It didn’t even take a week before the first validation codes leaked from OEMs and Lenovo became the first victim. Hackers managed to grab an OEM copy of Windows 7 from Lenovo along with the Master Key, which enabled hackers to use software and code to activate other leaked copies of Windows 7 RTM. This first hack has been countered and it came way too early to have any real effect since Microsoft has blacklisted the leaked key, but there’s more.
Since Lenovo hasn’t sold any systems using the leaked version of Windows 7 it was easy for Microsoft to remove the key from its system. Microsoft has also commented on the ordeal at the Genuine Windows Blog.
There is a hack that is said to enable, when paired with the leaked key, a system to install and use a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. Both the hack and the key are indications that a copy of Windows may not be genuine. The Windows Activation Technologies included in Windows 7 are designed to handle situations such as this one, and customers using these tools and methods should expect Windows to detect them.
Microsoft claims that Windows 7 has better functions for detecting activation hacks and alike, but whether these actually works when put to the test remains to be seen, especially when codes that are already available on the market start to leak, which is most certainly just a matter of time.
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