Chinese AV "Patches" Windows XP

As all of you know, Windows XP is dead.
Or it is? As far as the Chinese community is concerned, there is still hope.

Several AV companies had pushed for a special product where we do not see anywhere else in other markets known as "XP Protection". Basically, the AV Product claim to be able to protect even the unpatched XP against these new vulnerabilities and attacks.

Don't take my word for it. Recently, at "The EXP Challenger Contest". a total of 179 hackers and security experts coming from all over the world have tried to compromise Windows XP computers running：

• 奇虎 360 XP盾甲 
• 腾讯电脑管家（XP专属版本）
• 金山毒霸 XP防护盾

In the 13 hours event, only 腾讯 was broken in 57 seconds by "shaheshang", followed by 金山 later. Qihoo managed to withstand all the attacks.

So, what does this mean? Maybe for those Chinese who are not going to upgrade to new Windows for whatever reasons, they could use these products to actually provide them protection and continue to use Windows XP?

But there is a epilogue to the story. At the end of the event, a hacker "小小小乖兔" managed to break through 奇虎 as well. So, it does means that, maybe hard, but there is a way. Nothing is invulnerable.

So, I guess at least with such products around, it is safe to assume if the clients in Chinese are still using Windows XP, they will be deploying at least one of these products.

And lastly, all the listed products had been updated and are FREE.

Windows XP Extended Support Till 2019 Registry Hack

I am not the first to disclose this registry trick to change your Windows XP into Windows XP POS Edition. The purpose of doing so is that while all other desktop edition of Windows XP had been withdrawn from support, the POS (Point-of-sale) version is however still supported until 2019. This essentially give you extended support on your Windows XP.

HOWEVER, even if this trick works to give you updates until 2019, Microsoft will make some assumptions. For example, people will not be using it wo surf the web, read email, load Youtube of Facebook etc. Because this is a POS system, which is pretty much those dump terminal operated by sales in stores. So what does that mean? It mean you will not be FULLY protected anyway. IE will probably never be fixed. So, my advise is still to just ditch Windows XP and upgrade to Windows 7/8 as a long term solution.

Anyway, here is the simple hack. Put the following into a text file and save it as WinXP2019.reg :

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001

Double click this file to have Regedit execute it. That is all to it.

XP Mode Gives You Legal Reasons to Use Windows XP on Windows 7

Windows 7 comes with a special piece of emulation software known as XP Mode.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/windows-xp-mode

Basically, XP Mode is a legal fully activated, verified image of Windows XP SP3. You can use the default Windows Virtual PC and install this image to make it work in Windows 7. You used to require Intel VT technology in order to use this, but that had been patched recently.
Make sure you download all components if you decided to use the default Windows Virtual PC
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

Although somewhere in the EULA is stated that you can only have 1 Windows XP Mode running, well technically you can have many copies (and only run 1 copy at any one time if you really feel bad about it). Some copying and editing is required, but a cool new tool can XP-More allows you to manage those images by Windows Virtual PC easily.
http://xpmore.codeplex.com/

Now, here is the good part. If you are using VMWare, then life gets simply. You do not need the Windows Virtual PC packages. All you need to install is "XP-Mode" from Microsoft which is about 500MB of download. Just choose Import XP Mode from VMWare and it will make a new VM with the installed XP Mode. And you have 1 fully working and legal Windows XP VM. And technically making multiple copies of a VMWave image is not against the EULA because that doesn't cover a 3rd party application such as VMWare and you are not really making copies of XP Mode, but rather copies of VMs. I know it sound crap, but that entirely up to you. It doesn't mean you will go to heaven if you do not use VMWare... :)

So, why is XP Mode good? It passes all the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) and legal checks. You will be able to run Windows Media Player, Microsoft Security Essentials and other stuff that require an original Windows. BTW, if you do need a free anti-malware, Microsoft Security Essential is one good option. While XP is being phase out because it cannot run IE9 or Live Essentials 2011 etc, it is probably still pretty good for testing of many applications in a controlled environment.

