A version of Vista where dll’s from a release candidate version of Vista replace dll’s from the final version as a way of getting around the product activation tools. An update was quickly released by Microsoft to make this hack ineffective.

Lately the web has been buzzing about the loophole that allows a user to purchase an upgrade version of Vista, and still be able to install it, even if they don’t have an older operating system to upgrade from. This can save a person near 35% of the cost of the full equivalent version of Vista. Microsoft has now stated that they don’t have any plans to try and stop this. That doesn’t sound like the Microsoft I know! Keep reading →

Apparently Microsoft has released an update to combat the recent activation hack referred to as Frankenbuild. The update, released the week of Dec. 12, will have the Windows Update client do a genuine validation check on systems that it detects as being tampered with. None of the mainstream articles are yet listing the Knowledge Base article number, but one forum poster has listed it as “Windows Vista Validation Update” (KB929391). A search for this currently comes back negative, so it’s uncertain if this is the actual number yet. Anyone have more info on this Vista Update?