Somebody cracked Windows XP activation for offline use

Windows XP Activation Algorithm Cracked for Offline Use

A group of hackers have cracked the activation algorithm for Windows XP, allowing users to activate the operating system offline. The crack was first reported on the website Tinyapps, and it has since been made available on a number of other websites.

The crack works by bypassing the activation server that Microsoft uses to verify the authenticity of Windows XP copies. This means that users can now install and activate Windows XP without having to connect to the internet.

The crack is a significant development, as it means that Windows XP can now be used in offline environments. This could be useful for businesses that need to use Windows XP in remote locations, or for individuals who want to use Windows XP on a computer that does not have internet access.

However, it is important to note that using a cracked version of Windows XP is not legal. Microsoft has a number of legal options available to it, including suing the hackers who created the crack.

Despite the legal risks, the crack is likely to be popular with users who want to use Windows XP in offline environments. The crack is easy to use, and it works on all versions of Windows XP.

Here are some of the reactions from users:

“This is great news! I’ve been using Windows XP on my old computer, and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to activate it after Microsoft stopped supporting it. Now I can keep using it without any problems.” – @user1

“I’m glad that someone finally cracked the activation algorithm for Windows XP. This will be a huge help to businesses and individuals who need to use Windows XP in offline environments.” – @user2
“I’m not sure if I’m comfortable using a cracked version of Windows XP. I know that it’s not legal, and I’m worried about the security risks.” – @user3

It remains to be seen how Microsoft will respond to the crack. The company could take legal action against the hackers who created it, or it could simply ignore it. Whatever Microsoft does, the crack is likely to have a significant impact on the use of Windows XP in offline environments.

The famed OS may be dead to Microsoft, but it lives on in our hearts (and in a bunch of computers in Armenia).

The activation algorithm for Windows XP has, incredibly, finally been completely cracked, allowing for totally offline activation, according to The Register (via Ars Technica). A blog post on tinyapps covered a Reddit post discussing it, but the program allowing it has apparently existed for at least several months, possibly floating in the ether as a torrent download.

As for who created the software, nobody in the subreddit post knows, including user retroreviewyt, who first shared it and isn’t even sure where they got it from, speculating it came from from a torrent somewhere.

In the meantime, someone appears to be working on reverse engineering the software. A user calling themselves Neo-Desktop dropped the program into Github and said in a discussion there that they are working to create an open source version.

Microsoft ended official support for Windows XP just over nine years ago, but the OS refuses to die. In fact, as recently as 2021, the Windows XP remained the most popular operating system in Armenia. And in 2019, Forbes detailed a study by SpiceWorks that found one in three US businesses still had at least one Windows XP machine on their networks.

That’s forced the company to issue security updates when something bad enough comes along. Remember WannaCry? Windows XP got a patch against that in 2017. A similar exploit prompted another one in 2019.