FCKGW
From Free net encyclopedia
The five letters FCKGW are the first five characters of the CD key that is most commonly used with illegitimate copies of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. Despite this key effectively being useless when installing Windows, it is regularly a symbol of geek/warez pride; some people can recite all 25 digits of the code from memory.
Dubbed the "devils0wn" key, this particular key means "FuCK Genuine Windows" and came with the first warez release of the final version of Windows XP. This version was supplied by a group calling themselves "devils0wn" 35 days before the official release on October 25, 2001. It is a volume license key (VLK) leaked from one of Microsoft's customers, rumored to be from a PC maker like IBM or Dell. Unlike most versions of Windows XP and other recent Microsoft products, volume-licensed versions do not require product activation. This made the key desirable for unauthorized users of Windows XP.
This particular key has been banned from installing various updates by Microsoft, including the Windows XP service packs. Unfortunately, this key has also been used on Windows XP installations where the owner of this particular installation owned a license to Windows XP but where the person doing the installation did not want to bother with activation or where Windows XP has been installed by means of disk cloning software.
There has been discussion of Microsoft's decision to block the installation of service packs on computers where this product key has been used. Microsoft claims that it does not need to cater to the needs of those who did not pay for their software. Microsoft even developed a new key verification engine for Windows XP Service Pack 1 that could detect illicit keys, even those that had never been used before. Several security consultants have decried the move by Microsoft, claiming that leaving a large install base unpatched from various security holes is irresponsible due to the fact that this unpatched install base can be leveraged in large scale Internet attacks, such as trojan horses used to send spam e-mail. Others have come to Microsoft's defense, arguing that Microsoft should not have to provide support for illegal users. After much public outcry, Microsoft elected to disable the new key verification engine. Service Pack 2 only checks for the same small list of commonly used keys as Service Pack 1. This method does not completely prevent piracy, as users can generate new VLKs that will not be detected as pirated. Users of existing installations of Windows XP can also change their product key by following instructions from Microsoft.[1]
This key was made famous partly due to the fact that it is featured written on a CD-R containing the leaked operating system and held in front of a digital Microsoft sign counting down the days until the release of Microsoft Windows XP.[2]
![[2]](http://www.zen51445.zen.co.uk/images/devils0wn.jpg){kind=link}