "Vista Cost Analysis" paper?) knows it's not worth the headache (and I'm not talking about copy protection measures).

I'll stick with XP for Windows installs. I pirate XP to. I did actually buy a copy of Windows XP Pro (from a reputable seller), but the disc was in horrible shape when I obtained it and didn't work for very long.

So, since I felt cheated out of the 4 remaining activations (and because I hate limited activation and activation in general), I got me a reliable copy; a gift that keeps on giving for as long as I decide. The damaged disc wasn't M$'s fault, but the activation crap is.

someone else:

and what if it does?
the slic tables were available in certain circles long before this emulator was released, people who can find this can find those too and altering the actual bios is really quite easy. when the emulator is rboke by a possible future update then people will just turn to patching their bios's with the slic tables (hell theres even an automated tool for it now)

Anonymous101:

i said all along from day one it will be cracked. no matter if u spend all the money on the planet on full proof protection it still will be cracked, cause there are so many factors that will be overlooked that someone will find a loophole...
to the idiots who complain about apcmag who post this story, this is nothing more than information if people want to get a crack they will, u think for complaining bill gates might give u a few bucks or refund for u being dumb enuff to buy anything from m$? rather complain if some small developer gets taken out because of Micro$oft, rather than a team cracking some software of a company that has more money than u can even dream of. the real problem here is micro$oft not this site or any cracking team.

YourFriendlyMicrosoftEngineer:

First of all, let me tell the people that have commented on APC magazine and James Bannan that you don't have the right to insult and threaten what the media has to offer. James is simply communicating, as he should be, what he finds out as a reporter and writer and APC magazine should not be held liable for anything that has to do with software piracy. We all need to know what goes on in the software community and I think APC magazine and their writers do an excellent job keeping us informed. Now, to talk about Microsoft. Well, this comes to show you that no system, no matter how ingenious and complicated you make it to be, it's not hacker-proof. As a security engineer, I can tell you this is not the first time that Microsoft has such a big flaw on their software and it won't be the last. The more barriers and more restrictions you put on software and make it more of a tedious job for the end-user to finally utilize the program, the more ways you're going to provoke people with an attitude to break and reverse-engineer code to go out and target your OS. Personally, I believe this new strategy from Microsoft of trying to keep pirates out of their software by making the activation scheme go out and check with their servers for each single copy of Vista that's installed, it's a stupid, privacy violating policy and will not last as long as there are people out there with bigger brains than the software developers at the Microsoft headquarters. Am I a supporter of the hacker community? NO. Do I think Microsoft develops poorly designed software and their efforts to maintain a buggy, over-priced OS is outrageous and simply over-rated and has failed at every attempt to keep their code secured? YES. Maybe like someone mentioned here in their comments, if Microsoft spend as much time as they spent coming up with new activation schemes and simply ridiculous ways for authenticating their programs and spend that time actually implementing good sotftware quality time and less buggy code, and making the OS available to most people (by lowering their overpriced tag ) hackers wouldn't feel the temptation of breaking and innovating on all of the restrictions that Microsoft "THINKS" they put on their programs. It's a battle that goes on and on, and believe me, while we all talk about it here, Bill Gates is still making billions and billions of $$ and doesn't care or even read these comments. KEEP IT REAL.

Samurai X:

System-Locked Pre-Installation is not new my friend =)
they didnt spend all that money on protection!

SpyderNinja (New user):

I absolutely agree with that.

While hackers are trying crack the software, Bill Gates doesn't care because he is still getting Billions of $$.

There is no such real secured OS, as there is nothing impossible for a determined hacker. Being too much worried about your PC security? then time to go, buy a metal casket, have a Brass plated Steel Pad Lock, Lock your PC in the casket and bury it 6 feet underground. That is the real security :)

Anyway, the Vista crack is very much accepted by Majority of use4rs in third world country where Software Piracy laws isn't that much imposed, and is a very big help to small scale businesses. We all know that in a third world country, about 90% of computer owners uses Pirated copies of MS OS's, 5% uses licensed copies and only a very small part uses Free OS like Linux.

Anonymous6548654:

I can confirm that this thing works 100%! installed RTM version and crack,5 min and it worked like a charm...even downloaded all the updates!

heynorton:

"17: Correct. We don't condone or

Correct. We don't condone or encourage piracy in any way on APCMag.com -- and that includes linking to material that facilitates it.
"


But, telling me that "paradox" released a "bios emulation" crack for "vista" doesn't, you know, in any way, make it easier for me to find something along these lines?

