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Erik Uden 🍑

There's this dangerous open source code I need to warn you people against. There are so-called Microsoft Activation Scripts capable of activating Microsoft Windows and Office without a license key which I must heavily warn against. The pain programs like these evoke in me torrent into my body every time I hear about them! As a cybersecurity researcher it is important for me that the software industry stays alive, especially big tech such as Microsoft who built the foundation of our electronic frontier when it comes to develognument.

65 comments
Aurani

@ErikUden thank you for the warning. So I know where to avoid next time I need to activate my windows.

Efi (nap pet) 🦊💤

@ErikUden is this software illeeeeeeegaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal???

Erik Uden 🍑

@efi No. Absolutely not. Another aspect next to the possibility of malware due to it being open source software is of course the legality of such scripts which are either a legal gray area or entirely outlawed. The sad reality is, however, that it's incredibly complicated for Microsoft to monitor illegitimate versions of their own software, it's next to impossible for them to detect whether you're running such an illegal version of their software!

Very often these poor billion dollar corporations are left without money for their software whilst criminals using such scripts get away with it! I cannot advise against this software more than enough.

@efi No. Absolutely not. Another aspect next to the possibility of malware due to it being open source software is of course the legality of such scripts which are either a legal gray area or entirely outlawed. The sad reality is, however, that it's incredibly complicated for Microsoft to monitor illegitimate versions of their own software, it's next to impossible for them to detect whether you're running such an illegal version of their software!

Efi (nap pet) 🦊💤

@ErikUden so what you're saying is it definitely isn't not entirely not quite unillegal?
that is so scary, thanks for the warning!

Cynthia ⛧ :american_megatrans:

@ErikUden it sends shivers down my spine when someone links this immoral redistribution of Microsoft’s software, loved by many

it pains me so much that so many people have access to the worst edition of Windows, LTSC, this way, torturing themselves without any of Microsoft’s innovations in the desktop space, like the Microsoft Store, UWP apps, Microsoft account requirements and forced upgrades

Joshix

@ErikUden thank you for the warning. I think the @psf should strengthen it's effort to keep software safe

:h_s1::h_s2::h_s3::h_s4::h_s5:

@ErikUden@mastodon.de thank you for telling me, these poor, poor companies getting their millions of dollars stolen each year and none going to their massive pile... such a shame we live in a world where nobody realizes how truly important it is for so called "greedy corporations" to exist.........

Ivan

@ErikUden
"dangerous open source code"
I disagree. Microsoft will ALWAYS have people who are willing to pay for their products anyway, and even if they're going to die, it's not gonna be because of piracy.

Erik Uden 🍑

@ivan123 Please take every word said in this post incredibly seriously. The tiny family business that is the billion dollar corporation Microsoft is losing REAL money if you pirate, illegally download, or activate their software through the aforementioned methods! This will be incredibly damaging to Microsoft's monopoly position and should not be done at any cost!

There are no alternatives Libre Office, OpenOffice, Only Office, JUST NONE?!!

DELETED

@ErikUden I totally agree. It's the same as for movies by Amazon, poor guys, losing a lot of money, it gives me pain.

Erik Uden 🍑

@Seltsam There's this horrid open source software with which any person capable of following a simple one-page tutorial could run their own streaming platform and no longer have to pay for Disney+, Amazon Prime, Netflix, HBO Max, or any other platforms the future may bring. This software I heavily advise against is called Jellyfin and there are even simple tutorials by crooked YouTubers out there that explain the entire process from getting the media files to running your own streaming platform.

Truly thoughtless these YouTubers, don't they know that the concept of personal ownership is fundamentally wrong and that no human should ever have the right to own media, even if they paid money for it? Corporations like Amazon can only stay afloat if we continue paying our subscriptions, no matter how high they are increasing their price. Any alternative would hurt producers, truly! If you think about it, if corporations are hurt, aren't the people always suffering from that as well? Shouldn't we aim to protect our corporations?

Just some food for thought in case any of these crooked YouTubers post any silly videos like these again thoughtlessly.

@Seltsam There's this horrid open source software with which any person capable of following a simple one-page tutorial could run their own streaming platform and no longer have to pay for Disney+, Amazon Prime, Netflix, HBO Max, or any other platforms the future may bring. This software I heavily advise against is called Jellyfin and there are even simple tutorials by crooked YouTubers out there that explain the entire process from getting the media files to running your own streaming platform.

