How to know if your windows 7 is pirated/illegal copy?

[unifex]

Hmmm, I just ran Windows Update, there was nothing regarding activation, could not find that update with the number Greg posted. Maybe for x64 systems it comes later?

Now, more on the topic - I guess if you buy your PC or OS through regular channels you don't have to worry. If you have done something illegal then you know you did. So, the only people in doubt would be those who buy second-hand PCs.

In that situation, it would probably be very useful to have some way of verifying that the license key you are getting with the PC has not already been used someplace else.

Same would apply to people buying keys on eBay, but then I guess the question is - why would anyone do that? Is it really that much cheaper to be worth all the trouble? And if you find it say 10 times cheaper than the best deal you can get from Microsoft or Amazon, do you really think it would be legit?

 

[Merlin2000]

Just because you can access windows update, or pass the WGA stuff, doesn't mean your copy of Win 7 is valid.

There are many illegal ways to get around those things that I won't go into details about.

The best thing to do is Google your serial key and see if anyone else has it listed in the search results. A lot of times these serial keys will be posted in public.

 

[severedsolo]

i cant help feeling that the introduction of this "fix" for the cracks was a clever marketing ploy.... get millions f pirates to download windows 7, crack it then hit them with "deactivation" once they have settled into using it.... that is of course if the WAT actually works.... so far the "hacktivated" edition i used in my earlier test is still fine and passing WGA....

 

[Merlin2000]

i cant help feeling that the introduction of this "fix" for the cracks was a clever marketing ploy.... get millions f pirates to download windows 7, crack it then hit them with "deactivation" once they have settled into using it.... that is of course if the WAT actually works.... so far the "hacktivated" edition i used in my earlier test is still fine and passing WGA....

- Nothing wrong with a company trying to protect themselves from people who steal their software. It's not like Microsoft is busting down your door, or reporting your illegal use to your ISP.

 

[severedsolo]

merlin, you completely misunderstand my point, i quite agree they SHOULD be protecting their software (they are required to protect their intellectual property by law anyway or they lose the copyright) the point i was making was this, people are basically cracking it in the same way they cracked Vista, are we supposed to believe that after 5 years they didnt have a solution on launch day? what i was saying was that it seems (IMO anyway) that they "allowed" people to pirate it, then hit them with the deactivation after its been out 4 months, because by then chances are they wouldnt want to go back and will buy a license, clever marketing i say, otherwise said pirates would have probably gone back to Vista/XP (which they probably have an OEM license for, lets face it, most people upgrade their pc's at some point over 5 years)

 

[Thorsen]

I dont think MS was allowing anyone to pirate their software, its just not preventable. They probably did everything they could think of to keep it to a minimum, but hackers get through these defenses quite quickly. MS just needs to innovate now and think up a new security measure to prevent it. They probably have in-house hacktivated machines running to find out how to de-hacktivate them.

As for MS's policies on how to prevent people from using hacked products just look to the 1million Xbox modders who's systems and accounts were taken off X-box Live. it is gonna get crazy when MS finds a way to perma-ban hacked copies of win7

 

[gregrocker]

Best to get clean because it's likely coming.

The rule of thumb with cracks is that they don't last.

Browse the 237+ page thread at Digital Life where the hackers are panicking over MS update. They think MS is developing some kind of BIOS hash that foils their mods, don't seem to realize that MS is reading their posts and prob using their own ideas.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Letting anyone that wanted it have free access to the RC was a brilliant marketing move.

 

[wullthebull]

i have 1pc and 1 lappy legit win7 and I wont be using ms wat on them ,.I have already activated them once and that should be it , so no phoning home in 90 days to check again. if ms wants to find pirate copies then fine , but do not keep checking on legit users .

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

i have 1pc and 1 lappy legit win7 and I wont be using ms wat on them ,.I have already activated them once and that should be it , so no phoning home in 90 days to check again. if ms wants to find pirate copies then fine , but do not keep checking on legit users .

So you're never/ever going to rum Windows Update again?

 

[valtonray]

i've heard so many people being concerned about this. why is it surprising to anyone that it would check in with MS to verify itself. truth is as pirates and hackers become better at creating hacks it takes more extreme measures to deter them. sure for the consumer this is unfortunate BUT it shuts down some of the cracks and more people will buy legal copies therefore keeping our software prices down.

 

[Lordbob75]

i have 1pc and 1 lappy legit win7 and I wont be using ms wat on them ,.I have already activated them once and that should be it , so no phoning home in 90 days to check again. if ms wants to find pirate copies then fine , but do not keep checking on legit users .

:roflmao:

You don't know what Windows Update really is then.