So stop struggling with all the "corp" version of Windows XP or those that require constant cracking of WGA every few months! Go Legit! Use XP Mode!*


*XP-Mode require you to verify that you are using a legit copy of Windows 7 before they allows you to download. Guess that one good point why you should buy a legit copy of Windows 7!

Windows XP SP2 End of Life on 13th July 2010

It had been a long 6 years and XP SP2 can be said as one of the longest lasting OS from Microsoft. But still even today, many will still clinge on to SP2. What actually happens when Microsoft says it is end of life for support?

Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/search/default.aspx?alpha=Windows+XP

Basically, you will not get patches anymore from Microsoft that support Windows XP SP2 32 Bits specificly as well as its other component including media player, IE, Outlook Express etc. Wait, you will notice that I mention 32 Bits, that is because 64 bits is still support as there is no such thing as SP3 for 64 Bits.

Some people may decide to hang on for whatever reasons, claiming that if they drop IE and uses Firefox, Outlook Express for Thunderbird and WMP for VLC, they will still continue to get updates. True. But do not forget that some components are still presents, especially those of IE, which arguablely is part of the OS.

Why not simply live a better life and have some peaceful sleep by upgrading to Windows XP SP3? Or even better to Windows 7? Let me know the reason if you happen to be one of those who still need to hang on with XP SP2...

Microsoft XP Mode no longer needs virtualized hardware

For a while, people using the cheaper end quad core Intel Q series processor find themselves unable to install Windows 7's XP Mode due to a hardware requirement for the VT technology.
While VT speeds up the virtualization using hardware, by no means it is impossible to purely run on software especially if you have quad core or more.

Fortunately, Microsoft had finally realized this and had enabled the option to run XP Mode WITHOUT the VT Technology. This is shown in the 3rd button when you attempt to download Microsoft Virtual PC via:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

This is indeed a great news to many including myself who has more than a few Intel Q8200 around.

XP Media and OEM Keys

The secret is all inside a file \i386\setupp.ini.

WinXP's setupp.ini controls how the CD acts. First, find your setupp.ini file in the i386 directory on your WinXP CD. Open it up, it'll look something like this:

ExtraData=707A667567736F696F697911AE7E05
Pid=55034000

The Pid value is what we're interested in. What's there now looks like a standard default. There are special numbers that determine if it's a retail, oem, or volume license edition. First, we break down that number into two parts. The first five digits determines how the CD will behave, ie is it a retail cd that lets you clean install or upgrade, or an oem cd that only lets you perform a clean install? The last three digits determines what CD key it will accept. You are able to mix and match these values. For example you could make a WinXP cd that acted like a retail cd, yet accepted OEM keys.

Now, for the actual values. Remember the first and last values are interchangable, but usually you'd keep them as a pair:

Retail = 51882 335
Volume License = 51883 270
OEM = 82503 OEM

So if you wanted a retail CD that took retail keys, the last line of your setupp.ini file would read:

Pid=51882335

And if you wanted a retail CD that took OEM keys, you'd use:

Pid=51882OEM

Note that this does NOT get rid of WinXP's activation. Changing the Pid to a Volume License will not bypass activation. You must have a volume license (corporate) key to do so.
What is the pid?
Microsoft uses various Product IDs to identify variants of the Windows platform. A Windows product ID (currently, as of XP/2003/Vista) has the following format: xxxxx-yyy-zzzzzzz-zzzzz

'xxxxx' -- the Microsoft Product Code
The xxxxx section is the Microsoft Product Code, which in this case describes the platform, build, and version of Windows. Other product IDs with the same format, such as those found in Microsoft Office (and many other Microsoft products), serve the same purpose.

'yyy' -- the Channel ID
This section of the PID describes the channel (OEM, Volume License, Retail, bundle/Not For Resale) a given XP CD/system has come from.

