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In an effort to minimize product piracy, Microsoft has instituted the Windows Product Activation (WPA) scheme on all operating systems and many productivity software products. Activation of the code must occur during a prescribed time period, which varies among products.
Activation is applicable to all retail purchasers of selected Microsoft products such as Office XP, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. Users who purchase new machines may or may not be required to activate, depending on whether the hardware OEM has completed the activity at the factory. In most cases, large corporate account users will not be concerned with activation because of the nature of volume account licenses.
From a user's perspective, activation is relatively simple and can be accomplished either over the Internet in a couple of mouse clicks or by telephone. The process does not require the user to give personal information except his or her country. Unlike product registration, the user may elect to provide additional information such as name and e-mail address on a strictly voluntary basis. The product activation verifies that a software program's product key is associated with a particular computer. The actual installation ID includes an encrypted form of the product ID and a hardware hash. Microsoft uses a one-way mathematical algorithm to create the hash. The hardware hash is an 8-byte value that is created by running 10 data pieces from the personal computer through the one-way algorithm. When hashed, a processor's 96-bit serial number becomes 128 bits. The Microsoft hashing scheme uses 6 of those bits that cannot be backward calculated. The activation code includes not only the 6 bits from the processor hash, but also similar information from other pieces of hardware. The product ID (9 bytes) and the hardware hash (8 bytes) form the activation request. The resulting confirmation ID is 42 integers.
Microsoft strongly contends that the process is completely anonymous and confidential. The process does not collect data from the individual (except country of origin) and certainly does not scan hard drives for stored information. It simply surveys the installed hardware to develop a computer ID that can be associated with the software.
Another concern is the ability to change hardware configurations or move the software to another system. Microsoft's activation scheme accommodates both of these situations. If you substantially change the hardware in your computer (e.g., replace the CPU or primary hard drive), the information contained in the hardware hash may no long appear valid. Therefore it will probably be necessary seek new activation. In the case of retiring one computer and moving the software to a new system, activation will also be necessary. In both cases, you will merely need to call Microsoft at the telephone number provided in the activation dialog window.
If you are in a highly secured environment where activation might be viewed as a possible security breach, contact Microsoft directly. Microsoft product managers have assured us that special accommodations can be made to activate your code under these circumstances.
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