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If you have Windows Vista installed and you recently upgraded to Service Pack 1, you might have noticed a little problem. If your copy of the somewhat sought-after operating system is not 100 per cent legal, you may have had your activation crack disabled.

Now if you have no idea what I'm talking about because you're Machead still embracing OSX or never upgraded from Windows ME because you like the name, Microsoft introduced the product activation in Windows XP. Basically, when you install XP or Vista, you are given a trial period to use the software. If you wish to continue using it, you need to activate it, which means having your computer contact Microsoft's servers in Redmond, WA to determine if you owned a legitimate copy of the operating system. And if you upgraded too much of your hardware, you would often have to reactivate it to ensure you're weren't trying to install it on a second system, even though, theoretically, if it was for your self, such duplication would be allowed under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law and fair dealing section of Canada's act.

Of course, activation didn't start with Microsoft. A lot of software companies offer free trial versions of their products for download. You could turn it into the full product by entering a serial number which you sometimes needed to authenticate online. So the mold for activation already existed. As such, many workarounds existed as well.

It is harder to crack Windows XP than say a copy of PhotoShop because of the many "security" updates could undo what you'd done. Especially, the Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool which was a required update that would determine if your copy was "genuine" and therefore allowed to do more updates.

But still, in the end, hackers prevailed and they created hacks for Vista as well. Unfortunately, Service Pack 1 cripples a couple of them, namely the grace timer and the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) BIOS hacks.

The grace timer exploit would essentially freeze the countdown clock for the trial period of the software. (Another variation would constantly renew the 30-day grace period.) Since Microsoft doesn't lock off features in the pre-activated version, you could use it freely. It would even do updates. This, it seems was its downfall as when you download SP1, it restarts the countdown clock.

An OEM BIOS hack - there's actually a number of them � is a hack that tricks the version of Vista you installed into thinking it's an OEM copy. To make things easier for OEM manufacturers that ship multiple computers with Windows pre-installed, Microsoft allowed these copies to be are already licensed and activated. This hack replicates that license.

Specifically, Vista SP1 targets the Paradox OEM BIOS Emulation Toolkit, which was one of the most popular of the hacks going around.

It seems though that at least one OEM BIOS hack remains unaffected by Vista SP1 - the Vista Loader. I won't provide a link here as that would be, um, let's say "irresponsible" but suffice to say with a simple couple of seconds of typing in the command prompt after installing the program, you can change your copy of Windows into a fake OEM one.

And that will work until Microsoft finally gets around to making an update or service pack that disables that hack and you'll need to find a newer, better exploit.

Or you could just say, "screw it," install Linux and get lost in a sea of dependencies.

About G4 in Canada
G4 Canada (formerly TechTV Canada) launched in September 2001. G4 is the one and only television station that is plugged into every dimension of games, gear, gadgets and gigabytes. Owned Rogers Media Inc., the channel airs more than 24 original series. G4 is available on digital cable and satellite. For more information, see www.g4tv.ca.

Tech News on G4

Windows closing for Vista users

April 01, 2008

By Adam Swimmer - G4 Canada