GristyMcFisty used our news submit to tell us about another development in the world of anti-piracy. This time it's a story that will send a shock wave through Redmond. According to this report over at Rediff.com, an Indian reasearcher has broken the (up until now) rock solid Windows Genuine Advantage system. This system was created to ensure customers that they are using a legitimate, licensed software and also is a way to get a quick access to the update center servers. You can read all about it here.
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A company spokesperson said they did expect counterfeiters to try a number of different methods to circumvent safeguards provided by WGA. WGA is an anti-piracy programme that keeps a tab on consumers whether they are running legitimately licensed copies of Windows XP. Mohanty has posted a detailed proof-of-concept programme on the high-profile security mailing list of the software giant, showing how the WGA validation check can be tricked to generate key codes for use on illegal copies of the software. Using a secondary Microsoft validation tool called "genuinecheck.Exe", Mohanty claims to have made it possible for people to trick the safeguard mechanism and download and run the supposedly restricted software from Microsoft"s download centre, he said. |
It will be interesting to see how quickly Microsoft reacts to this charge. Also, if it is truly a workaround for WGA, we will see just how fast Microsoft can make corrections for such a damaging situation. Because at the moment, they're at a Genuine Disadvantage with this system breech.
Source: Rediff
