Filed under: OS Updates, Security, Microsoft
Microsoft admits Vista OEM hack works
Despite proud boasts that Vista was the most hack-proof version of Windows to date, Microsoft Senior Product Manager Alex Kochis has written on a developers' blog that Microsoft has recognized two ways that hackers have cracked Vista's product activation.Basically the hacks affect OEM copies of Vista that are meant to run on a specific piece of hardware. The first hack changes some code in a computer's BIOS to make Vista think it's installed on the correct PC. The other hack does something similar, but with software.
Basically, Kochis says Windows XP was vulnerable to the same sort of hack, but Microsoft never paid much attention because there were far easier ways to obtain a bootleg copy of Windows XP.
And it turns out Microsoft isn't going to place much priority on combating this hack now either. Since it's a relatively tricky and dangerous way to get an illegal copy of Vista running, the company figures most users won't try modifying their BIOS. Microsoft will instead focus on "organized counterfeiters and protect users from becoming unknowing victims."
[via CNet]
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