000 : Other (includes some retail, upgrade and evaluation versions)
006 : MS or Partner promotions
007 : FIXME : Retail
009 : Not for resale - bundle
011 : Upgrade (XP Home?)
083 : Windows Genuine Advantage
OEM : OEM (This does not specify royalty or normal OEM)
270 : Volume License
296 : MSDN
308/347 : Microsoft Action Pack subscription
335 : Retail
640 through 652 : Volume License (usually generated via 270 CID in setupp.ini)
699 : Volume Windows XP Tablet Edition
071 : FIXME : Unknown.
NOTE: According to DjLizard.net visitor Catalyst, newer discs now check to see if the CD's volume label matches the type of CD you have. So if you make a CD with the wrong volume label, then it still won't work. I haven't been able to confirm this because most of my CDs have a custom label and all of them work fine thus far. Visit TACKtech to see a list of volume labels.

MPC list - English locale
55274 : XP Pro generic OEM
55276 : XP Pro (upgrade)
55276 : XP Home (?) †
55277 : XP Home generic OEM
55285 : XP Pro †
55661 : XP Pro (retail)
76475 : XP Home (upgrade) (?)
76477 : XP Home Royalty OEM ‡
76481 : XP Pro Dell OEM
76487 : XP Media Center Edition 2005
76487 : XP Pro Royalty OEM ‡
76487 : XP Pro SP2 (retail)
76487 : XP Pro SP3 (OEM)
76487 : XP Pro volume license (with '640' channel ID)
76500 : XP MCE 2005 (which is XP Pro with no domain capability)
76588 : XP Pro x64 OEM
MPC list - other languages
55372 : XP Home - German (OEM)
55375 : XP Pro - German (VLK)
55677 : XP Home - Dutch
55679 : XP Pro - Dutch
76381 : XP Home - Danish
76392 : XP Pro - Danish
76396 : XP Pro (also Home?) - Dutch
76412 : XP Home - French (OEM)
76413 : XP Pro - French (OEM)
76440 : XP Pro - Norwegian (retail)
76447 : XP Pro - Polish
76460 : XP Home - Spanish (Royalty OEM) ‡
76470 : XP Home - Traditional Chinese (Royalty OEM) ‡
Notes:

‡ : Royalty OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) means manufacturers that are special to Microsoft's endearing heart. They get their own private key and generated product keys that typically don't require activation (or are different than the product key on the COA sticker affixed to the computer). Certain big OEMs [Dell, Gateway, HP, Compaq, and more] are Royalty OEMs, and the little guys (your local mom + pop store) are obviously not. The mom and pop stores get 55277 for Home and 55285 for Pro. Typically, generic OEM discs (such as 55277 and 55274) will work on these systems, but activation will often fail -- you will have to call Microsoft's activation hotline and speak to a representative in order to activate Windows. This usually only takes a few minutes.

