Microsoft Product Activation
| Developers | |
|---|---|
| Microsoft | |
- Used from Windows XP release until today.
- Also known as Windows Product Activation for Windows
Created by Microsoft with Windows XP release to combat piracy and used to this day in Windows and Office. Some older games like Halo 2 or Microsoft Flight Simulator X used it to activate themselves.
Activation Methods
Microsoft Products can be activated in several ways like phone activation or standard online product key check
Phone Activation
- Doesn't require internet connection
Requires the user to call selected phone number for specified country and providing the automatic activation system an installation ID. Then the system gives the user a confirmation ID
Product Key
- Requires an internet connection
Requires the user to specify a valid 25-character product key and after that it connects to Microsoft activation servers to validate the provided key. After the activation process selected software is unlocked.
Windows Genuine Advantage
- Windows activation check, checks registry for WPA status
Older Microsoft products used this check for verifying that Windows is activated. The product checks for WPA values in the registry. If the values are not present, the product will show message that Windows is not genuine, if the values are present the product will launch.
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