The first crack to defeat the anti-piracy mechanism built
into Microsoft's forthcoming Windows 7 operating system has been
reported three months before general release.
Reports of the crack for the Ultimate edition come less than a
week after Windows 7 was released to original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs), according to
Softpedia.
The crack is based on a product activation key and certificate
believed to have been extracted from an OEM copy of Windows 7 that
was leaked on a Chinese web forum.
The crack is believed to be limited to the Ultimate edition, but
can be used on all machines for both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions
of the operating system.
And if a user has a retail version of Windows 7 Ultimate, it can
be converted to an OEM version with two simple commands, and then
activated, according to
Ars Technica.
Microsoft has advised customers not to download Windows 7 from
unauthorised sources.
Downloading Windows 7 from peer-to-peer websites is piracy and
exposes users to increased risks, such as viruses, Trojans, data
loss and identity theft, a spokesman said.