Windows XP complete list - English locale
Edition Volume Label File Date (DD-MM-YY) MPC CID
Windows XP Combo Home/Pro WXPHFPP_EN 23-08-01 1:00
Windows XP Home Retail WXHFPP_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55277 000
Windows XP Home Retail SP1 XRMHFPP_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55277 000
Windows XP Home Retail SP1a X1AHFPP_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55277 000
Windows XP Home Retail SP2 VRMHFPP_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55277 000
Windows XP Home Upgrade WXHCCP_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55285 000
Windows XP Home Upgrade SP1 XRMHCCP_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55285 000
Windows XP Home Upgrade SP1a X1AHCCP_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55285 000
Windows XP Home Upgrade SP2 VRMHCCP_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55285 000
Windows XP Home OEM WXHOEM_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55277 OEM
Windows XP Home OEM SP1 XRMHOEM_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55277 OEM
Windows XP Home OEM SP1a X1AHOEM_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55277 OEM
Windows XP Home OEM SP2 VRMHOEM_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55277 OEM
Windows XP Home OEM SP2 VRMHOEM_EN 4-08-04 12:00 76477 OEM
Windows XP Home Volume WXHVOL_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Home Volume SP1 XRMHVOL_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Home Volume SP1a X1AHVOL_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Home Volume SP2 VRMHVOL_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Home (SP2) DELL System Install XP2_PER_ENG
Windows XP Pro (SP2) DELL System Install XP2_PRO_ENG
Windows XP Pro Retail WXPFPP_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Retail SP1 XRMPFPP_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Retail SP1a X1APFPP_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Retail SP2 VRMPFPP_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Retail SP2 VX2PFPP_EN 28-02-2006 5:00AM 76487 000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade WXPCCP_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55276 000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade SP1 XRMPCCP_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55276 000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade SP1a X1APCCP_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55276 000
Windows XP Pro Academic Upgrade SP1 X1APCCP_EN 31-03-03 23:00 55276 000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade SP2 VRMPCCP_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55276 000
Windows XP Pro Academic Upgrade SP2 VRMPCCP_EN 4-08-04 23:00 76488 000
Windows XP Pro OEM WXPOEM_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55274 OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM SP1 XRMPOEM_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55274 OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM SP1a X1APOEM_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55274 OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM SP2 VRMPOEM_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55274 OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM SP3 GRTMPOEM_EN 4-14-08 5:00 76487 OEM
Windows XP Pro Volume WXPVOL_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Pro Volume SP1 XRMPVOL_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Pro Volume SP1a X1APVOL_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Pro Volume SP2 VRMPVOL_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Pro Tablet PC SP1 Disc 1 XRMPFPP_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Tablet PC SP1a Disc 1 X1APFPP_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Tablet PC SP2 Disc 1 VRMPFPP_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro MSDN WXPFPP_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro MSDN SP1 XRMPFPP_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro MSDN SP1a X1APFPP_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro MSDN SP2 VRMPFPP_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Evaluation WXPEVL_EN

Note: these Channel IDs (CIDs) were taken from i386\SETUPP.INI. Windows Setup may generate a completely different Product ID than you see here; this is soley based on your product key.

Server 2003 MPC list - English locale
69712 : Standard Edition 32-bit retail
69712 : Standard Edition 32-bit volume licensing
69712 : Standard Edition 32-bit OEM
69763 : Standard Edition 32-bit evaluation
69753 : Web Edition 32-bit retail
69753 : Web Edition 32-bit volume licensing
69753 : Web Edition 32-bit OEM
69763 : Web Edition 32-bit evaluation
69713 : Enterprise Edition 32-bit retail
69713 : Enterprise Edition 32-bit volume licensing
69713 : Enterprise Edition 32-bit OEM
69763 : Enterprise Edition 32-bit evaluation
69713 : Enterprise Edition 32-bit checked build
69754 : Datacenter Edition 32-bit retail
69754 : Datacenter Edition 32-bit OEM
69770 : Enterprise Edition 64-bit retail
69770 : Enterprise Edition 64-bit volume licensing
69770 : Enterprise Edition 64-bit OEM
69763 : Enterprise Edition 64-bit evaluation
69770 : Enterprise Edition 64-bit checked build
69769 : Datacenter Edition 64-bit retail
69769 : Datacenter Edition 64-bit OEM
74995 : Small business server
76868 : Unknown Enterprise Edition 64-bit (FIXME)
Notes
If you have to perform a "repair install" (Microsoft calls this an "in-place upgrade", and DjLizard interchangeably calls it an "overlay" or "repair install") then you MUST know these two things:

1.The MPC of your destination computer, and
2.the MPC of all of your Windows OEM CDs.
If you don't, then you will not be able to activate Windows properly, or in some cases, get the installation to accept your product key.

The MPC of your CDs can be determined by editing the SETUPP.INI in the i386 directory on your disc. You can (in some cases) simply edit this file, change the PID, and recompile the CD to be able to use whatever key you happen to need.

