Pirates navigate around Windows 7 activation again

A new activation crack method has been discovered and implemented to bypass Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 activation: remove and disable Windows Activation Technologies (WAT, older versions were referred to as Windows Genuine Advantage). The hack in question works by bypassing activation altogether, and thus does not require a product key. By blocking, preventing, removing, and disabling access to, or the loading of, all activation and licensing related Windows system files, slui.exe (the exe required to activate Windows 7) will fail to start, resulting in the permanent circumvention of Windows activation. Still, disabling WAT isn't the end of the story: after the 30-day evaluation period is expired, Windows 7 will still start nagging the user to activate the operating system, the wallpaper will be set to black, and a watermark saying "This copy of Windows is not genuine" will be placed in the bottom right-hand corner. You can continue to use the operating system indefinitely, but the side-effects can be annoying, so pirates have created tools to clean these up. Most of the tools support all editions of Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2. In addition to removing and disabling WAT from the Windows system, the tools clean up the side-effects by stopping relevant services and patching certain DLL files.

Source: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/11/pirates-find-another-way-around-windows-7-activation.ars

Google may lose WSJ, other News Corp. sites

Rupert Murdoch, the media tycoon who has long accused Google of ripping off content from his newspapers, said this weekend that his sites may soon disappear from the search engine's listings. Murdoch is chairman of News Corp., the newspaper, TV, and Internet empire that includes The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, 20th Century Fox, Fox News, and Hulu. He made the comments in an interview late last week with Sky News Australia. After Murdoch accused Google, Microsoft, and others of "stealing" his company's content, he was asked why he just doesn't pull his Web sites from Google's search results. "I think we will," Murdoch responded. "But that's when we start charging." Murdoch and other News Corp. execs have said that they intend to charge readers and viewers. In the past, the company's sites have relied on advertising revenue. Murdoch made it clear he's no fan of the ad-supported model. "There are no news sites or blog sites making any serious money," he said. "What's the point of having someone come occasionally who likes a headline they see in Google," Murdoch continued. "The fact is there isn't enough advertising in the world to go around to make all the Web sites profitable. We'd rather have fewer people coming to our Web sites but paying." When asked why he would buck the trend of offering free content, Murdoch said: "(The public) shouldn't have had it free. I think we've been asleep."

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10393209-261.html?tag=newsLatestHeadlinesArea.0

Nokia recalls 14 million chargers

Nokia is replacing potentially dangerous phone chargers for free, the mobile giant said Monday. The recall affects 14 million chargers, according to the Associated Press. The affected chargers are manufactured by third-party suppliers, Nokia said. A loose cover could potentially expose the charger's internal components and thus pose an electrical shock hazard if accidentally touched during use, the company said. Chargers involved in the exchange are 2-pin types and include the AC-3E and AC-3U models manufactured between June 15 and August 9, 2009, as well as the AC-4U model made between April 13 and October 25, 2009.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10393158-94.html?tag=newsLatestHeadlinesArea.0