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Crackers team "Paradox" have reportedly been successful in bypassing the product activation requirement of Microsoft Windows Vista x86.

Before I get moderated (easy guys ), I should mention that I'm not necessarily posting this for the pirating potential it brings, but for other implications such as having Microsoft doing somewhat of a sloppy job in this sense (after admitted years of efforts), or simply for facing a reality in today's software security that like it or not, such a widespread title like Windows - that must give some flexibility to other software developers and end users - will eventually get circumvented one way or another.

http://www.uploadcrap.com/?subaction...&id=1172962283

LOL it's no surprise. It's the same way they were able to crack HD DVD as well. Companies like Microsoft should focus more on giving consumers a better incentive to buy original copies of their products (such as price cuts), rather than making them even more "secure". After all, wouldn't you think about getting a $40 pirated copy of Vista Ultimate rather than ~$450 for a spanking new version of the same?

Um.. Why pay for pirated software when there's Bittorent?

But seriously, why do they keep trying to make it harder to break when they know it's going to get cracked at some point?
Why not put all that work into making the OS better?

Haha wow and he has up the 5 steps to crack it and the ParadoxVista.zip uploaded for us I dont even have to be a member on a warez board anymore!

Whoa. They cracked it this early? sweet

I printed that and stuck it in my file cabinet before microsoft demands they tear down that page LoL

I can see Vista is about to get very popular

Maybe a perverse marketing ploy by Microsoft ?

I'm a tech at one (better) of two computer stores in a small town where a large majority of the people are on fixed, low income or social assistance. So I have seen many systems with pirated Windows installed, many have been bought that way from some build-it-at-home dudes trying to make a buck, and some even from a previous store that is now closed (thank God).

I usually try to help them by troubleshooting whatever problem they may have but draw the line at re-installing he OS without a legit key. The fact is, there will always be pirated copies of Windows out there and not just because people want to steal but also because they can't afford it.

And with the prices of Vista, that's not about to change. I realize that, yes, it took five years, lots of dev guys to pay and all, but they really could of made a cheaper, more basic, less fancy (and much lighter would be nice) version for those in the lower income bracket.

Also many people just want a computer for internet and email and don't need all the fancy stuff. I had to help an older lady that just bought an Acer Notebook from Future Shop with Vista and only 512MB RAM. It was so frigin slow, it took me almost an hour just to setup her internet and wireless router. And then you get all those UAC prompts that make it look like you're hacking it to pieces. She was so discouraged at the $1000 she just spent on that.

It's not just the price of the OS anymore, it's also the additional cost of hardware if you want it to run half decent, like 2 to 4GB RAM, above average CPU and video card.

I think it just might be worth trying a couple distros of Linus on some new boxes for customers.

Since this thread has been targeted by spammers, I`m closing it.

I have sent an email to Julio about this.

Regards Howard