A former Microsoft developer talks about the legendary FCKGW key for Windows XP. This product key is inextricably linked to software piracy in the 2000s. Here’s the background.
FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8 – If this string says something to anyone, they obviously used Windows XP in the 2000s without a legal product license. Although the FCKGW key seems like a hack at first glance, there is a serious leak behind it that made it possible to skip activation steps.
Actually a key for company licenses FCKGW key
Because anyone who entered the iconic license key, which begins with the five letters FCKGW, at the time of product activation of Windows XP skipped the online activation. At least if you had a special installation medium – because the product key was a “volume licensing key” from the Microsoft company program.
Of course, this was a found food for software pirates who distributed the Windows XP installation medium and the leaked volume license key as a package on the Internet. For example, the online verification was simply deactivated by means of a hardware identification number generated on the basis of one’s own PC components.
This is how the workaround works
“This is a volume license for companies – so there is no need to call home,” explains former Microsoft developer Dave Plummer in the background story of the FCKGW key on X. So the iconic product key was on a whitelist built into the code of Windows XP. After entering, Windows XP started without the known 30-day period until activation.
This worked until Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for Windows XP (via Golem). Because that’s when the product key FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8 ended up on the blocked list – and from that point on, it was no longer possible to handle the online activation with it. For example, the FCKGW key is now just a piece of software history and a memorial to how a leak became a symbol of software piracy.
Hand on heart: Have you used the iconic product key FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8 to activate your Windows XP computer in the past? Use the comment function and let us know what you think! Please observe the forum rules when commenting.
