The Register is reporting that a warez group called NoPE has released a fully cracked copy of Vista. The install appears activated, updates work, and no key needs to be entered, straight from the installation media without any effort on the part of the pirate. There have been other Vista cracks out there, but they required a bit of effort on the part of the person installing it, it wasn’t exactly mainstream ready.
It’s taken a few months since the launch of Windows Vista but the product now seems to be successfully cracked It’s even more simple to install than previous leaked copies of WindowsXP – which always required a serial.
So can Microsoft’s new anti-piracy measures, coupled with Windows Update, will be able to counter-measure this new release? Even if it does, now that warez groups have found a method to install pre-cracked versions on the installation media Microsoft will have a significant fight on its hands to keep Vista piracy-free.