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Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 leak to the web as expected PDF E-mail
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by Alex Zaharov-Reutt   
Thursday, 07 February 2008
As predicted, pirate copies of Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 are already available from Bittorrent websites, weeks before consumers can get them legally, showing once again just how efficient hackers and decentralised networks really are at providing and distributing illegal stuff.

Want to download a copy of Vista SP1 or Windows Server 2008 now that they’ve gone to RTM? Sadly, the only way to do it is by breaking the law, with both programs having already made their way onto the world’s bittorrent networks.

According to Computerworld, Vista SP1 is proving a far more popular download than Windows Server 2008, which only installs a 60-day trial edition.

Windows Server 2008 is 2.5GB in size, meaning those downloading the software have plenty of spare bandwidth to hand, while the Vista SP1 clocks in at 2.9GB because it’s a full copy of Windows Vista with SP1 code pre-loaded, rather than just the SP1 code alone.

For many young people, illegally downloading anything is just a way of life, but as always, there are traps for the unwary.

Until pirate copies have been properly investigated, it’s impossible to know how they have been tampered with, and could easily come with ‘spyware’ or other nasties pre-loaded, too.

Given the clear interest by some for copies of Vista or Windows Server 2008 now, there’s always a risk that some of the supposed copies of these multi-gigabyte downloads could end up being something else completely, or somehow corrupted, although there have been reports of successful downloads.

Naturally we here at iTWire do not condone piracy in any shape or form, and as such, strongly advise users to wait until Microsoft’s latest programs are legally available for purchase or download.

While the Vista SP1 update will be free for existing legal Vista owners, and will most likely be downloaded by most users’ computers automatically via the Windows Update process, Windows Server 2008 will be for sale, replacing the existing Windows Server 2003.

However users wary of troubles experienced by some Vista users when it was first released may well want to wait until reviews of SP1 are published and users share their post-SP1 experiences.

Both programs are claimed by Microsoft as significant milestones for 2008 as they battle Linux, Unix and Mac OS X, with 2008 set to be the tech industry’s most competitive year yet, especially in the face of the US financial crisis, while Microsoft also tries to first acquire and then digest Yahoo.

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