Hacked Copy of Windows Vista? Microsoft Wants to "Help You" With SP1

Microsoft has already indicated it will be changing the way it reacts to detected hacked copies in SP1, removing the "kill switch" that placed the system into "reduced functionality mode." Today Microsoft went into detail on how this is going to happen, and about a couple of well-known cracks that will be disabled in both SP1 and the current retail version.

In a post on the Windows Genuine Advantage blog, Microsoft detailed how SP1 will react after the activation grace period has expired:

After the activation grace period has been exceeded the next logon will present the user with a message that directs the customer to activate that copy of Windows. That dialog includes a fifteen second delay before it can be dismissed. If a customer chooses to activate that copy of Windows they will be shown a number of ways to accomplish that. If they want to skip activation at that time they can wait for the fifteen seconds and choose "Activate Later" and they will be logged in to their desktop.

When the desktop is loaded, the background wallpaper color will be set to black. This setting will be confirmed and reset every hour meaning that a user can change the wallpaper to a favorite image but each hour after being logged in, the system will reset the desktop background to black. When that happens, a system tray balloon notification will advise the customer to activate their copy of Windows.

Again, if the user clicks the Activate message they will be presented with a number of ways to activate their copy of Windows.

And to make sure that it detects more of you with hacked copies, SP1 will detect two well-known hacks. Of course, just in case you don't want to upgrade to SP1 immediately (and based on what we know so far, you might want to wait), Microsoft is also going to push out updates via Windows Update to detect the hacks in non-SP1 Windows Vista as well.

The hacks are known as the "Grace Timer" hack and the "OEM BIOS" hack. "Grace Timer" extends Vista's activation grace period until the year 2099. "OEM BIOS" modifies system files and the PC's BIOS to mimic the product activation done by OEM computer manufacturers.

When a hack is detected, you'll see the dialog box below. However, at this point it will not disable the hacks but simply indicate the hacks were detected. Microsoft will also make a separate removal tool available. In the future they will integrate the removal tool with the detection code.

As Microsoft says:

By providing this kind of technology, we want to make sure our customers are able to have the best Windows experience possible.

Don't get me wrong, every OS I own is legit, but I'm sure that there will be some not too happy with all this helpfulness.