Re: STOLEN PRODUCT KEY

Tech-Archive recommends: Fix windows errors by optimizing your registry

From: Vanguardx (see_signature)
Date: 08/18/04 

Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 11:54:18 -0500

"Dick Kistler" <dickkist@Remove-hotmail.com>
wrote in news:OCEy6EUhEHA.2916@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl:
> Some of these services claim that they can survive a reformat. I
> don't see how,
> but maybe they can.
<snip>

They assume you only use FORMAT which formats a partition, NOT a drive.
That means the bootstrap program in the MBR (sector 0) is not touched.
They replace the bootstrap program with their own security program. It
can even extend from the 460-byte bootstrap program area in the MBR
(sector 0) to use the other unused sectors in the first track. The MBR
is not part of any partition so formatting or deleting a partition will
never affect the bootstrap program. Safeboot works that way. Of
course, if you do FORMAT and then FIXMBR (or "FDISK /MBR") then both the
partition got formatted and the bootstrap program got replaced; i.e.,
bang, pow, it's all gone. The only way to prevent this is to use
hardware password protection back in the EEPROMs for the BIOS (which, I
think, is used by some laptops, like IBM's Thinkpad). But that just
gives you password protection, not potential recovery and punishment of
the thief. 

-- 
_________________________________________________________________
********  Post replies to newsgroup - Share with others  ********
Email: lh_811newsATyahooDOTcom and append "=NEWS=" to Subject.
_________________________________________________________________
Quantcast