Retrieving your product ID or MPC
The current MPC for a system can be retrieved by various methods:

If the destination computer's operating system works well enough [even in safe mode], you can get it by right-clicking My Computer, clicking Properties, and reading the long ID number that appears under 'Registered to'.
You can use the command reg query "hklm\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion" /v ProductID at a command prompt (Start > Run > cmd.exe).
If the destination computer does not work very well, you can get the ID by attaching the hard drive to a working machine and mounting the appropriate registry hive. Highlight HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE in your local regedit and choose File > Load Hive. Then browse to X:\Windows\System32\config\SOFTWARE (where X:\Windows is the drive letter and path to the Windows installation in question). It will ask you what key to mount; you then give it any name you like, and it will appear under your own HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Drill-down through Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion in this new key. You will see ProductID on the right.
Do not forget to highlight the top key of the mounted hive, and choose File > Unload Hive when you are done.
Finally, you can sometimes find the ID you need if you check for the presence of either X:\i386\setupp.ini (where X: is the system's drive letter) or X:\Windows\i386\setupp.ini (where X:\Windows is the drive letter and path to the Windows installation folder in question).
Once you have the destination ID, it's as simple as inserting your CD that uses the same ID.

Bad Product IDs
As of 2005/10/22, Microsoft states that the following are invalid PIDs:

XXXXX-640-0000356-23XXX
XXXXX-640-2001765-23XXX
The above two product IDs are known as "Devil's Own", and usually have a product key starting with "FCKGW".

XXXXX-640-643718X-23XXX
XXXXX-641-309376X-23XXX
XXXXX-642-064580X-23XXX
XXXXX-642-464364X-23XXX
XXXXX-643-334701X-23XXX
XXXXX-644-081772X-23XXX
XXXXX-644-451265X-23XXX
XXXXX-644-874896X-23XXX
XXXXX-644-933704X-23XXX
XXXXX-644-962396X-23XXX
XXXXX-645-833254X-23XXX
XXXXX-645-994962X-23XXX
XXXXX-646-031843X-23XXX
XXXXX-646-104081X-23XXX
XXXXX-646-105103X-23XXX
XXXXX-647-318838X-23XXX
XXXXX-647-592029X-23XXX
XXXXX-647-677834X-23XXX
XXXXX-648-301691X-23XXX
XXXXX-648-819992X-23XXX
XXXXX-649-106765X-23XXX
XXXXX-649-941392X-23XXX
XXXXX-650-292312X-23XXX
These PIDs are detected when you attempt to install SP1, 2 or 3.

And here are for the other OSs:

CCP = Compliance Checking Program (Upgrades)
FPP = Fully Packaged Product
OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer
SEL = Select (No Key Required)
VOL = Volume License Key Required
EVL = Evaluation Software

MS-DOS 6.22/Windows 3.11 OEM Combo = 05/31/94 2:22 AM / 11/03/93 4:11 AM

Windows 95 Retail = 07/11/95 9:50 AM (09:50:00)
Windows 95 Retail Upgrade = 07/11/95 9:50 AM (09:50:00)
Windows 95 OEM = WINDOWS95 07/11/95 5:50 AM (05:50:00) or 07/11/95 9:50 AM (09:50:00)
Windows 95 OEM OSR1 "A" = WINDOWS95 12/31/95 5:50 AM (05:50:00) or 02/02/96 9:51 AM (09:51:00)
Windows 95 OEM OSR2 "B" = W95_FULL_AR 08/24/96 8:11 AM (08:11:00) or 08/24/96 11:11 AM (11:11:11)
Windows 95 OEM OSR2.1 "B" = W95_FULL_AR 05/01/97 8:14 AM (08:14:00) or 06/25/97 9:07 AM (09:07:10)
Windows 95 OEM OSR2.5 "C" = WIN95_C 11/25/97 10:16 PM (22:16:00) or 11/26/97 12:14 PM (12:14:00)

Windows 98 Retail = Windows 98 05/11/98 8:01 PM (20:01:00)
Windows 98 Retail Upgrade = Windows 98 05/11/98 8:01 PM (20:01:00)
Windows 98 OEM = Windows 98 05/11/98 8:01 PM (20:01:00) or 11/24/98 4:02 AM (04:02:00)
Windows 98 SE Retail = Win98 SE 04/23/99 6:22 PM (18:22:00) or 04/23/99 10:22 PM (22:22:00)
Windows 98 SE Retail Upgrade = Win98 SE 04/23/99 6:22 PM (18:22:00) or 04/23/99 10:22 PM (22:22:00)
Windows 98 SE OEM = Win98 SE 04/23/99 6:22 PM (18:22:00) or 04/23/99 10:22 PM (22:22:00)

