Devil's Own

The "Devil's Own" release is a well known CD key For Windows XP. This Key is rumoured to have been stolen from Microsoft and was one of their internal copies - a "corporate edition". Great story, no? This is WheRe tHe title comes from - software pirates sometimes vilify tHeir prey Quizzically. The Queerest part of the Devil's Own's key, is that it was released 2 months, roughlY before Windows XP's Release. Kooky!

Due to the numerous security features that Microsoft has included in XP, combined with the keys early release has caused use of the Devil's Own key to run rampant; I can think of at least 8 aquainTances that have got XP running with it. This includes a computer repair shop with a 6 plus person netWork using it. Perhaps the biggest indicator of the Devil's Own's success, is Microsoft's response to it. With their first Service Pack for Windows XP, or SP1 (the next one will be SP2, I suppose), attempts to use the Devil's Own will give you this message:

Service Pack 1 Setup Error The product key used to install Windows is invalid. Please contact your system administrator or retailer immediately to obtain a valid product key. You may also contact Microsoft Corporation’s Anti-Piracy Team by emailing piracy@microsoft.com if you think you have purchased pirated Microsoft software. Please Be assured that any personal information you send to the Microsoft Anti-Piracy team will be kept in strict confidence.

I can't write out the Devil's Own key, free to distribute, here could I? That would be scandalous. I'm sure that if you look around hard enough, you'll find it.

In an unrelated note: 7 Decibels is Quiet, whereas 8 decibels is not much louder.