Pirated copies of Windows Vista are available as free downloads but come with a price tag hidden from the users. Security company DriveSentry has issued a public warning following extensive testing of Windows Vista cracks. According to DriveSentry about half of the illegal workarounds designed to activate Windows Vista available as free downloads are in actuality camouflaging malicious code. DriveSentry is the 4th company that broke the news in relation to the first Microsoft Windows Crack.
In this context, users that will deploy compromised Vista cracks pay with their confidential information, with bandwidth and with their data for workarounds that are apparently free. "One such crack - Windows Vista All Versions Activation 21.11.06 - was recently exposed as a Trojan-carrier, and consumers should be prepared for more of the same," cautioned John Safa, security expert and chief architect at DriveSentry.

DriveSentry warned that users are exposing themselves and their data to attacks by deploying pirated materials on their machines. This is in fact one aspect of social engineering, masquerading malware as software cracks.

"Approximately 50 percent of the Vista cracks we tested from popular file sharing tools are really Trojan horses. Hackers are attaching malicious programs to original cracks and sending the mutated versions back into Cyberspace. Anyone who then downloads and runs one of these infected cracks will also unlock the malicious program, which could cause irreversible damage to their PCs or data," added Safa.

DriveSentry's chief architect also criticized Microsoft for taunting the high security level of Windows Vista, and transforming the operating system in an item of pray.

"By claiming it has locked down Vista, Microsoft has effectively issued an open invitation to the hacking community to prove it wrong," Safa continued. "There's real money to be lost in this high stakes game, and the rules have completely changed. Today's malware threat has evolved into a destructive force that outpaces even the best anti-virus signatures, leaving consumers' personal data completely exposed to zero-day attacks. It's imperative that individuals start approaching security at the data level - isolating malware before it can wreak havoc on their PCs."