Windows ME Retail = Windows Me 06/08/00 1:00 PM (13:00:00) or 06/08/00 3:00 PM (17:00:00)
Windows ME Retail Upgrade = Windows Me 06/08/00 1:00 PM (13:00:00) or 06/08/00 3:00 PM (17:00:00)
Windows ME Retail Step Up = Windows Me 06/08/00 1:00 PM (13:00:00) or 06/08/00 3:00 PM (17:00:00)
Windows ME OEM = Windows Me 06/08/00 1:00 PM (13:00:00) or 06/08/00 3:00 PM (17:00:00)
Windows ME MSDN = Windows Me 06/08/00 1:00 PM (13:00:00)

Windows NT 3.1 Workstation Retail =
Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server Retail =

Windows NT 3.5 Workstation Retail = WORKSTATION xx/xx/xx
Windows NT 3.5 Server Retail = SERVER xx/xx/xx

Windows NT 3.51 Workstation Retail = NTWKS xx/xx/xx
Windows NT 3.51 Server Retail = NTSRV xx/xx/xx

Windows NT 4.0 Workstation = NTWKS40A 10/13/96 9:38 PM (21:38:00) 50036
Windows NT 4.0 Server = NTSRV40A 10/13/96 9:38 PM (21:38:00) 50370
Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Server Disc 1 = NTSE_BASE_D 09/12/97 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 70234
Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Server Disc 2 = NTSE_COMP 09/15/97 8:00 AM (08:00:00) -----
Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server = WINNT-TSE40 07/22/98 2:09 PM (14:09:00) 88090270

Windows 2000 Combo Pro/Svr/Asvr = WIN2000_EN

Windows 2000 Pro OEM = W2POEM_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873OEM
Windows 2000 Pro OEM SP1 = SP1POEM_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873OEM
Windows 2000 Pro OEM SP2 = SP2POEM_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51873OEM
Windows 2000 Pro OEM SP3 = YRMPOEM_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873OEM
Windows 2000 Pro OEM SP4 = ZRMPOEM_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873OEM
Windows 2000 Pro Retail = W2PFPP_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro Retail SP1 = SP1PFPP_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro Retail SP2 = SP2PFPP_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro Retail SP3 = YRMPFPP_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro Retail SP4 = ZRMPFPP_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro Select = W2PSEL_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873270
Windows 2000 Pro Select SP1 = SP1PSEL_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873270
Windows 2000 Pro Select SP2 = SP2PSEL_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51873270
Windows 2000 Pro Select SP3 = YRMPSEL_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873270
Windows 2000 Pro Select SP4 = ZRMPSEL_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873270
Windows 2000 Pro MSDN = W2PFPP_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro MSDN SP1 = SP1PFPP_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro MSDN SP2 = SP2PFPP_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro MSDN SP3 = YRMPFPP_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro MSDN SP4 = ZRMPFPP_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000

Windows 2000 Server OEM = W2SOEM_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876OEM
Windows 2000 Server OEM SP1 = SP1SOEM_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876OEM
Windows 2000 Server OEM SP2 = SP2SOEM_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51876OEM
Windows 2000 Server OEM SP3 = YRMSOEM_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876OEM
Windows 2000 Server OEM SP4 = ZRMSOEM_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876OEM
Windows 2000 Server Retail = W2SFPP_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server Retail SP1 = SP1SFPP_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server Retail SP2 = SP2SFPP_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server Retail SP3 = YRMSFPP_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server Retail SP4 = ZRMSFPP_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server Select = W2SSEL_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876270
Windows 2000 Server Select SP1 = SP1SSEL_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876270
Windows 2000 Server Select SP2 = SP2SSEL_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51876270
Windows 2000 Server Select SP3 = YRMSSEL_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876270
Windows 2000 Server Select SP4 = ZRMSSEL_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876270
Windows 2000 Server MSDN = W2SFPP_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server MSDN SP1 = SP1SFPP_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server MSDN SP2 = SP2SFPP_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server MSDN SP3 = YRMSFPP_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server MSDN SP4 = ZRMSFPP_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000

