Black screen of darkness to haunt Vista pirates
Microsoft Windows' infamous "blue screen of death" has become synonymous with an operating system crash or freeze, but that's nothing compared with what users of pirated copies of Vista worldwide can expect from now -- a black screen of darkness.
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12.9.2007 Black Screen of Death for XP SP3 and Vista SP1 Upgrades
Microsoft has warned end users that performing Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 upgrades from copies of XP SP2 and Vista RTM, respectively, that have Onekey Recovery 5.0 installed will cause the operating systems to display a black screen following reboot.
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9.8.2008 Trojan poses as Windows screen to collect data
Symantec has warned of a Trojan that has posed as a Windows activation program and duped users into entering credit card information.
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7.5.2007 Microsoft: Vista's 'Black Screen of Death' Is a Hoax
Many other news sites have just picked up the original article believing that it's legit. We have already updated our original post from last night and are posting the following to correct any disinformation out there.
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12.9.2007 Windows 7 RTM Black Screen of Death after Forced Shutdown Actions
Microsoft has informed users of an issue that prevents Windows 7 from starting after the computer the OS is installed on has been forced shut down.
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7.10.2009 Windows Vista crack is actually a trojan?
Malware makers are starting to take advantage of the number of users searching for cracks for the pirated copies of Vista floating around.
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4.12.2006 Vista SP1 Application Compatibility Update Fixes Black Screens of Death
With the release of the gold version of Service Pack 1, but also with the maturing of the software and hardware environment orbiting around the Windows client, Windows Vista's compatibility level has continually increased.
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14.8.2008 Trojan Remover 6.5.8
Trojan Remover was written to aid in the removal of Trojan Horses and Internet Worms when standard anti-virus software has either failed to detect the problem or is unable to effectively eliminate it.
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6.3.2007 Trojan Remover 6.6.1
Trojan Remover aids in the removal of Malware - Trojan Horses, Worms, Adware, Spyware - when standard anti-virus software either fails to detect them or fails to effectively eliminate them. Standard antivirus programs are good at detecting this Malware, but not always so good at effectively removing it.
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20.6.2007 New Vista Screen Shots Hit the Web
ActiveWin has posted some
new Windows Vista screen shots of Build 5268, which is the "Interim OEM build," according to the site. We are still hearing that
5270 is what will be designated as the December Windows Vista Community Technology Preview (CTP) build, however.
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19.12.2005 How to Change Windows Vista Boot Screen
Some of you remember how it was possible to change the boot logo screen of Windows 95/98. I'm not sure why anyone would go into the trouble of actually doing it, but it seems that it is possible to do the same for Windows Vista.
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19.11.2007 High quality image Vista boot screen
Some people found a way to change that black boot screen of Windows Vista RTM to a high quality one, the one that was supposed to be in before it was cut from the final version.
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19.11.2006 Trojan Demands Ransom from Victims
A new trojan is making its rounds on the Internet, freezing up victims' computers and then demanding a ransom be paid through Western Union. Called "ransomware," the viruses have been around in Russia for several months, but the first English variants appeared in March.
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27.4.2006 Enable New Boot screen in Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2
Tired of the pathetic boot screen in current Vista builds? There is a new trick that will allow you to see what may be the new boot screen for Windows Vista.
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12.5.2006 E-Mail About Windows Live Messenger Really A Trojan
Helsinki-based F-Secure told users to ignore instant messages with the subject head "MSN Messenger 8 Working BETA" that go on to claim that "Messenger 8 BETA has been leaked!"
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28.12.2005 New MSN Messenger Trojan Spreading Quickly
An MSN Messenger Trojan is growing a botnet by hundreds of infected PCs per hour.
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19.11.2007 MS: Trojan Horses Increase 300 Percent
If your system gets hacked, chances are it will be from a Trojan. A Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) Security Intelligence report tabulated a 300 percent increase in the number of Trojan downloaders and droppers the last half of 2007 -- a trend which security experts say will continue to exponentially grow.
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24.4.2008 Leaked Windows 7 RC torrents infected with trojan
Various torrents of the Windows 7 RC have been infected with a trojan that, if allowed to run successfully, could open a security hole in a user’s system.
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29.4.2009 Black Friday brings down online retailers
Amazon, like many other online retailers were brought down yesterday from eager users trying to get their hands on some limited offers from the sites.
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29.11.2008 Trojan Emits Bogus, Risqu? Google AdSense Ads
A Trojan horse program is churning out bogus Google ads promoting products Google eschews?gambling, cheap Viagra, girlie photos and adult dating.