DELETED

@ErikUden Thank you for this warning. I caught somebody thinking about setting this up earlier today.

pino

@ErikUden @Seltsam Of course YouTubers (and fans) know that the concept of personal ownership is fundamentally wrong. Otherwise there would not be just that single platform for video clips, right? And you would not have that funny word "YouTuber", right? :-P

knightly

@ErikUden
As a service reliability engineer, it is important for me that the software industry abandons Microsoft entirely and moves en masse to reliable, open-source, non-spyware operating systems.

Erik Uden 🍑

@knightly666 (I'm being serious for a second) This is the only correct way. Even if piracy is so easy, it still makes you, the user, dependent and used to a specific brand of software. From Adobe products to Microsoft's operating system.

youtu.be/TPLR9c3IWlI

This is a good video that shows how in many cases Microsoft's and Adobe's products are easy to pirate because it's better for, e.g. Adobe if people use pirated Adobe Software than if a real FOSS alternative and competitor would rise from the ashes.

knightly

@ErikUden
You're preaching to the choir, friend!
Sadly, I've made very little progress in convincing my friends and family to try any kind of Linux. XD

Erik Uden 🍑

@knightly666 I have to switch to Linux this year or I'll never do it. I hope I can make it, wish me luck!

Erik Uden 🍑

@knightly666 (I've been switching software to software also supported on Linux to make a switch easier, but still...)

knightly

@ErikUden
All the best of luck!
Though, you probably won't need it. The various linux flavors are mostly user-friendly these days.

Stefen Auris 🖖​

@knightly666 as the person providing technical support I found it was in my best interest to have my parents on Linux and I've found more often than not they just need a web browser. The system takes care of itself. I got my grandmother a Chromebook and even though it's not the greatest example of Linux it also has worked wonderfully well.

Cynthia ⛧ :american_megatrans:

@ErikUden @knightly666 the only things i use Windows for is anticheat games and Premiere Pro

as far as im concerned there is no foss alternative that does professional video editing work well. i say this having tried all of the available ones

Crunchysteve

@ErikUden @knightly666 @whatshisays I wouldn't even pirate Windows or an Adobe product. 2 decades of using various versions of windows at work was akin to torture, especially the audio workstations, which never had real DAWs on them. There's so much better FOSS out there, anyway. Gimp and Inkscape to replace Adobe's crap, Audacity, Ardour and others to replace ProTools, hell, even the open source OSes are better than the commercials. Only reason I still run Mac OS is Logic Pro X and the longevity of their hardware. I'd be Debian in a heartbeat if I could get reliable, generic hardware. Most of the latter built to a price deliberately speed up its failure.

@ErikUden @knightly666 @whatshisays I wouldn't even pirate Windows or an Adobe product. 2 decades of using various versions of windows at work was akin to torture, especially the audio workstations, which never had real DAWs on them. There's so much better FOSS out there, anyway. Gimp and Inkscape to replace Adobe's crap, Audacity, Ardour and others to replace ProTools, hell, even the open source OSes are better than the commercials. Only reason I still run Mac OS is Logic Pro X and the longevity...

Chickerino

@crunchysteve @ErikUden @knightly666 @whatshisays

meanwhile me relying on FL studio because its workflow and stock plugins are very nice and i like them, at least it seems to be able to run in wine although im yet to daily drive linux

Syulang

@ErikUden @knightly666 IBM took this to the next level in the 1990s. They gave out "trial" versions of OS/2 Warp 4 on CD-ROM. The trial version was crippled with the most BS, easy to crack protection imaginable. So much so that many people cracked it and installed the full version *accidentally*. The reason... get OS/2 into as many peoples hands as possible, as IBM made one last push against Windows. Alas, it was not to be, but it shows IBM was ahead of the game in terms of viral tactics (and OS/2 wasn't a bad OS either - "A better DOS than DOS, and a better Windows than Windows" was quite accurate).

@ErikUden @knightly666 IBM took this to the next level in the 1990s. They gave out "trial" versions of OS/2 Warp 4 on CD-ROM. The trial version was crippled with the most BS, easy to crack protection imaginable. So much so that many people cracked it and installed the full version *accidentally*. The reason... get OS/2 into as many peoples hands as possible, as IBM made one last push against Windows. Alas, it was not to be, but it shows IBM was ahead of the game in terms of viral tactics (and OS/2...

silhouette
@ErikUden I know this all wink wink nudge nudge and whatever, but a lot of compromises genuinely are the result of software piracy. That being said, if you're gonna do this, putting the code on a public repo is the way
In Re: the 🏳️‍⚧️✨ of Rylie

@ErikUden also, don't wear one of those T-shirts with the decss source code on it. It is a circumvention device.

