Windows VistaIt appears that crackers need not break Windows Vista activation because Microsoft has done it for them! Brian Livingston of Window Secrets writes in Microsoft allows bypass of Vista activation about how to allow you to keep your Vista box running indefinitely without activating it.

He also goes on to mention that it would be relatively easy to write a script that would consistently reset the activation indefinitely:

Any crooked PC seller with even the slightest technical skill could easily install a command file that would carry out steps 1 through 6 automatically. The program could run slmgr -rearm three times, 30 days apart, to postpone Vista’s activation deadline to 120 days. It could then run skip -rearm every 30 days, for a period of months if not years, by first resetting the SkipRearm key.

The program could be scheduled to check Vista’s activation deadline during every reboot, and to remind the user to reboot once a month if a deadline was nearing. The buyer of such a PC would never even see an activation reminder, much less be required to go through the activation process.

He suggests that you use the Vista search feature to look for files that may be used to bypass activation, especially if you got a real steal of a deal on the system:

If you happen to buy a Vista PC from a little-known seller, and the price was too good to be true, use Vista’s search function to look for the string SkipRearm in files. You may discover that your “bargain” computer will mysteriously start demanding activation in a year or two — but your product key won’t be valid.

The SkipRearm Hunter Application

I have found that the Vista search leaves out a lot of different files and can be difficult for average users to work with and understand. I have written SkipRearm Hunter to perform this for you. Simply follow these instructions to download and run this tool:

  1. Download SRHunter.exe and save it to your desktop
  2. Double click on SRHunter
    It will automatically scan all of the hard drives on your system and look for any reference to SkipRearm in them, If it finds any files, it will create a text file called SRFileList.txt. It will also show in real time the file that is being scanned and any files it finds.

Now please be aware this this program simply scans for references to SkipRearm, I can think of a number of different ways that I could potentially bypass this scanner but at least it will give you an idea of what is on your system. Also, just because you find files referencing SkipRearm, this does not mean that you have an illegal copy of Vista. In fact, here is a list of the files that my system had on it that refer to Skiprearm:

C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SOFTWARE.OLD
C:\Windows\System32\config\SOFTWARE.SAV
C:\Windows\System32\SMI\Store\Machine\SCHEMA.DAT
C:\Windows\winsxs\Backup\x86_microsoft-windows-security-licensing-slc_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16386_none_4c40bb7dfc9ae9f4.manifest
C:\Windows\winsxs\Manifests\x86_microsoft-windows-security-licensing-slc_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16386_none_4c40bb7dfc9ae9f4.manifest

and I know that I am running a legitimate copy of Vista.

It would also not surprise me if you were to find some references in your Internet cache as well since you have probably been reading about Skiprearm on the Internet lately.

But, if you are seeing references to the Windows or System32 folders, there may be reason to question the authenticity of your installation.

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Tim Fehlman