The ads, being targeted at small publishers, are identical to Google AdSense ads except that referral graphic buttons are being converted to text, apparently due to a bug in the Trojan, according to the publisher who reportedly discovered the Trojan. That publisher, Raoul Bangera, told Techshout.com that the non-contextual and risqu? content of the ads are what set them apart from regular AdSense ads.
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1.1.2006 iWork '09 trojan infects 20,000 pirates
Karma, no matter what you do it will come back to bite you where it hurts the most. Up to 20,000 pirates who thought they would get away without paying for iWork '09 have learned that the hard way.
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23.1.2009 Black Xbox 360 With HDMI, Improved Features
Rumors of a hardware refresh for the Xbox 360 began earlier this year, when photos of a prototype console with HDMI output and a revised scaling chip appeared on the Web.
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22.3.2007 XP Black Edition USA 2007 DVD
Thanks to odeeee and other posters to for this download. No Viruses....Cracks....for the programs it comes with.....Falsly reported as Viruses....Coz they R Crackz.
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7.5.2007 Winstep Xtreme 7.1 - Black XP Visual Styles
Thanks to hwh1226 for this download. A powerful, multi-paged desktop replacement, program launcher and document organizer that can be used as an alternative or supplement to the normal Windows desktop.
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18.6.2007 Fake Windows patch e-mail leads to Trojan horse attack
Messages insisting that users install a just-released Microsoft Corp. security update are bogus and actually lead to a site that plants malicious code on PCs, several security companies warned today.
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28.6.2007 MS preps black Xbox 360 as PS3 spoiler?
Is Microsoft preparing a spoiler for Sony's PAL-region PlayStation 3 launch on 23 March?
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9.2.2007 German hacker denied entry into U.S. for Black Hat training
Thomas Dullien, a prominent security researcher who has been a fixture at the annual Black Hat security conference, has been denied entry into the U.S. to attend and conduct training at this year’s confab.
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30.7.2007 Windows 7 Ultimate Black Edition 2009 Beta 32bit
Dont modify this Seven® Black™ Edition 2009 R1 Beta in anyway and for torrent uploaders dont add any viruses.
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11.3.2009 Microsoft presenting at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas
Hi everyone, Stephen Toulouse here. As you probably know, all throughout the year we attend various security researcher conferences all over the world. One of the biggest and the best is the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. And of course the MSRC, as well as a number of other Microsoft teams, will be down there this August.
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11.6.2006 Matrix Screen Saver
Whether you're a newbie or senior software engineer, you want your screen savers to look cool, and this one fits the bill. It emulates the green Matrix code you see in the movie, with characters running vertically down the black background. You can set the resolution, the speed of the falling glyphs, and other options.
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Black screen of darkness to haunt Vista pirates
Microsoft Windows' infamous "Blue Screen of Death" has become synonymous with an operating system crash or freeze, but that's nothing compared
with what users of pirated copies of Vista worldwide can expect from now - a black screen of darkness.
In an e-mail to a large
Windows Vista OEM distributor titled "Pirated Vista - A darkness descends!", a local Microsoft representative made it quite clear what Vista pirates
can expect to happen to their unlicenced installations.
A copy of this e-mail was obtained by Computerworld:
Good Afternoon, As of this week, Microsoft have
activated a function in Vista called 'Reduced Functionality'. This is a specific
function in Vista which effectively disables non genuine copies of Windows. Therefore, anyone who has a pirated copy of Vista will
experience...
winbeta.org - 11.09.2007
Zbot trojan creators arrested in London
Police in London have arrested two people on suspicion that they created the ZeuS or Zbot trojan that infected many computers around the world. The
couple used the trojan for monetary gain but authorities did not disclose how much money was stolen. The trojan installed itself on victims computers
using social engineer techniques. Generally the trojan would mask itself as a reputable website such as a bank, credit card company or tax office to
get the victim to install the software. "Once installed, the Zbot Trojan injects itself into the victim's Web browser and monitors all
traffic.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 19.11.2009
Enable New Boot screen in
Vista Beta 2
Tired of the pathetic boot
screen in current Vista
builds? There is a new trick
that will allow you to see
what may be the new boot
screen for Windows Vista.
This new boot screen
is still not what we have been
expecting but is a move in the
right direction compared to
the white progress bar screen
currently used.
Enable New Boot Screen:
1. Click on the
start orb and type in
"MSCONFIG" in the textbox.
2. Once the
System Configuration tool
loads, click on the Boot tab.
3. Under Boot
Options check "No GUI
Boot".
4. Hit
OK and reboot to see the new
screen
More
tweaks at source!
jcxp.net - 12.05.2006
Microsoft: Vista's 'Black Screen of Death' Is a Hoax
Many other news sites have just picked up the original article believing that it's legit. We have already updated our original post from last night and are posting the following to correct any disinformation out there.