~Lordbob

 

[wullthebull]

i have 1pc and 1 lappy legit win7 and I wont be using ms wat on them ,.I have already activated them once and that should be it , so no phoning home in 90 days to check again. if ms wants to find pirate copies then fine , but do not keep checking on legit users .

So you're never/ever going to rum Windows Update again?

of course I am it will make no diff to win update and you can uninstall it if you want, it just a another stupid idea . if you want to catch pirates !1 then go get them ,but leave legit owners alone

 

[wullthebull]

just found this on net , so what a waste of time

this is a little tool I put together to remove WAT (Windows Activation Technologies) completely from the OS, whilst still retaining genuine status and receiving all updates (optional aswell). You can also pass the genuine check in things like Windows Defender.
There will be no windows activation section in control panel (thanks to nononsence)
no slmgr
no nags, no prompts, nothing. WAT gone.

It works after M$ KB971033 update will make your Windows 7 Genuine again! Enjoy!

 

[RST101]

just found this on net , so what a waste of time

this is a little tool I put together to remove WAT (Windows Activation Technologies) completely from the OS, whilst still retaining genuine status and receiving all updates (optional aswell). You can also pass the genuine check in things like Windows Defender.
There will be no windows activation section in control panel (thanks to nononsence)
no slmgr
no nags, no prompts, nothing. WAT gone.

It works after M$ KB971033 update will make your Windows 7 Genuine again! Enjoy!

All measures to counteract piracy are a waste of time because after all it is only code and code is most manipulative.

For as long as you know what you do you (and I don't) then the challenge of cracking things is what makes the crackers tick.

The only way to stop copyright it is by not having software to begin with.

 

[Dwarf]

just found this on net , so what a waste of time

this is a little tool I put together to remove WAT (Windows Activation Technologies) completely from the OS, whilst still retaining genuine status and receiving all updates (optional aswell). You can also pass the genuine check in things like Windows Defender.
There will be no windows activation section in control panel (thanks to nononsence)
no slmgr
no nags, no prompts, nothing. WAT gone.

It works after M$ KB971033 update will make your Windows 7 Genuine again! Enjoy!

   Warning

Discussion of illegal activities such as software and music piracy and other intellectual property violations are not allowed. The discussion of methods (cracks) designed to circumvent activation and other intellectual protection technologies is also not allowed.

The purpose of WAT is to help to ensure that you are running a genuine MS OS. By its very nature, there are bound to be some false positives, but these will be corrected in subsequent updates to the database that WAT uses. These updates will enable WAT to detect new methods of activation circumvention that are developed. At the moment, this update is optional (and, before anyone asks, I DO have it installed), but it will eventually become mandatory. Validation checks will then include checking for the presence of WAT on your system, and if not present your system will be flagged as non-genuine.

 

[unifex]

I have just checked again, I don't have this update listed even as an optional. Does anyone have it for the x64 version?

 

[Dwarf]

You can manually download this update from this link: Genuine Microsoft Software Click on Validate Windows and follow the instructions.

 

[Kari]

just found this on net , so what a waste of time

this is a little tool I put together to remove WAT (Windows Activation Technologies) completely from the OS, whilst still retaining genuine status and receiving all updates (optional aswell). You can also pass the genuine check in things like Windows Defender.
There will be no windows activation section in control panel (thanks to nononsence)
no slmgr
no nags, no prompts, nothing. WAT gone.

It works after M$ KB971033 update will make your Windows 7 Genuine again! Enjoy!

   Warning

Discussion of illegal activities such as software and music piracy and other intellectual property violations are not allowed. The discussion of methods (cracks) designed to circumvent activation and other intellectual protection technologies is also not allowed.

The purpose of WAT is to help to ensure that you are running a genuine MS OS. By its very nature, there are bound to be some false positives, but these will be corrected in subsequent updates to the database that WAT uses. These updates will enable WAT to detect new methods of activation circumvention that are developed. At the moment, this update is optional (and, before anyone asks, I DO have it installed), but it will eventually become mandatory. Validation checks will then include checking for the presence of WAT on your system, and if not present your system will be flagged as non-genuine.

Tried to rep this post, must 'spread around' first. No BS, nothing but the truth.

Kari

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

So you're never/ever going to rum Windows Update again?

The purpose of WAT is to help to ensure that you are running a genuine MS OS. By its very nature, there are bound to be some false positives, but these will be corrected in subsequent updates to the database that WAT uses. These updates will enable WAT to detect new methods of activation circumvention that are developed. At the moment, this update is optional (and, before anyone asks, I DO have it installed), but it will eventually become mandatory. Validation checks will then include checking for the presence of WAT on your system, and if not present your system will be flagged as non-genuine.

The reason I mentioned not ever using WU again.