Mr. Lucas:

Windows is a good product, if you play video games. Other wise, stick to true development and innovation, Linux works on no less than 7 different micro architectures! Give up the weakness of serfdom and mind numbing Windows, give in to your true PC loving selves. Freedom to the people! Ubuntu!

WebDev:

I actually have linux installed on one of my older computers to run as a testing web server... BUT, there is a serious reason why I do not use linux...

Software. I know, I know, there are loads of supposedly great free software titles out there for linux... but there are just too many hoops to jump through if you want to get the same functionality from programs like Dreamweaver, Flash, and Photoshop on linux...

Sorry linux, you do not beat my mac. Or my PC for that matter... windows may have its issues, but I will pay a little bit of money to have something that I know I can just go to the store and buy software for.

SpyderNinja (New user):

Let us differentiate MS Windows With Linux to make it clear to those tiny brained mammals :D:D Peace!!!

Windows is best suitable for end users who know no more than browsing the internet, playing multi-media, Typing jobs, etc. etc.

Linux on the other hand, despite its (some say) non-user friendly interface (Don't get me wrong, new versions of KDE are now very user friendly) is more suitable for administrators because of its security features and stability.

Stop arguing whether MS Windows or Linux is better because each individual has its own taste and has its own level of expertise in terms of computer.

I am using both MS Windows and Linux (Bayanihan Linux 4.0 from Philippines) and they both satisfy my needs depending on the task I needed to do in my PCs. I used Linux for my Database Server, and uses MS Windows in one of my Computers for Playing Musics and Videos as well as for testing other applications from third parties. Admit it, Most developers develop utilities for Windows because majority of users uses MS Windows (Whether Pirated or Licensed). I'm a linux suporter though.

Sir_Wanksalot:

all this whining... why? a new M$ gets cracked and a mag reports about it?
the real question is.. is this os even worth paying for? maybe M$ should be happy as now that theirs a crack people may actually use it. ;)

AnonymousWhinger#33322332:

to say as some people here have said that APC or the author of the article should be fired/sued/hissed at is ridiculous.

It makes me sick that someone can think that APC is in any way responsible for Microsoft leaving itself open to hacking.

Stupidity and carelessness will always be around on both the users and developers/hackers sides.

As for APC not condoning or linking to piracy sites - if you cant find this content then i dunno how you found this site.

well done APC, try again Micro$oft

Alki:

The only couple of things i have to say about this crack are..
Ill Start from a few years ago when i became lazy and bought a pre-built computer from Time which has xp-home on it.
I heard about XP Pro and wanted in so i downloaded a cracked copy and it worked fine, until people started telling me "Dont do this or that or this" "You might have to re-install"
So..
When i became not lazy and built my current pc 12 months ago I bought my self a copy of XP Pro, which was hunkydory!

And now there is vista...
Right, well my colleague gave me the copy and the "crack_1.rar" to use which is fine and it stopped the countdown. I thought yeah great, i have vista for free!.

Now I was using this cracked vista for about 3 weeks and i dont have the internet at home, so at work I downloaded a couple of side bar add-ins and the feb update of DX9 so my older games would work on vista.
I have a sidee-bar gadget that shows my system uptime.
I didnt have my pc on for 2 days and when i did turn it on the system uptime no longer showed the normal uptime but showed "minus59days 23hours 58mins" (the 2 minutes lost to make 60 days must be my boot time) Every time i boot my pc now it says the same, still says minus 59 days.
Right click my computer go to properties and at the bottom it still says 30 days until activation and to make things even more confusing..using the slmgr.vbs /dlv says i have exactly 41760minutes (EXACTLY 29 days) this hasnt changed at all for a couple of days, but its made me think, why waste my time having to check the cracks working, and not getting the updates i really need when i can go legit and use vista for real.
This friday I will be buying Vista ultimate (unless a product key arrives in the post from mr. gates) not because i think cracking is wrong, and belive me the stories i have heard about vista i wouldnt blame anyone for wanting a free version, but i really would like to not have to worry about which updates to apply, security comprimises etc.

This is my 2 pence on the subject, I have a full OEM of xp pro that i no longer want, as i will be sticking with vista. I doubt ill even need to re install (dont care if i have to) ill just change the key when i get the package.

Anyway, thats my ramble, does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

BP:

That's great but i cannot afford Vista Ultimate, the price is absolutely ludicrous which is why i will use cracks

Anonymous343434343:

If you look around a bit, you'll find plenty of computer shops that will sell you an OEM copy of Vista Ultimate(or any vista, for that matter) for about $300 or so...

