Spoofing OS version

[BlueBonnett]

I have a great program (ultrasearch) that expired, it won't run anymore unless I roll the clock back. The authors do this to force you to upgrade after 30 months. My issue is that their newer versions did not become incompatible naturally, the authors deliberately programmed it to force you to upgrade to Windows 10. My discovery of their auto-expiration feature they played ignorant about only further proves their dishonesty to me.

Is there a way to spoof my Windows 7 so the program believes I'm running Windows 10? It's the only way I can think of to install their updated version.

 

[torchwood]

Hi

Suspect there is a "task" that automatically updates the version of this prog

IF you have a Seven only version in a back-up option use that and remove the auto-updater task

 

[BlueBonnett]

It doesn't, it's still the same as before, but I found a way around it. I just changed timestamps of the exe so they are modified today rather than 30 months ago. Now it doesn't give me the expired error anymore! Looks like these guys didn't put that much effort into this, but I'm not gonna give them ideas, lmao.

I'm still interested in OS spoofing, though. All the hits I get when I search is for installing older apps on a newer OS, not the reverse.

It's one thing if an unmaintained app no longer works on modern systems. I have apps from the 1990s that still work flawlessly. But it's completely different when an author deliberately programs the app to sabotage you arbitrarily. That's just bad business.

 

[michael diemer]

You are correct, there is an unspoken agreement between Microsoft and software makers to force people to upgrade (so they can be monetized more easily). You can use User Agent Switcher to spoof software so it thinks you are on Windows 10, and also the latest version of your browser. In other words, suitably up to date enough for them to use you as a data cow.

This is the one for Firefox: User-Agent Switcher and Manager – Get this Extension for Firefox (en-US)

Search for other browser versions if firefox is not your browser.

 

[BlueBonnett]

That looks like an extension for a web browser to fool websites. I need to fool an installer into thinking I'm using Windows 10.

 

[Alejandro85]

First of all, if the program authors just ignore your request and still play those silly "force updates" I would just dump their program in favor of something else. Chances are that better programs that just work are out there.

Now about the OS spoofing.
While spoofing browser and OS version is trivial for websites (as the unrelated browser extensions where suggested), lying to programs running on the computer is significantly more difficult, specially when trying to simulate a newer version.

First of all, there are legitimate reasons to require a newer OS, as newer versions include additional features program can make use of. If the new version uses an API introduced in Win8 or 10, it must require it. And while Win7 was in its prime time it was difficult to require anything above it, now that MS officially abandoned it the decition is easier to make for the developer. The dropping market share also "helps" that.

Now to the actual OS spoofing. There are a number of ways programs can know the Windows version they're running on. Calling the relevant API is certainly the easiest and arguably the best, so you must find a way to make that API return something else to lure the calling program.

This kind of function patching is often done by either patching the binary to call a different DLL (and write that DLL yourself to intercept the call) or patching the in-memory image of the binary to hardcode the call result. Both are feasible and have been done in the past, but are of course fairly complex to actually implement. I won't go into details right now, but just ask if you're interested in it.

An additional problem is that programs can use other ways to determine OS version besides asking the OS itself. For example, a program may look for the existence of the "Metro-App" folders and assume it's on Win8 if they're there. Win7 hasn't those. It can also check for the existence of certain API functions above those in Win7. You need to know what the program actually does. and try to affect its outcome, just like you tampered with the binary file timestamp.

And the final problem comes if the program uses a newer function not available on Win7. You need to be ready to reimplement it and "convince" the program to use your implementation (which often means DLL hijacking).

All in all, I personally don't think it's worth to pursue it, other than for learning purposes or out of pure fun. For practical usage I would stick to programs versions supported in Win7 if you're not ready to move away from it.

 

[BlueBonnett]

Thanks for the insights. Yes, it's true that there are multiple ways a program identifies the OS and it's important to know how it does it. I have already found a work-around by changing the modified date (which is pathetically easy, I just opened with a hex editor, copied an extra byte, saved then deleted extra byte to change the file modified timestamp). But I am interesting in trying to trick a later installer just for fun, as long as it's not gonna be too deep of a rabbit hole. How do I start? The installer is an EXE file, is there a simple way to know what DLLs it expects?

The author told me the reason they sabotaged the OS compatibility is because they don't want users of outdated OSes flooding their inbox with support requests. As Win7 users are only 2% of the market share, this argument holds no water.

Trust me, Ultrasearch is an incredible program. It finds any file, all files across all drives instantly because it searches the MFT rather than the whole drive. Why this isn't the default method on Windows search, I have no idea, but Ultrasearch is a must. No other program compares to it. I cannot and will not dump it.

 

[michael diemer]

That looks like an extension for a web browser to fool websites. I need to fool an installer into thinking I'm using Windows 10.

My experience is thus: I tried installing music-creation software from some well-known companies. Doing it without spoofing did not work. Doing it with spoofing did. So there must be something to it. I always set U-A-S before the downloading. It seems to reset itself so you have to make sure to do that every time. I'm not sure exactly how it works. Probably just getting past the "your operating system is too old" nag is enough. Alejandro may be right, it can't really affect the installation process. but there definitely is something to it.

A good idea is to demo the product, if that is possible. No sense in spending money on something that may or may not work. Here's an interesting idea for someone with the requisite knowledge: Linux has Wine, which allows you to run programs for Windows. In most cases, it works. For the past two years, I've been doing my music on Linux. There was very little of my windows programs I could not use. (However, I have gone back to W7, because my projects load 3X faster, don't crash, and I don't have to put my ilok licenses on the cloud. I can have them on a dongle. It seems crazy to have to have an internet connection to work on my music). Anyway, what if there was a compatibility program, like Wine, that allowed you to stay with your preferred op. system, and not throw away a perfectly usable computer, because of the mandatory "you must upgrade" mentality? Especially when these newer op. systems track you and essentially try to take over your computer? not to mention the eco-waste involved.