Microsoft Unhappy About Windows XP Update Hack

[Terry Ganzi]

Content source

http://news.filehippo.com/2014/05/microsoft-unhappy-about-windows-xp-update-hack/

Still hooked on Microsoft XP for whatever reason? Even though the company has officially said goodbye to the iconic operating system, and the deadline has come and gone, there are still hardcore XP users out there. And when I say hardcore, I mean hardcore – to the point that someone has created a Windows XP updated hack, which provides users a way to get around the lack of support for the operating system.





How does it work?

It requires a little tweaking of the operating system’s registry. If you change a few lines of code in the registry, the system will think that, instead of running on Windows XP, your computer is a point-of-sale system running Windows Embedded Industry (previously Windows Embedded POSReady). Since this system does still have support – which will not end till 2019 – your computer can then receive updates for years to come.

Naturally, Microsoft is not happy with this development. Obviously, it circumvents their move to stop support for Windows XP, a noisy fight that one was.

More than that, though, Microsoft says that the hack can actually do more harm than good. They issued a statement to ZDNet explaining their position on the issue:

We recently became aware of a hack that purportedly aims to provide security updates to Windows XP customers. The security updates that could be installed are intended for Windows Embedded and Windows Server 2003 customers and do not fully protect Windows XP customers. Windows XP customers also run a significant risk of functionality issues with their machines if they install these updates, as they are not tested against Windows XP. The best way for Windows XP customers to protect their systems is to upgrade to a more modern operating system, like Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

That does make sense, but if you want to take the risk anyway, you can find the hack and more information from the ZDNet article.

[Image via huffingtonpost]

 

[Prorootect]

How to continue getting free security updates for Windows XP -- until 2019 : http://betanews.com/2014/05/26/how-...e-security-updates-for-windows-xp-until-2019/
.. If you’re an XP user, or know some XP users, there’s a trick which makes it possible to receive security updates for the aging OS for another five years -- right up until April 2019.
The workaround makes use of updates for Windows Embedded Industry (formerly known as Windows Embedded POSReady). This is based on Windows XP Service Pack 3, and the security updates which are being released for it are essentially the same ones Microsoft would have pushed out for XP, if it was still doing so.
You can’t simply install the updates -- that would be too easy -- and you’ll receive a version mismatch error if you try. But a simple registry tweak is enough to fix that.
Create a text document, and call it XP.reg. You’ll need to make sure .reg is the proper extension -- so not "XP.reg.txt". If it’s not showing up as a registry file, open any folder, go to Tools > Folder Options, select View and uncheck 'Show hidden files and folders'. That should fix the problem.
Right-click the file, and select Edit. Paste in the following:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001
Save it, and then double-click the file. That will make that change to the registry. That’s all you need to do. Windows will now automatically fetch updates designed for POSReady 2009, ensuring XP remains protected for the foreseeable future.
This trick only works for 32-bit editions of XP, but there’s a workaround for 64-bit versions here.
..
Read MORE on the website, please.

- Personally, I'm happy without cumbersome M$ updates ..

 

[ismethere]

It's not recommended to normal Xp users, i have did, still don't know work or not..

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\POSReady]
"Installed" = dword: 00000001

also how to get April Windows XP updates

For anyone wanting to download the latest updates after April's end of support, there is a neat trick to force WU to show the Windows POSReady updates to normal XP: Save this as a reg file and merge it to registry. Then restart and check for updates.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\WindowsEmbedded\ProductVersion]
"FeaturePackVersion"="SP3"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WEPOS]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WES]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001

Spoiler: Screenshot of Trial to Force WU 2019

Source1
Source2

 

[software182]

LOL M$

 

[Oxygen]

They are unhappy that they aren't making money.....

 

[ismethere]

That's why M($)...

 

[Prorootect]

Microsoft warns against XP update hack -- suggests users 'upgrade to Windows 8.1' instead : http://betanews.com/2014/05/27/micr...uggests-users-upgrade-to-windows-8-1-instead/
On this link, we read in the comments:

nilst2011 :
XP and PosReady 2009 have the exactly same updates. Microsoft try to scare their users.
Ofcourse they say it is a bad idea to use the hack, they want people to move to Windows 8 and later Windows 9.
Still there are many users that can't leave XP due to software incompability with later Windows versions. As a musician i build my music studio in XP due to the fact that much of my studio software won't work in Vista and later.
Microsoft should really re-think their poor strategy about security for their customers and continue to ship updates to XP SP3 and XP x64 SP2 for a smaller amount of yearly pay. I would happily pay for more security.
They could drop the buggy Windows 8.x and create an expanded XP version, and name it like XP Gold.

 

[ismethere]

yes, you're right this is just the reason way as make sense to hide the real M$ target.