Still expensive, but nowhere near the cost of a full retail version.

Of course, being an OEM version, there are limitations on it - not sure what they are, but us APC readers being geeks, we can live with them.

Anonymous300282928328:

Of course I have some thoughts for you, first of all, did you read the beginning of this article you moron?? Get the 'REAL' crack that works from PARADOX and you won't have to worry about time stamps and your countdown bs. Then come back here and talk about buying the 'LEGIT' copies. I got Vista Ultimate working 100% all of the updates available from Microsoft and an authentic copy, already activated thanks to the PARADOX team. Another great one for those guys, very smart people!

aqua (New user):

When you have a cracked copy: you worry about bios checks, other system checks, MS re-releasing for Asus and asking them to update etc... Your time is worth money also. You may be in trouble legally in the future for having an illegit copy. Personally I have used cracks in the past and completely working.
But then a mother comes along and notices product activation whilst you're out. She unknowingly clicks on it and bang I was busted.
It sucked to be me, but all the time, the possible concerns and legalities makes it not worth it to me...

aqua (New user):

Is it worth it:

The strong possibility that a person / group that can crack this software could also put numerous non-removable viruses on it,... Is it worth it????
Bios checks for those that don't how to change their bios, Is it worth it????
Other possible system checks, such as a future comparison of hardware brand to Vista key and activation (for all the non-Asus users of the crack). Is it worth it????
Re-releasing of the OS and then a need to find a new crack. Is it worth it?????
The illegality of it all. Is it worth the possible $50000 fine???? $AU$
The likelihood that RS and other share sites may be forced to report illegal downloading / uploading of known illegitimate files. As they will have logged your IP address... ...Is it worth it????

Personally although I have used cracks in my past to "stick it to the man" (School of rock quote) I'll now pay the $300 to get Vista. It's worth that to me.

Better than You:

this is a hoax!
You fools :)

Anonymous64684:

So anyways....it is true cause I have done it on the computer I am using now. The whole thing works great and the UI is so user-friendly my 5 year old can do it.

DOWN WITH CORPORATIONS!!

(please support your local hacker/cracker groups)

Anonymous23049812340:

This post has a basic logic flaw. You praise the corporate product in one sentence: "works great, UI is user-friendly" then turn around and trumpet "Down with corporations". It's through the work of the engineers at that corporation that the product is worthwhile to you. To say the product is not worth the high price tag is one thing, but it's quite another to blatantly steal and enjoy the product that a lot of hard-working engineers put together, simply because it's easy to do, and then encourage others to do the same. How would you feel if someone was to unlock the doors of your place of business for the public to take whatever they want for free? Shame.

098743205987342895087693428509876349875698723450987605984209:

"the whole thing" being the crack and not the product of course, smart-ass.

APC administrator:

You're confusing this with the Brute Force Keygen, which "Computer User" has now admitted was a hoax. This is a different crack.

Jef:

It works fine.

ailef:

thought your mama was an hoax but it seems u there.

kasbar:

i think your a hoax

Someone Poor:

NO IT IS NOT, IT WOORRKKSSS!!!!

/b/tard:

NO U!

george shrinks:

you're wrong. It does infact work.

tin:

Well, I said all along that it would be cracked "properly" within the first few months. I had estimated 2 weeks after retail at one point, but 2 months is still pretty swift.

I do not condone piracy, but I can't stand anti-piracy measures. We should be able to use software we license without jumping through hoops to prove we are innocent.

eko2000:

Why would you post something like this to the public. All that you are doing is advertising a hack for people to get their hands on. APC Mag is no worse then the hackers themselves. Giving out the name of the hack with the screenshot and everything. Any idiot can now do a search for this hack. You are telling how the hole is being exploited , the same as giving away trade secrets. Im sure this information isnt supposed to be in the public domain. I hope there is a lawsuit waiting for APC mag.

Wes:

I don't think there is anything wrong with APC reporting this information. I see it as a follow-up to some articles APC have written on Vista and when something like this happens it would be unfair to just keep silent.

MS fanboy:

What you are forgetting is that in its crusade against piracy, Microsoft has taken alot of steps to protect themselves from crackers which actually affect and bother legit users.

While some might argue that posting this news might open the gates for a flood of piracy, I think it's important for people (especially legit users) to know that the measures Microsoft takes do not help a single bit, and thus the nuisance they are so fed up with is completely for no reason.