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“Pirated Vista — A darkness descends!” That was the subject line of an email sent by a Microsoft representative to a major software distributor. A copy of the email appeared in Computerworld:

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 nongenuine 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 antipiracy initiative from Microsoft to your resellers — note this function has only just been activated in Vista worldwide and therefore any issues with nongenuine versions will start to arise from now onward.”

Microsoft seems to be taking a hard-line on the issue of Vista piracy. The “Black Screen of Darkness,” is sure to attract its critics. A temporary workaround has already been published on ZDNet. By running opening up command line through Internet Explorer, pirates are able to run a script to deactivate the Black Screen of Darkness.

Oddly enough, if you purchase your operating system, you do not need to use workarounds. Once you have it working again, it is highly recommended that you get out there and purchase a legitimate serial.

Sources: Techrepublic, Computerworld, ZDNet

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