Has Microsoft adopted an even tougher stance on piracy? According to recent e-mails warning of new, harsher anti-piracy measures in Windows
Vista, that was believed to be the case.
Australian PC World printed an e-mail Tuesday it says was sent from a Microsoft representative to an unspecified large Vista OEM distributor. The
e-mail describes a new initiative which renders computers running a pirated copy of Vista unusable by making the screen totally black.
Microsoft was quick to debunk this e-mail warning of a Black Screen of Death. A Microsoft representative told Wired News "the reporter
received inaccurate information," and that the company has not rolled out any updates to Windows Vista's anti-piracy platform.
winbeta.org - 12.09.2007
Trojan Hides Itself as Firefox
Extension
Security firm McAfee warned of
a new trojan that installs
itself as a Firefox extension
on Tuesday, saying it had
found Web sites linking to a
virus known as FormSpy. The
trojan captures personal
information and sends it to a
Web site...
betanews.com - 27.07.2006
Symantec: Trojan has 400 banks on its hitlist
A Trojan dubbed Silentbanker targets more than 400 banks including the household names in the U.S. and other financial institutions abroad and hangs
in the background to intercept transactions with two-factor authentication, according to researchers at Symantec. In a day full of the usual Trojan
attacks (they all sort of look alike after awhile) the sheer versatility of Trojan.Silentbanker is notable.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 15.01.2008
BSoD Takes On a Whole New Meaning
The definition of the Blue Screen of Death acronym BSoD may soon be replaced by a more ominous meaning, Black Screen of Death. In an e-mail sent to
Windows distributors a Microsoft representative laid out the details of what unlicensed Vista users can expect.
"Good afternoon, as of
this week, Microsoft has activated a function in Vista called 'Reduced Functionality.' This is a specific function in Vista that effectively
disables non genuine copies of Windows. Therefore anyone who has a pirated copy of Vista will experience:
A black screen after one hour of
browsing
No start menu or task bar
No desktop
Please communicate this anti piracy initiative from Microsoft to your resellers --
note this function has only just been activated in Vista worldwide and therefore any issues with non genuine versions will start to arise from now
onward."
While it isn't unusual for Microsoft to impede upon the functionality of unlicensed or falsely licensed copies of Windows,
this seems to be a new direction in regards to their stance on warning users. Typically users of unauthorized copies of Windows have been alerted to
the status of their software legitimacy via Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA). The new "Reduced Functionality" approach is certainly more aggressive,
and according to the Microsoft representative, will reduce the functionality of an unauthorized Windows system to the point of being near useless
until properly licensed.
neowin.net - 12.09.2007
Windows CE Trojan out in the wild, say researchers
US-CERT is warning of a Trojan that puts the users of Microsoft's mobile operating system at risk for data disclosure...
betanews.com - 27.02.2008
Trojan, distributed over torrent, blocks torrent sites
A trojan named Troj/Qhost-AC, has been spotted on torrent sites labeled as a keygen for popular software. But in a strange surprise, the trojan would
modify the users host file, rather than generating a key, changing popular torrent web sites like, The Pirate Bay, Suprbay (The Pirate Bay forum) and
Mininova, the two most popular torrent sites on the internet to 127.0.0.1, making it impossible to visit these sites. The Trojan caused pop-ups on
users screens and played a sound file saying "downloading is wrong". The Trojan didn't install any other spyware or malware onto the victims
PC, other than blocking the three web sites, something that many users thought was strange.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 06.01.2009
First Trojan for iPhone discovered in the wild
F-Secure said that it had uncovered the first Trojan horse for the iPhone, which seems to erase users' files in their /bin directory...
betanews.com - 09.01.2008
Free Trojan Removal Tool for OS X Available Now
SecureMac has introduced a free Trojan Detection Tool for Mac OS X. The DNSChanger Removal Tool detects and removes spyware targeting Mac OS X. Called
DNSChanger Trojan and also known as OSX.RSPlug.A Trojan Horse the software attacks users attempting to play a fake video file. Upon attempting to play
the video, the victim receives the following message: "Quicktime Player is unable to play movie file. Please click here to download new version of
codec."
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 10.01.2008
European Vista and XP to get browser ballot screen too
Microsoft has confirmed that it will be distributing a ballot screen software update to users, in Europe, of Windows XP and Windows Vista. Last week
Neowin reported that Microsoft has proposed the idea of a ballot screen to the EU. European consumers who buy a new Windows PC with Internet Explorer
set as their default browser would be shown a ‘ballot screen' from which they could, if they wished, easily install competing browsers from
the Web. If this proposal is ultimately accepted, Microsoft will ship Windows in Europe with the full functionality available in the rest of the
world.
