Posts Tagged ‘WGA’

This post is my gratuitous offer to Microsoft to help them track down websites of piracy advocates who store and/or share activation cracks and similar nuisances. This all started as an experiment to see how many ways I could find a particular file and I’ve come to the conclusion that Microsoft probably either isn’t implementing half the methods I’ve devised or they don’t have the time/interest or a person/team in-house or outsourced dedicated to formulating solutions like this. I’ve cherry-picked two methods to delve into, then listed some action items to follow through with in taking said methods into consideration.

I would use Bing for these examples, but I’m still waiting for an all-encompassing guide for using advanced syntax usage in Bing. Usually, when I try to replicate my Google methods in Bing (yes, I make sure I’m using Bing’s syntax where applicable), the results are dismal. Anyway, I’d like to think someone at Microsoft will see this for what it is and bring me in to really get creative with this stuff, because there’s a whooooooole lot more where this came from! But I won’t hold my breath, because in the words of one Tony Lucca, “if I held my breath, you’d be the death of me.” lol.

Method 1: Use the following query in Google (I’ve even hyper-linked it for your pleasure):

 

intitle:index.of removewat21 | removewat22 | removewat*

 

Results: A large number of personal websites where they have the RemoveWAT file stored and directly accessible for anyone to immediately download.

Method 2: Go to Google. Click “more” and then click “Blogs.” Now, perform a search using the following query and then, on the left-hand side, click, “Sorted by date” (yes, I’ve hyper-linked this one as well already using the aforementioned steps):

 

removewat21 | removewat22 | removewat*

 

Results: An ever-expanding list of blogs linking to the file(s) you’re interested in getting off the internet. Most of them link to file sharing services, but that’s a major score as well.

Action Items: Bearing in mind the methods above, the next thing is to gather a list of as many variables of the RemoveWAT file name as you can, such as scene release names, shortened versions, etc. and interchange them throughout the queries. Rinse and repeat the process with other activation crack technologies and voila. From there, of course, gather contact information from somewhere on the site, perform a whois search, etc. to contact the individual(s) to remove the file or simply send a DMCA take-down request to the host or whatever legal actions Microsoft has to adhere to.

Also, you can get more extensive with the research portion and use Yahoo Site Explorer or SEOmoz’s Open Site Explorer to search for inbound links to the links harvested via method 1. The results are a mixed bag where that’s concerned, but I’ve found that Google typically yields those results after spidering the site from a completely separate entry point, so whether or not the person posted the file in a public forum or simply posted something completely irrelevant and Google happened to spider its way to the particular file is up in the air until additional research is performed.

Oh, and while you’re at it, you might as well try to make this process as automated, productive and facile as possible by setting up some Google Alerts (or something similar) for all the terms/queries you come up with and keep an eye on when new sites are indexed with those file names. What a great way of finding and getting rid of those files from (probably) a completely untapped avenue.

There! I’ve officially put my personal information-finding and off-page SEO research methods to good use for Microsoft’s anti-piracy endeavors. =) But bear in mind, the aforementioned methods and action items are just the tip of the iceberg. If I so chose, I could use just about any Microsoft product for free without ever touching a P2P application or utilizing a crack — all thanks to Google and absolutely careless individuals out there. There’s a lot out there; you just have to know how to find it.

Happy hunting, Microsoft.

-Stephen Chapman

http://www.msftkitchen.com

(Follow me on Twitter: msftkitchen)

WGA this, WGA that; well… The latest in Microsoft’s WGA movement is to passively annoy the dog crap out of non-genuine Windows Vista SP1 users until they fold like (Codename) origami! =) The Windows Vista SP1 implementation of WGA subtly screams changes that Microsoft hopes users will – and I couldn’t even make this one up, folks – “experience a differentiated experience.” (That is a hyperlink, btw. hehehe) Sooo… in other words… Know you’re running Windows Vista SP1 genuinely or not? YAAAAY, I got it right! w00t! +1 for Stephen! *Ahem* Anyway, in an orderly fashion from left to right, top to bottom; I give you the experience of a NON-Genuine Windows Vista SP1 user’s differentiated experience! Why? Because that’s just what you’ve wanted to see your WHOLE LIFE, isn’t it? ISN’T IT!? Admit it, man! (Wow, I’m in an unusually corny mood today and I certainly do apologize for that!)

“Uhhh… How am I experiencing a differentiated experience in these screenshots, Stephen?” The difference you experience in the experience of the differentiated experience of a Windows Vista SP1 user is this, my fine feathered friends:

Screenshot 1: With SP1, users who fail to activate within the grace period or whose systems fail validation will have their chosen desktop background replaced with a plain black background, which will help them see a persistent message placed above the system tray stating that “This copy of Windows is not genuine.” That message will not go away until the problems are resolved. (See: Synonymous with paper cut and no; I can’t believe there is actually a wikipedia entry for “paper cut,” either. lol)

Screenshot 2: This is the end of your grace period, my friend. You can expect to see notifications with the black desktop background and a delayed option to “Activate Later”. Weeeeeee!

Screenshot 3: Here, we see the notification screen that displays when the user clicks “Activate Now” in the previous screen. The user can enter a valid product key to activate Windows online at that time, or they can buy a new product key online. Did you guys ever hear about the Windows pirate who tried to activate using his house key? True story! I’m putting it on the internet now, so it’s a true story. DON’T DISAGREE WITH ME! =)

Screenshot 4: You see that little balloon there? You can expect to see that puppy pop up every hour. (See: Chinese water torture)

Screenshot 5: Upon the clicking of the Chinese water torture, I mean, notification balloon; rinse and repeat the fine details of screenshot 3.

Screenshot 6: HAHAHA, GOTCHA! THERE IS NO SCREENSHOT 6! BOOOOM; HEADSHOT!

Random Fact: According to Microsoft, the piracy numbers of their operating system have been reduced by more than half thanks to their WGA pet.

So, there you have it! All of you lovely, genuine Windows Vista SP1 users have now seen something you would have probably never in your life seen otherwise… and it’s all thanks to ME! MEEEEEE! Me, baby… Me. (No, I haven’t forgotten about all of you non-genuine users who aren’t impacted by WGA, you little haxors, you…) And now, sleep. *ZZzzzzZZzZzZZZzZZZz*

-Stephen

PS: Perhaps I shouldn’t have said, “Go-Go Gadget, CORNINESS!” prior to writing this blog… Or maybe it was the Java Monster “Mean Bean” energy drink I had prior to writing this. MAN, those things are addictive!

PPS: I told you I couldn’t make up the whole, “experience a differentiated experience” thing! See?