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Windows IT

Windows XP Activation Algorithm Has Been Cracked (theregister.com) 59

Posted by msmash from the how-about-that dept.
Liam Proven, reporting for The Register: Over 21 years after it first came out, the Microsoft operating system that will not die is receiving another lease of life. It's possible to activate new installations, safely and securely, without a crack, off line. A blog post on tinyapps has revealed the hot news that nobody sane has been waiting for: the algorithm that Microsoft uses to validate Windows XP product keys has been cracked and reimplemented. As a result it's now possible to generate valid activation codes for Windows XP, without an internet connection, even though Microsoft has turned off all the activation servers.

This is not a recommendation But first, a word of caution and restraint. Please don't take this article as a recommendation to run Windows XP. It wasn't the most secure of operating systems back in 2001, and you really should not be running it in 2023 -- especially not on anything that is connected to the internet. However, saying that, the problem is that sometimes people need to. There is, for example, hardware out there that only works with Windows XP and won't work with anything newer... and some of it might be very expensive hardware, which is still perfectly functional -- but which requires a long-obsolete version of Windows to operate it. If you are lumbered with such a device, or you have got some single specific and very particular piece of software that you need to run and which doesn't work properly on any newer version of Windows, then you may be forced to use XP. If so, one of the problems is that Microsoft has turned off the activation servers, so even if you install clean fresh copy, you can no longer activate it over the Internet. (Allegedly, the telephone activation service still works, if that's an option for you.)
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Windows XP Activation Algorithm Has Been Cracked More

Windows XP Activation Algorithm Has Been Cracked

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  • Stupid Disclaimers (Score:3)

    by JackieBrown ( 987087 ) on Friday May 26, 2023 @10:23AM (#63553025)

    This is not a recommendation But first, a word of caution and restraint. Please don't take this article as a recommendation to run Windows XP. It wasn't the most secure of operating systems back in 2001, and you really should not be running it in 2023 -- especially not on anything that is connected to the internet.

    It's insulting that they honestly felt the need to add this disclaimer.

    • Re:Stupid Disclaimers (Score:4, Interesting)

      by xack ( 5304745 ) on Friday May 26, 2023 @10:50AM (#63553109)
      Web browsing in xp has been broken for a while now anyway. You might be able to get away with basic html, but any web app will trip compatibility. There are only two actively developed browsers left, one based on an old version of Pale Moon and one based on an old version of Firefox. I have given up browsing in xp even in virtual machines. If I need to transfer files to XP I download from a modern system. Even retro gaming on XP is limited due to the shutdown of online servers for games. The only real use for xp is embedded offline hardware with a multi decade lifespan.

      • The only real use for xp is embedded offline hardware with a multi decade lifespan.

        ... and scambaiting

      • âoeThe only real use for xp is embedded offline hardware with a multi decade lifespan.â I can gaze upon 3 different models and brands of mixed signal oscilloscopes without leaving my seat here⦠and my bench is nothing special at the multinational I work for.
      • I've tried and kind of like Winternight Classic / Crescent-Vine [github.com]. Per the github site "A fork of Gecko 1.8.1 to improve support for the modern web in older versions of Windows". Its based off a fork from the somewhat defunct Retrozilla.

        Has issues, especially since Javascript is disabled by default, and 'a lot' of the modern web 'hates' having Javascript disabled, yet many news websites, casual information sites, and common references like Wikipedia at least render.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jhon ( 241832 )

      "It's insulting that they honestly felt the need to add this disclaimer."

      Ever read the wrapper on a Subway Sandwich?

      I'm telling you, Wonko the Sane had it right!

      “It seemed to me,' said Wonko the Sane, 'that any civilization that had so far lost its head as to need to include a set of detailed instructions for use in a package of toothpicks, was no longer a civilization in which I could live and stay sane.”

    • This is great news for the Navy! Donâ(TM)t Aegis missile destroyers run on Windows XP?
    • /. editors have been posting insulting disclaimers like this for over a decade now. Heck I've seen one that was reminding us the a CPU is at the core of a computer.

