Activating Windows
When you upgrade your computer's operating system to Windows Vista, or the first time you start a new computer on which Windows Vista has been installed by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), you are prompted to activate your copy of Windows.
Each copy of Windows Vista must be activated within 30 days of the first use. After that grace period expires, you will not be able to use all the functions of Windows. You can activate Windows over the Internet or by telephone, or it will activate itself after a few days, if you have an active Internet connection. You don't have to give any personal information about yourself or your computer during the activation process.
The goal of Windows Product Activation is to reduce a form of software piracy known as casual copying or softlifting, which is the sharing of software in a way that infringes on the software's license terms.
In this exercise, you will check whether Windows Vista has been activated, and manually activate it if necessary. There are no practice files for this exercise.
BE SURE TO log on to Windows before beginning this exercise.
1. | At the left end of the taskbar, click the Start button.
Start
The Start menu opens.
A link to your personal folder, labeled with your user name, appears in the upper-right corner of the menu. The appearance of the Start menu will vary depending on the programs installed on your computer and any previous computing activities.
| 2. | On the Start menu, click Control Panel. Then in Control Panel, click System and Maintenance.
You can access all the Windows Vista tools and settings by navigating through the Control Panel feature groups.
| 3. | In the System and Maintenance window, click System.
The System window provides current information about your computer system. If your copy of Windows has been activated, "Windows is activated" appears in the Windows Activation area at the bottom of the window. Otherwise, the time remaining in the grace period appears. A Windows security icon appears to the left of the activation information to indicate that the action requires administrator permission.
| 4. | If Windows has not yet been activated, in the Windows activation area, click Activate Windows now.
| 5. | In the User Account Control dialog box, if you are logged on as an administrator, click Continue. Otherwise, enter an administrator password and then click OK.
The Windows Activation dialog box opens.
| 6. | In the Windows Activation dialog box, click Activate Windows online now.
Windows Vista connects to the Internet, verifies that your copy of Windows is genuine, and activates it.
| 7. | In the Windows Activation dialog box, click Close.
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Counterfeit software floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, and packaging might look the same as or similar to the authentic software. A genuine individual copy of Windows Vista (one not acquired with the purchase of a computer or through the Microsoft Volume Licensing program) is distributed on a holographic CD. Each copy has a Certificate of Authenticity sticker on the top of the retail package and an orange product key label on the installation CD holder. The front of the CD features:
A copper hologram with a clean, wavy outer edge. A high-resolution, three-dimensional hologram of the Windows logo, in which the flag appears to wave when you tilt the CD. A security patch located at the bottom of the CD, in which the word Microsoft changes to the word GENUINE when you tilt the CD.
The back of the CD features a detailed hologram on the inner mirror band, containing the words Microsoft and GENUINE.
See Also
You can see samples of counterfeited software from around the world at www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/. To verify whether your copy of Windows Vista is genuine, run the Windows Validation Assistant from that same location.
Pirated software is often distributed with re-bundled software or through auction Web sites, spam e-mail messages, and downloads from Web sites other than those located within the microsoft.com domain. The easiest way to avoid counterfeit software is to purchase it from a reputable reseller.
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Windows Product Activation is a security measure instituted by Microsoft to help prevent the use of unlicensed copies of Windows. Software piracythe illegal reproduction and distribution of software applicationsis a multi-billion dollar industry. A recent Global Software Piracy Study commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) concluded that "thirty-five percent of the packaged software installed on personal computers worldwide in 2005 was illegal, amounting to $34 billion in global losses due to software piracy."
The counterfeit software manufacturing industry stifles the potential growth of the high-tech industry and contributes to loss of tax revenue. Software piracy is also harmful to its users, for these reasons:
Unlicensed software is not eligible for technical support or product upgrades. When you attempt to install a product update, security patch, or service pack from the Microsoft Web site, your system or software is tested to verify whether it is licensed. Abuse of software licenses can result in financial penalties and legal costs, as well as a bad reputation for you or your company. Individual company executives can be held criminally and civilly liable for the copyright infringements of individuals within their organizations. Pirated software can contain harmful viruses with the potential to damage individual computers or entire networks.
Windows Vista has a built-in piracy protection systemif certain conditions alert it to the possibility that you are running a pirated copy, most Windows Vista functionality will shut down, and you will be able to use only Windows Internet Explorer, for only one hour at a time. During that hour, you will be able to browse the Internet and receive security updates, but you won't be able to create or save any files until you activate your copy of Windows.
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