The latest trend in Windows Vista cracks is to utilize OEM certificates in order to bypass the activation process of the operating system. Via the OEM crack for Windows Vista, original equipment manufacturer versions of the operating system are illegally activated through a process that involves patching the BIOS of the motherboard.

A whole range of OEM certificates providing Windows Vista activation exist currently in the wild for a variety of makers. The list of BIOS patches for Windows Vista OEM activation contains names like: Acer, Abit, Aopen, ASUS, DFI INFINITY, EpoX, Gigabyte, MSI, Onda, Soyo and Unika. However, the hacking community was hard at work and has added a few other brands to this list.

Now OEM certificates for heavyweight bands such as Dell, HP, Lenovo and Sony are also involved with the workaround for Vista activation. Via the OEM crack, the copies of Windows Vista are activated without connecting to any activation provider. According to the description of the workaround, the BIOS must support SLA 2.0.

In this regard, the Vista activation is persistent, which means that just by providing a correct and valid OEM product key, the operating system will not need to be activated online. Hackers have also released OEM versions of Windows Vista DVD media complete with the digital certificate.

OEM Activation is designed as a software protection technology for Vista, built upon Windows XP's System-Locked Preinstallation. The main purpose of Vista OEM activation is to associate the operating system to the firmware of the physical computer and to prevent the transfer of an OEM OS on another machine.