What "Activation" Means To You

by Bob Seidel

When you get your new PC it will come with Windows XP. You don't have a choice any more - all consumer grade PCs come with either of the two XP versions (Home or Professional) pre-loaded. XP is really an excellent OS, especially now that they have released the first package of fixes, called Service Pack 1 (SP1). But XP raises the ante in the eternal poker game between Microsoft and the cheaters. It's called Activation.

Microsoft has been producing software for over 25 years now, dating back to their original Basic language compilers for early microcomputers in the 70's. They have believed (and from what I see rightly so) that many people copy MS software instead of buying it. Many people believe to this day that it is OK to buy one copy of a software product, and then install it on all their computers. The short answer is that it is not OK. All software comes with license agreements - each agreement is different and you have to read them. Some software does allow you to make copies; most don't. But you have to adhere to the wording in the license agreement - if it says you can only use the software on the third Tuesday of the month if it's a blue moon, that is their right. Your choices are only a) comply, b) don't buy the software, or c) cheat.

Microsoft has put mechanisms in place in the past to stop copying. For example, try buying a PC today without Windows pre-installed. Because of agreements with Microsoft, most major PC vendors will not allow you to do that, or make it very difficult.

But now Microsoft has implemented something new, and it effectively stops all software copying. It's called Activation.

Activation is a very simple process. The MS software you buy comes with a (seemingly) random 30 digit code called the Product Key. This code used to appear in the license book accompanying the PC - its now on a sticker pasted to the side of the PC and MS requires all software installers to paste it there. But this key could still be copied - now comes the real trick. When it is installed, the software composes what is the computer equivalent of a fingerprint of your particular computer - every fingerprint is unique. You must send this fingerprint (it's a string of letters and numbers) to Microsoft (either by direct Internet connection or by phone) and receive an unlock key in return. Sometimes your PC vendor will do this for you, but the point is that it must be done. Your software will not continue to operate if you don't complete Activation.

Now, Microsoft has a specific association between the Product Key on the side of your computer box, and what is in it. If you ever attempted to cheat, what would happen is that the same product license key would now be associated with a different fingerprint - thus alerting MS that you have cheated. If you change the components within your PC, a new fingerprint will need to be generated and sent to MS.

Will Activation stop all cheating? No - the word on the street was that it had already been broken overseas when XP first came out. But it does raise the ante in the poker game, and raise it by a big amount. Now you can't cheat just by putting the CD into the drive and typing Install - you have to hack up your software to do it. I don't know how, and wouldn't even try.

I remember the stunned look on one of my client's face when I told him that he couldn't just buy one copy of Microsoft Office and installed on his half-dozen or so computers. Well, that is the case - he would have to buy the product for each and every one of his computers, and now so will you. Get used to it...

(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport / Oak Island area. You can visit his website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail him at bsc@bobseidel.com).