With the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft introduced additional protections to it’s activation technologies called Volume Activation 2.0. We discussed this extensively in previous articles hereand here. Regardless of this, pirates have still managed to work around product activation, either by using Volume Licenses activated through alternate servers or illegally distributed licenses intended for a particular channel. Consumers are able to be informed whether they have a genuine license or not, and it also provides exclusive access to updates and services. The purpose Microsoft says is to protect consumers and Microsoft’s own intellectual property. The technology has been a debated subject ever since. With the release of Windows XP in late 2001, Microsoft integrated product activation for the first time in retail and OEM versions of the operating system.