Erik Uden 🍑

@Specialist_Being_677 Wait what? I actually have no idea what you're talking about lmao please explain

In Re: the 🏳️‍⚧️✨ of Rylie

@ErikUden stuff like this from back in the day. People made them as a protest of the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA. ebay.com/itm/134064494841

That shirt contains the (perl, I think) source code required to break the "css" encryption on DVDs. Because css is a "technological protection measure" and that code defeats it, the code, and arguably the t-shirt, is an illegal "circumvention device" under the DMCA.

Norm Mikoto 🏳️‍⚧️

@ErikUden damn, thanks for warning me about it.

I’ll most definitely not be using this thing for my next windows install because piracy is bad kids! :blobcatpirate: :blobcatgun:

agatha :v_trans: :v_lesbian:

@ErikUden very good to share so we can totally avoid this and give our money to Microsoft

DELETED

@ErikUden It disgusts me to the core that running this script is as simple as opening PowerShell as administrator and using this command "irm https://massgrave.dev/get | iex"
truly some vile stuff

Dieu

@ErikUden I'm forever grateful to MS research for the effort they put into Haskell. That's it. That's as far as it goes.

Mrityunjai Bharti

@ErikUden okay like for real this is sarcasm right ?

Nandeth :v14:

@ErikUden can u explain the problem about that? It’s not clear for me if u are saying that it’s a malicious software or u are against not-buying a Microsoft’s license to use Windows or Office 🙃

Skyler

@nandeth (neither, the post is pure sarcasm where OP is sharing pirate software URLs in a "don't use this wink wink" kinda way)

Mattias

@ErikUden I'll bookmark this thread so I am sure to avoid these sites and scripts in the future.

Erik Uden 🍑

@miniRoach Thank you, so many other people shared so many other resources on what other malicious and vicious software is out there! Stay safe!!

Dushman

@ErikUden@mastodon.de @iska@catposter.club
I hope Microsoft dies a slow and painful death. They do not deserve a single cent.

Nico Nico Belić

@ErikUden also I guess this post is proof that a statistically significant percentage of IT people can't take a joke for once :p

Jigme Datse

@ErikUden I feel that the pain of these types of software is that people then end up using Microsoft Windows and/or Office. That is terrible...

ChloeVZ

I don't know a *single* person who's ever paid for Windows or Microsoft Office.

Now that I'm an adult and realistically could buy them I don't use them anyway because I'm an adult and realized Microsoft products are awful, now I use Arch or NixOS Linux for my OS and OnlyOffice for my document writing needs.

Open source software will always be better because it's more stable, feature rich and it doesn't spy on you ;)

davidak

@ErikUden could that also work for linux?

the watermark is pretty annoying, especially in games

(asking for a friend. i would never use pirated linux)

Erik Uden 🍑

@davidak the script that does this is genius :blobcatnerd: :blobcataww:

Jigme Datse

@davidak @ErikUden Pirated linux? Why not just use completely legal free Linux?

Erik Uden 🍑

@jigmedatse @davidak it's a joke! There's a script that adds this “Activate Linux” widget as if it was Windows.

Jigme Datse

@ErikUden @davidak Was fairly certain a joke, but I wouldn't put it beyond some folk to make a "pay or lose access" Linux. You know like Google.

Jigme Datse

@ErikUden @davidak It's a bit silly... I put a modern Linux on a Pentium III laptop, and for what I want, it works fine. Sure I have no X/Wayland tested, but it went from being almost unusuable with whatever version of Windows was on it, to being a great writing/coding machine (except the battery life is such that it's only good moving from one location to another, and with spinning rust, I'm not sure I'd recommend it anyway).

Daniel Nishimura

@ErikUden your sarcastic was so hard that I almost mute you without proper reading lol

Erik Uden 🍑

@tealnova I know, I am also very sure (as you can even judge my some comments) that many people didn't see this as a joke. I personally think the “dangerous open source code” part should've made it clear already, but sadly there are people who say this unironically

Daniel Nishimura

@ErikUden you do know that there are some malicious code but still open, it's just not audited, right? At least GitHub actively scanning public repos for such thing.

John Cutting

@ErikUden
Will this activation script work on products running via WINE? I would hate to mess up my Linux box by accident

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