Is your Vista Genuine?

Thought you might want a reminder about Windows Genuine Advantage!

All versions of Vista require some form of activation, including VL versions (note: many big OEMs pre-activate)

PCs that fail to activate properly will be put into reduced functionality mode (RFM) after a 30 day grace period.  We want to make sure you are alerted and have a variety of options to ensure they have a genuine copy of Windows, providing them a full and secure Windows Vista experience. 

Here is how it works…   

  • If Vista fails to activate properly within 30 days, fails periodic validation, or is found to have been tampered with (for example, binary hacks to defeat activation), the customer/user will only be able to use their default web browser.  No other applications will work.  Users can still reboot in Safe Mode to access their data. 
  • The remedies currently available are to return to the reseller, insisting on genuine Windows, or purchase a genuine FPP Vista and reinstall.  We are also working on additional Windows Vista legalization options to ensure that getting genuine is easy for the customer/user.

For more detailed information on this topic, it's worth reading the following whitepaper:

Microsoft’s Software Protection Platform: Innovations for Windows Vista™ and Windows Server® “Longhorn”

There's also more useful information available on the Genuine Microsoft Software available here:

https://www.microsoft.com/genuine/

 

Technorati tags: Vista, Genuine, GSI