Has Windows 7 been cracked?

The upcoming Operating system from Microsoft has been cracked! Microsoft confirmed today that pirates have cracked Windows 7's product activation just a week after the operating system made RTM and a week before it's slated to reach users. It has only been a week since the official Windows 7 RTM announcement by Microsoft, but crackers have already managed to activate and validate the tricked-out Ultimate version of the OS.

The hack is nothing new, as it borrows the same techniques used to bypass activation and verification of previous Vista editions. You could get a free (and illegal) copy of Windows 7 Ultimate if reports of a leaked OEM product activation key are accurate. According to MyDigitalLife, a leaked OEM copy of Windows 7 was posted to a Chinese forum, with the OEM's key then identified and snatched. An OEM activation key will unlock multiple copies, and it's reported this particular key will work on machines from Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, and MSI. The key appears to provide the last piece in a puzzle needed to activate copies of Windows 7 Ultimate on PCs. The crack can pass Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation process. Follow more on the story here.

We leave you with the official statement from Microsoft: "Downloading Windows 7 from peer-to-peer Web sites is piracy, and exposes users to increased risks - such as viruses, Trojans and other malware and malicious code - that usually accompany counterfeit software. These risks can seriously harm or permanently destroy data and often expose users to identity theft and other criminal schemes,"