Hacker News | Green hills forever: Windows XP activation algorithm cracked after 21 years

▲Green hills forever: Windows XP activation algorithm cracked after 21 years(arstechnica.com)

92 points by carride 5 days ago | 8 comments

▲rawling 5 days ago

> Please submit the original source. If a post reports on something found on another site, submit the latter.

Well in this case that's, uh...

> An old torrent I’d guess?

Wrapped in a 9-month old Reddit comment https://old.reddit.com/r/windowsxp/comments/wwjy5j/_/ilmr5s3...

Wrapped in a 1-month old blog post https://tinyapps.org/blog/202304230700_xp_wpa.html

Wrapped in this article

▲creatonez 5 days ago

This is a rare case where I vastly prefer the news outlet article over the original source. That tinyapps blog post is horribly written.

▲ForOldHack 5 days ago

This is a case where the "journalists" hand out white canes. When you were there, it's all just a big laugh, and when you were not there, it all speculation.

▲buffington 5 days ago

I'd love an explanation of what this entire comment means.

▲sdwr 5 days ago

I think what the comment is saying is that the job is not taken seriously by reporters.

White canes are a reference to props used in old-timey vaudeville acts (?). https://youtu.be/zgwG5wA5s3Y

The whole thing makes no sense to me in connection with the article.

▲moritzwarhier 5 days ago

I'm not a native speaker, but other than the definition of "white cane", there was nothing in the comment for me which would be considered hard to understand.

Journalists explain something accurately, which was previously noted by others, but still was under-reported relative to the potential public interest.

I'm still learning :high_five: (maybe everyone is)

▲blep_ 5 days ago

I am a native speaker, and I've never heard "white cane" before.

▲moritzwarhier 5 days ago

Thanks for the clarification, after briefly looking up the term I could have ended up believing this was the common translation for what I know as "Blindenstock" in German.

What is the correct term for this? White stick?

▲steanne 5 days ago

white cane.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_cane

▲gnabgib 5 days ago

Duplicate. TFA credits the Register for noticing first[0] (70 pts, 62 comments, 6 hours ago, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36082542). And references a blog post[1] (241 pts, 151 comments, 7 days ago, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35993044).

[0]: https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/26/windows_xp_activation... [1]: https://tinyapps.org/blog/202304230700_xp_wpa.html

▲NoNameHaveI 5 days ago

Here I read "Green Hills" and wondered how an RTOS was involved. Yeah. I'm an embedded guy.

▲WorldMaker 5 days ago

"Green Hills Forever" also sounds like a Sonic the Hedgehog "endless runner" style mobile app. (If Sega needed a free idea.)

▲bitwize 5 days ago

Sega already released at least four of those: Sonic Runners, Sonic Runners Adventure, Sonic Dash, and Sonic Dash 2.

But Green Hills Forever sounds like a great name for a retro-themed one. Also a compilation of retro Sonic music remixes.

▲ForOldHack 5 days ago

I was hoping it was the VAX green hills C compiler. $5,000 a seat. Apparently my teacher who used it said it found several bugs. Totally worth it. I wonder if the RTOS and compiler are related.

The green hills of XP desktops is now a vineyard. How appropos.

▲scruple 5 days ago

Worked in embedded in Santa Barbara for a while. Met a few of the wonderful folks at Green Hills over the years. Had the same initial thought.

▲annoyingnoob 5 days ago

I applied for a job there once a long time ago, they didn't even respond at all. Gave me a poor impression of them.

▲ForOldHack 5 days ago

While I was in my Windows 2000 server class on 2002, we passed around a disk with a keygen for XP. It may or may not have been cracked, but it generated keys for years, until activation could be bypassed.

The actual crack came more then a decade later, first as a web app, then as sample code. These guys just repackaged it.

And yes, Windows XP still lives on as Windows XP integral edition. Update all your certs from DER files, not from some fancy app.

Thanks to avaxhome, HiRens and studioXX.

▲EMIRELADERO 5 days ago

Do you happen to have any info on where one might get the source for the activation keygen or webapp?

▲metadat 5 days ago

Discussed yesterday:

The Windows XP activation algorithm has been cracked

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36082542 (65 comments)

And 8 days ago:

Windows XP Activation: Game Over

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35993044 (151 comments)

▲GeekyBear 5 days ago

I still keep a Windows 2000 virtual machine around for vintage games that are no longer compatible with Windows, despite spending entirely too much time fiddling with the compatibility settings.

Sometimes games like Heroes of Might and Magic III are a good way to play just one more turn until you notice the sun has come up.

▲feoren 5 days ago

HoMM 3 is on Gog and it works fine on Windows 10. Gog is great at retrofitting old games to work on modern machines. Quest for Glory IV is less buggy in its current form on Gog than it was on original CD!

▲GeekyBear 4 days ago

I still own my copy (and copies of the expansion packs) from the 90's.

Windows 10 can't run it, but Windows 2000 still works just fine.

▲markski 5 days ago

davepl must've done a fantastic job if it took this long (ignoring the fact that xp was cracked decades ago just through other channels)

▲EMIRELADERO 5 days ago

More like there just wasn't enough interest. Other methods to bypass activation entirely (such as volume license keys) became inmensely more popular.

▲rootsudo 5 days ago

My first thoughts were def Sonic and the first levels.