14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has kicked off the automatic distribution of its Windows 7 RTM cracks killer, namely an update designed to make over 70 illegal activation exploits for the latest iteration of the Windows client go the way of the dodo bird. In the first half of this month, the Redmond company announced theWindows Activation Technologies Update for Windows 7, noting that it would be released on the Windows genuine website on February 16th, and on the Microsoft Download Center the next day. Earlier this week, namely on February 23rd, the update was scheduled to go live on Windows Update.
Users of Windows 7 with Automatic Updates enabled will have the refresh automatically downloaded and installed. The Windows Activation Technologies Update for Windows 7 is designed to detect more than 70 activation exploits which Microsoft considers potentially dangerous, and to inform the user of their presence.
It is critical to note that the installation of the update is voluntary. Users that don’t want the refresh need only identify it among the updates served by Microsoft, and hide it in the Windows Update dialog window so it will never be deployed on their computer. In the WU window, the update in question bears the following label “Update for Windows 7 for x64/x86-based Systems (KB971033)." Once identified on the update list, Windows 7 customers can right click KB971033 and choose to hide the refresh.
Microsoft explained that the update was designed to enable Windows 7 customers that acquired a pirated copy of the operating system believing that they were buying a legitimate copy to check their operating systems. The Windows Activation Technologies Update for Windows 7 is already available for download as a standalone refresh, for users that want to grab it and manually deploy it instead of waiting for it to be served through WU. (Here are the links for Windows 7 for x86-based systems, and for Windows 7 for x64-based systems. )
In addition, the Redmond company also noted that it had witnessed an increasing trend for pirated copies of Windows 7 distributed through various illegal sources including torrent trackers, to come bundled with malware. Following the RTM of Windows Vista’s successor, the software giant has been hard at work collecting information on over 70 cracks and activation workarounds, and is attempting to thwart them with the Windows Activation Technologies Update for Windows 7.