• Windows Genuine Advantage Cracked?

    Posted on May 24, 2005 at 19:58 CDT by • Comment in the Forums

    Jori Evers at CNet News reports that a fellow named Debasis Mohanty has found a way to use one Microsoft program, GenuineCheck.exe, to fool Windows Genuine Advantage into thinking that you have a legit copy of Windows, when in fact you’re running a bootleg.

    Windows Genuine Advantage, you may recall, is Microsoft’s new method for confirming that you have a legit copy of Windows before allowing you to download updates or patches. It’s still in testing, but at some point in the not-too-distant future you’ll need to run a program on your computer that confirms Windows’ legitimacy before you’ll be allowed to protect yourself from newly-discovered security holes.

    I think it’s great that Debasis has put together the hack – but you need to keep in mind that Windows Genuine Advantage is still in beta. Rest assured that MS will plug the hole before it unleashes WGA.

    And be equally assured that somebody will find a way to crack WGA within a month or two of its release.

    UPDATE: Neowin has reprinted an email message the folks there received from Jed Rose at Microsoft, discussing the nature of the crack and its limitations. Well worth reading.

    Windows News
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