Windows XP Activation Algorithm Cracked for Offline Use
The Windows XP activation algorithm has been cracked offline using Linux, The Register reports(Opens in a new window).
According to a blog post(Opens in a new window) on Tinyapps, a site that catalogs tiny software made for Windows, the crack means it’s possible to activate new Windows XP installations safely and securely offline. It’s worth noting that Windows XP has been cracked with tweaks and unofficial patches since its launch in 2001, but this crack allows people to activate XP offline without altering the OS whatsoever.
According to a subreddit(Opens in a new window) discussing the crack, the software that allowed for it to happen has been on the internet for months, and it’s not known who made and shared it or, The Verge notes(Opens in a new window).
The product activation algorithm was cracked “some time ago," The Register says, and in 2019 an open-source key generator was released that allowed for the printing of “endless Windows XP keys.” Last year(Opens in a new window), someone shared a Windows executable that was capable of generating the confirmation ID codes necessary to complete the Windows XP activation process entirely offline, from which the current activation algorithm-defeating program is derived.
The program could be made freely available, as according to a GitHub discussion(Opens in a new window), a user called Neo-Desktop said they are reverse-engineering the software to create an open-source version.
Despite being over 21 years old, Windows XP, once the world’s most popular OS, is evidently still not going anywhere. In September 2022, over eight years since Windows stopped supporting the OS, it retained its popularity in some corners of the world, such as Armenia(Opens in a new window) where
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