Read full
story.....
neowin.net - 28.07.2009
Mac Trojan hits pirated copies of Adobe Photoshop
Although Apple's Macintosh environment has long been touted by its fans as "more secure" than Windows, a Trojan enabling remote control of
Mac machines struck a second time this week.
Earlier found only in illegal copies of Apple's iWork Suite, the Trojan has now turned up in
pirated copies of Adobe Photoshop for Mac OS X. Actually, the Trojan doesn't even exploit any OS vulnerability. Instead, it disguises itself as part
of the installer package for the application, so it is installed along with the application. Once installed, the malware launches a back door program,
thereby allowing an attacker to remotely conduct misdeeds such as copying data.
A tool for detecting and removing specifically this Trojan is
now available from SecureMac.com...
betanews.com - 29.01.2009
Potential pirates, not Vista, get cracked
35 days before Windows XP was
officially released, a pirated
key, called the "devils0wn",
began circulating around the
web which allowed users to run
a pirated copy of the
operating system. Since then,
the key has been used
thousands of times and is now
a part of Windows XP history.
Trying to follow in
devils0wn's footsteps, a new
crack for Windows Vista is
rumored to have become
available. Called "Windows
Vista All Versions Activation
21.11.06", the key reportedly
unlocks any version of Vista.
Sounds great for pirates,
right? Maybe it is, depending
where you stand on software
piracy.
Those who
download "Windows Vista All
Versions Activation 21.11.06"
will end up with anything but
a cracked version of Vista.
The file is neither a crack
nor key generator, but it is a
trojan installer that installs
the malware known as
"Trojan-PSW.Win32.LdPinch.aze
." According to APC Magazine,
most antivirus scanners will
recognize the trojan, but
NOD32 and Norton's latest
signatures do not.
While most of us dread the
thought of a new piece of
malware in the wild, it's
hard not to like the motive
behind this trojan.
Nevertheless, any propagation
of malware is a bad thing so
I'm happy to hear that most
scanners can stop this one.
neowin.net - 06.12.2006
Windows 7 695x boot screen revealed
Chris Holmes, Windows Enthusiast and blogger, has posted a short and somewhat blurry video of the new Windows 7 boot screen in action. The latest
sign of changes for Windows 7 signals a departure from the Vista boot up screen. Microsoft kept the boot screen simple with Vista after asking BIOS
makers, PC makers, and video card makers to remove product advertisement screens at system boot. Microsoft created a simple boot method which it
claimed took 6 seconds off initial boot compared to the more graphical boot that it had originally planned with the Longhorn betas.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 04.12.2008
Zero-Day PowerPoint Exploit
Surfaces
Symantec on Wednesday issued
an advisory about a new trojan
that takes advantage of an
undocumented vulnerability in
PowerPoint to infect a
victim's computer with a
backdoor. The malware, dubbed
Trojan.PPDropper.B, uses a
malformed string to execute
code...
betanews.com - 14.07.2006
Is Vista x86 a Trojan Horse for Windows7 (Vienna) after-all?
OK so here's the question
"what does it take to kill
the 32bit platform and
Microsoft's Windows Vista OS,
not even a year out of its
beta code"?
Answer: 4GB ram + GPU with
on board memory
I
take an alternative and purely
speculative look at the Vista
32bit 4GB Memory limit. And
why it may become the most
compelling reason to upgrade
to Windows 7 (Vienna) and an
answer to why Microsoft
allowed Vista to take 5 years
of development to get to
RTM
neowin.net - 02.08.2007
Windows Vista Gets Another Dose of The 'Blue Pill'
Once again security researcher
Joanna Rutkowska took the
stage at Black Hat, and once
again she set out to prove in
glorious detail how to exploit
and attack Microsoft Windows
Vista.
Rutkowska blew the lid off
last year's Black Hat event
with her landmark presentation
ahead of the official Vista
release where she demonstrated
a virtualized rootkit called
Blue Pill that took control
over a Vista machine.
This year she
brought a new pill and a few
more tricks to take Vista to
task.
"I'm going to talk about
Vista kernel protection and
why it doesn't work,"
Rutkowska boldly declared to
the overflow crowd.
winbeta.org - 03.08.2007
Spanish Trojan Targets Online
Bankers
Antivirus firm Panda Software
warned Tuesday of a new trojan
called Nabload.U that has
begun to spread worldwide
through MSN Messenger and
attempts to obtain passwords
of Spanish-speaking online
banking users...
betanews.com - 27.12.2005
Mac OS X Trojan reported in the wild
At least two Mac-focused security firms warned late this week of a Trojan horse that takes advantage of flaws in remote management software in Mac OS
X to run code on the affected computer...
betanews.com - 20.06.2008