    • This is not a recommendation But first, a word of caution and restraint. Please don't take this article as a recommendation to run Windows XP. It wasn't the most secure of operating systems back in 2001, and you really should not be running it in 2023 -- especially not on anything that is connected to the internet.

      It's insulting that they honestly felt the need to add this disclaimer.

      One never knows what Stunningly Dumb Warning Labels [forbes.com] might help *someone* ...

      - Hair dryer: Do not use while sleeping.
      - Eggs: This product may contain eggs.
      - Car sun shield: Do not drive with sun shield in place.

      More: dumb (warnings|disclaimers) [google.com]

  • So what would you call this? (Score:4, Funny)

    by NoMoreDupes ( 8410441 ) on Friday May 26, 2023 @10:34AM (#63553051)

    a 21-year-day hack?

  • DRM is a barrier to preservation. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by xack ( 5304745 ) on Friday May 26, 2023 @10:37AM (#63553063)
    People were warning what would happen to XP once Microsoft wouldn't activate it anymore back in 2001. People are still able to use 40 year old dos applications thanks to the cracking scene that existed back then. We are already seeing drmed software and movies disappering when companies get greedy or just plain evil. Embedded systems with old XP hardware can at last be salvaged thanks to this crack.
    • I'm a little unclear on why this matters at all, XP was the last version of Windows which didn't require activation. Maybe it matters for some of the later discs or something, which possibly came with Genuine Advantage baked in, but for (I'm guessing) most installs that was something you could avoid. Provided that you were paying attention and didn't just install all updates.

      It's not a coincidence that XP is the last version of Windows that I used.

      • Windows XP was the first version of Windows that required activation. The last version of Windows that didn't require activation was Windows ME. Or I suppose Windows 2000, though ME was released after 2000.

        Not all PC's required that XP be activated by phoning home to Microsoft. Some OEMs would essentially bake the product key into the BIOS, and Windows could use that to activate itself automatically without ever phoning home.

        • Windows XP was released in 2001. Windows Genuine Advantage was released as an update in, I think, 2005 or 2006. If you just installed all updates blindly then you would be stuck with it, and couldn't remove it once it was on your system, but if you paid attention then you could just not install that update.

  • FINALLY! (Score:5, Funny)

    by CrappySnackPlane ( 7852536 ) on Friday May 26, 2023 @10:42AM (#63553079)

    I've been looking to upgrade my Gateway - don't get me wrong, 98 is great, but XP looks like an exciting upgrade.

    Great news for Windows 11 users, too.

    • Dude, you're getting a Dell!

    • I've been looking to upgrade my Gateway - don't get me wrong, 98 is great, but XP looks like an exciting upgrade.

      Great news for Windows 11 users, too.

      I don't know, upgrades are always kinda sketchy from a stability standpoint.

      I think I'll play it safe and just stick with Windows ME.

  • Abandonware (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Bert64 ( 520050 ) <.moc.eeznerif.todhsals. .ta. .treb.> on Friday May 26, 2023 @11:03AM (#63553141) Homepage

    If only they'd just release old stuff unsupported/as-is. It has no commercial value anymore and is useless for day to day use, but still has niche uses for legacy equipment or educational purposes.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by guygo ( 894298 )

      DeltaXP fills that niche very nicely

    • As a legal policy though MS can't be out there looking like they still support or offering XP in any way shape or form though. Pretty sure if a fresh XP install hits the open net its gonna be wildly vulrerable to attach immediately and MS can't be connected to that happening no matter how many disclaimers they put on it. It's just too risky, even an official download link is too much.

      For all intents though XP is basically still readily available for the type of people who would want to still use it for wh

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by larwe ( 858929 )

        As a legal policy though MS can't be out there looking like they still support or offering XP in any way

        It's perfectly possible for MS to release software for "educational purposes" expressly excluding all guarantees of performance and disclaiming all responsibility. The likely largest reason why they cannot do this with Windows XP is that a lot of Windows isn't Microsoft code, it is code licensed from other parties. In order to release XP as freeware, MS would need either a) to comb through it and build a distribution that excludes all third-party components (if that's even possible), or b) get agreement fro

        • For sure I am not saying it isn't possible, just so legally risky and dubious with so little upside that it's functionally not even a realistic possibility. The valid point you bring up only doubles down on that.