Windows 2000 Advanced Server OEM = W2AOEM_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879OEM
Windows 2000 Advanced Server OEM SP1 = SP1AOEM_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879OEM
Windows 2000 Advanced Server OEM SP2 = SP2AOEM_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51879OEM
Windows 2000 Advanced Server OEM SP3 = YRMAOEM_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879OEM
Windows 2000 Advanced Server OEM SP4 = ZRMAOEM_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879OEM
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Retail = W2AFPP_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Retail SP1 = SP1AFPP_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Retail SP2 = SP2AFPP_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Retail SP3 = YRMAFPP_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Retail SP4 = ZRMAFPP_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Select = W2ASEL_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879270
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Select SP1 = SP1ASEL_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879270
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Select SP2 = SP2ASEL_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51879270
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Select SP3 = YRMASEL_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879270
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Select SP4 = ZRMASEL_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879270
Windows 2000 Advanced Server MSDN = W2AFPP_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server MSDN SP1 = SP1AFPP_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server MSDN SP2 = SP2AFPP_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server MSDN SP3 = YRMAFPP_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server MSDN SP4 = ZRMAFPP_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000

Windows 2000 Datacenter inc. SP1 = W2DFPP_EN

Windows XP Combo Home/Pro = WXPHFPP_EN 08/23/01 1:00 AM (01:00:00)

Windows XP Home Retail = WXHFPP_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277000
Windows XP Home Retail w/ SP1 = XRMHFPP_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277000
Windows XP Home Retail w/ SP1a = X1AHFPP_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277000
Windows XP Home Retail w/ SP2 = VRMHFPP_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277000
Windows XP Home Upgrade = WXHCCP_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55285000
Windows XP Home Upgrade W/SP1 = XRMHCCP_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55285000
Windows XP Home Upgrade W/SP1a = X1AHCCP_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55285000
Windows XP Home Upgrade W/SP2 = VRMHCCP_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55285000
Windows XP Home OEM = WXHOEM_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277OEM
Windows XP Home OEM w/ SP1 = XRMHOEM_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277OEM
Windows XP Home OEM w/ SP1a = X1AHOEM_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277OEM
Windows XP Home OEM w/ SP2 = VRMHOEM_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277OEM
Windows XP Home Volume = WXHVOL_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Home Volume W/ SP1 = XRMHVOL_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Home Volume W/ SP1a = X1AHVOL_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Home Volume W/ SP2 = VRMHVOL_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270

Windows XP Pro Retail = WXPFPP_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Retail w/ SP1 = XRMPFPP_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Retail w/ SP1a = X1APFPP_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Retail w/ SP2 = VRMPFPP_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade = WXPCCP_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55276000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade w/ SP1 = XRMPCCP_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55276000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade w/ SP1a = X1APCCP_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55276000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade w/ SP2 = VRMPCCP_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55276000
Windows XP Pro OEM = WXPOEM_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM w/ SP1 = XRMPOEM_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM w/ SP1a = X1APOEM_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM w/ SP2 = VRMPOEM_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274OEM
Windows XP Pro Volume = WXPVOL_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Pro Volume w/ SP1 = XRMPVOL_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Pro Volume w/ SP1a = X1APVOL_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Pro Volume w/ SP2 = VRMPVOL_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Pro Tablet PC w/SP1 Disc1 = XRMPFPP_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Tablet PC w/SP1a Disc1 = X1APFPP_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Tablet PC w/SP2 Disc1 = VRMPFPP_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro MSDN = WXPFPP_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro MSDN w/ SP1 = XRMPFPP_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro MSDN w/ SP1a = X1APFPP_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro MSDN w/ SP2 = VRMPFPP_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Evaluation = WXPEVL_EN

Windows Server 2003 Combo Std/Ent = EN_WS03 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00)