          Releasing XP again in any form whatsoever is pretty much 99.999% downside and risk and the only upside is to a very small and niche group of enthusiasts who already likely know how to access the software anyways.

  • You are allowed to hack software protection here if they prevent you to use things for their intended purpose.

    • That could be really interesting if it's applied to functions in cars that manufacturers now want to sell by the month. Mercedes comes to mind, with their "full power by subscription" rip-off.

  • I remember before routers were universal, it was common to hook up your Windows 2K/XP computer straight to the modem (or at least for the technician to do that). After a few seconds, you'd start receiving these annoying spam messages courtesy of the on-by-default Messaging Service or whatever it was called (just a msg box basically). And of course, before they patched the DCOM RPC exploit you'd get infected in the same amount of time too. Ah the memories. I wonder exactly what would happen if you connec

  • There are still very large, expensive pieces of capital equipment with an EOL far longer than an OS, and many run XP. The issue now is not getting XP installed, its finding hardware that XP will install on in the first place. The last chipsets XP will recognize are now more than a decade obsolete, and maintaining that hardware has become more problematic than maintaining an OS on an air gapped system.
    Yes, I recognize running an XP VM is an obvious option, but exactly no one really wants to be the first to

  • If it were for Seven, more people would be interested.

    A fresh installation of XP is a hassle to get boostrapped these days, as it doesn't come with anything you can use to download what you need. You can copy stuff over from another system on a USB flash drive, but you have to know precisely what to get that will *run* on XP, that supports a sufficiently recent version of SSL to interoperate with the rest of the world.

    • Use the phone activation system to activate Windows 7, it works every time (it's just a PITA because it takes over 10 minutes). After the systems asks you for the string of numbers it will then ask you how many computers you have installed this copy of Windows 7 on. Always respond with "ZERO" and after a few seconds you'll hear "verified". The system will then read you a string of numbers to type in to activate Windows 7. I've been doing this on every imaginable make and model of computer using all of the v

    • Since all my windows installs are now in virtual machines, all I have to do is make an iso file with the drivers, which I do with "mkisofs -lJR -o /var/lib/libvirt/images/qemuguest.iso qemuguest" which would also work fine if you were burning an actual disc. Although I do not even have an optical drive in my desktop any more, I keep a USB2 DVDRW around in case I want to rip a disc or something.

  • I've got a couple of MSWind95 applications that I'd like to be able to run. I've got the install disks, but no capability to install them (and I'd want them on a virtual machine anyway.)

    I don't have any other MSWind software that I'm even interested, and MSWind98 broke the applications. (Well, not actually broke, just made them unusable due to timing errors.)

    OTOH, I've gotten along without those applications for a few decades now, so I probably wouldn't go through a lot of bother to get them to run anyway

    • OS's that old (and newer ones as well) can be found out there in places like Archive.org and the like.

      You can probably find a complete, clean install of '95 or '98 in the VM format of your choice, already preinstalled and ready to run.

      Look around some more, they are out there.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by HiThere ( 15173 )

        I've got a complete set, but not a computer that it will run on. The last time I tried it wouldn't accept a disk version of the boot floppy, but the system wouldn't boot from a floppy. (Well, that was a decade ago. I've still got the CD and the probably the floppy, but no system that can use them.)

        • I realize that's an issue, as nothing has a floppy anymore, but that's not a problem; the images I'm referring are already completely installed from the original media - no original discs (CD or floppies) are required at all. The image is a virtual hard disk image, usually a several GB large file or files that comprise a VMDK, which is a virtual disk image that's used by VirtualBox or VMWare Players.

          Those are two good free VM's out there that will boot up the OS image you downloaded directly from the hard

  • I know of some stand alone industrial control systems that still run XP. The software and hardware is XP only and unfortunately for those smaller companies they let themselves get so locked in that being forced to upgrade would bankrupt them. Now all they need to worry about is compatible hardware.

    As long as a XP system is isolated from the Internet and only runs a single dedicated application like a CAN bus connected license server for the NC machines there isn't much of a risk to using an old EOL'd OS.

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