Windows Server 2003 Standard Retail = NRMSFPP_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69712000
Windows Server 2003 Standard OEM = NRMSOEM_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69712OEM
Windows Server 2003 Standard Volume = NRMSVOL_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69712270
Windows Server 2003 Web Retail = NRMWFPP_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69753000
Windows Server 2003 Web OEM = NRMWOEM_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69753OEM
Windows Server 2003 Web Volume = NRMWVOL_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69753270
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Retail = NRMEFPP_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69713000
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise OEM = NRMEOEM_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69713OEM
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Volume = NRMEVOL_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69713270
Windows Server 2003 Datacenter = NRMDFPP_EN
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Eval = NRMEEVL_EN 69763000

Thawte Free Email Certificate vs Vista IE7

For a long long time, Thawte hsa not came out with a solution to allow easy installation of their free email cerifitcations on Vista / IE7. Vista has already launched SP1 and Thawte is still there...

Well for those who did not know what a email certificate is... Imagine SSL.. Ok, even more plain, the padlock you will see on the browser when you do you internet banking... Well, thats encryption. SSL is basically encryption. But you need a SSL certificate to do the encryption. Email certificate is somethign very similar. But on top of being able to do encryption, email certificate also allow you to identify yourself. This mean when you friend / client receive a email signed by your email certificate, they can be sure its you. If the email ash been tampered, changed, edited, forwards etc.. the signing will fail and you will see a X on your email client. What? You are still using Lotus Notes? Man, get a real email client, FCS!

Anyway, back to this issue of using Thawte Email Certificates. Its FREE. Thats one plus point. And so far I tried many, like komodo etc.. And evne one which I will not name, who issue email cert, but their own SSL cert is kinda expired or blacklist... This is the type of CA you should avoid. In any case, Thawte has the advantage.

Sometime back in Dec 2007, thawte posted a "solution" to the Vista IE7 problem.
https://search.thawte.com/support/ssl-digital-certificates/index?page=content&id=S:SO5558&actp=search&searchid=1215093218617
Well if you do not know whats the problem, it can only means you are not using Vista or are using IE7 or below on XP. anyway, the problem is there is no support for creating the private key to make the certificate.

Anyway, if you follow the instruction above, you will hit the Error: "424 Object required" error.
Thawte suggest your try :
https://search.thawte.com/support/ssl-digital-certificates/index?page=content&id=SO5657
OK, stop right here. This is the step I strong advice you DO NOT do. Whats is the point of using a certificate when you have to cripple your security on your browser to get the certificate in the first place?

This is my approach :
Grab a machine with Win XP. Yes, a VM is good. Always keep Win XP VM around.
Go through the process and request the cert, then complete it by installing the cert.
Now, you will have to export the cert.
Ok, this is the tricky part. Listen carefully, or you will find that you cant import your cert properly later...
YOU NEED TO EXPORT YOUR PRIVATE KEY.
Choose that... then the rest you can play around with... use a good password. But I strongly suggest after importing sucessfully onto your Vista that you delete the exported keys away.

Put all your *.PFX together and bring it to your Vista machine. Open IE options and then import them. Just let IE decide where to put the certs. It should end up in the Personnel folder. Otherwise, you done it wrongly. See the CAPITAL above. Once all yoru cert if done, go ahead and sign some email with your Outlook and smile.

I try to be brief here cos I figure most of us knows what we are doing. If you have problem wit hthis instruction, please post a comment and I will try to help you out. For Firefox, the procedure is different, so lets just worry about IE / Vista here.

I wonder why I searched and cannot find this solution on Google...

Windows Vistalization Project

What is Vistalization? Its the process (for poor people like me) to make Windows XP looks like Windows Vista.

Here are some of my results so far. Its actual screenshot. No modification.

Win XP NoSP, SP1 and SP1a will stop support on 10 Oct 2006

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifesupsps

Read the above. Yes, its true, not a myth or anything. IF you are still not using XP SP2, this is a good time to consider moving on. If you are daring enough, go for Vista. But do expect 70% of your software will break.

For my poor friends who are still using dialup, you know who you are! You may want to pick up the SP2 CD from me.