Windows 8 Sticker Hidden Text??

[iamdarkyoshi]

I have been taking apart lots of laptops for my job. I have seen this tons of times. The reflective part rubs off, but stays in certain areas. It can still be scratched off though. It just rubs off a little slower.

 

I have only seen this in windows 8 stickers.

 

 

Its freakin weird. Can someone explain this?

[vanished]

@AluminiumTech

@GoodBytes

 

Could be part of the security, just like the fact it's shiny in the first place.  Like a watermark or something

[Jonas0803]

Maybe A product id or something?

[Naeaes]

M$ is crazy about their authenticity. This sticker has no value per se. It's just there to tell that there's a genuine Windows installed but not an actual proof per se like the COA (the sticker with the key). More like an add. This hologram does have anti-tampering measures though. You can't quickly remove it and claim "there was no windows in it". That's why it rubs off in layers. The characters on it are probably for some internal use like a batch number. I doubt they correlate with the license code in any way. I found this site that explains some of it but has no mention of the text we're seeing.

[GoodBytes]

When an OEM buys a Windows license, Microsoft gives them this sticker to put on the system (or somewhere. For example, it is on the original (the one that came with the system) power brick of a Surface line system). This sticker has a number on it that, when new, the number is very difficult to see, making it very difficult to replicate (can't use a camera or scanner). The whole idea is for you to ensure that a genuine license of Windows is installed on the system, and not a pirated copy with a fake sticker. This, by the way, is an actual issue for Microsoft and users (pirated copies can contains unwanted and undetectable surprises, or the code of the OS was decompiled, activation by-passed, and re-compiled... the problem when you do this, is that it isn't easy, and there is no documentation or easy understanding of decompiled code, let alone face with many ambiguities that the decompiler can't properly handle, so usually other things breaks when the hacker goes through it to remove the activation system, hurting the user experience (BSODs, bugs, issues, which can results to data loss, unstable system, etc.) )

 

The numbers on it is for Microsoft only. They have the database that links each license to which system. You can bet that Microsoft acquires systems from reports of users identifying that their license of Windows is a pirated one (Microsoft has a whole website with information and how to report pirated licenses of Windows or other software from the company: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/piracy/reporting/default.aspx) As explained on the page, they get a secret shopper (must be a fun job), buy a system from a reported source, and digs down to see if the license is indeed genuine or not. And yes, Microsoft does bring these people at fault of criminal action to justice.

 

Other discovered security features, beside the obvious hologram on the disk, is for example on Vista disks.

Using a fairly good pair of eyes, you can see this picture part of the hologram which is very costly to reproduce due to the incredible small size. Makig it very hard to sell fake discs:

It is a picture of the main people who worked on the hologram of Vista disk at Microsoft.

They are other features and images on the disk, Microsoft said (once it was discovered).

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2007/06/case-closed-the-windows-vista-dvd-hologram-mystery/

 

Every version of Windows the company changes things up just to make it 'impossible' for criminals to catch up by figuring out how to make an exact replica in a way that will cost them less than buying the actual license of Windows.

[handymanshandle]

47 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

snip

I sort of wondered why MS went away from those traditional OEM stickers with Windows 8, now there's an updated OEM sticker that I think sort of hearkens back to the traditional OEM stickers.

[GoodBytes]

1 hour ago, wcreek said:

I sort of wondered why MS went away from those traditional OEM stickers with Windows 8, now there's an updated OEM sticker that I think sort of hearkens back to the traditional OEM stickers.

You mean those large Windows sticker with the product key? Because they were ugly. Only few manufactures put effort in hiding them, like Dell high-end models on both Consumer and Business class system, they were hiding it under the laptop battery compartment, so the system was sticker free, beside the Windows and Intel stickers (although, when I ordered my Dell system, I requested to have no sticker on them, and they didn't put the Windows and Intel sticker, which was nice). Microsoft went away with them, with the push of selling nicer looking system by not having these stickers, and that was possible because UEFI allowed the OS product key to be stored there, and the stickers where so common, it was easily replicated, so they don't serve as good protection for consumers against manufactures/people who sold computers with pirated version of the OS.

 

As for the small sticker, OEMs always placed the Windows and Intel/AMD/Nvidia stickers on the system. It served as advertisement, make sure that client knew that the computer had "Windows <version>" and "Intel CPU <model series>" inside, etc. Also, the system has the stickers needed just in case it reaches store shelves.

 

It is just Windows 8 had a second purpose, as the other long/large sticker was gone. But some OEMs, including Microsoft put them on the power adapter of the system, and Microsoft is one of the few manufacture that don't put the Intel/Nvidia sticker on their system.

[iamdarkyoshi]

10 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

You mean those large Windows sticker with the product key? Because they were ugly. Only few manufactures put effort in hiding them, like Dell high-end models on both Consumer and Business class system, they were hiding it under the laptop battery compartment, so the system was sticker free, beside the Windows and Intel stickers (although, when I ordered my Dell system, I requested to have no sticker on them, and they didn't put the Windows and Intel sticker, which was nice). Microsoft went away with them, with the push of selling nicer looking system by not having these stickers, and that was possible because UEFI allowed the OS product key to be stored there, and the stickers where so common, it was easily replicated, so they don't serve as good protection for consumers against manufactures/people who sold computers with pirated version of the OS.

 

As for the small sticker, OEMs always placed the Windows and Intel/AMD/Nvidia stickers on the system. It served as advertisement, make sure that client knew that the computer had "Windows <version>" and "Intel CPU <model series>" inside, etc. Also, the system has the stickers needed just in case it reaches store shelves.

 

It is just Windows 8 had a second purpose, as the other long/large sticker was gone. But some OEMs, including Microsoft put them on the power adapter of the system, and Microsoft is one of the few manufacture that don't put the Intel/Nvidia sticker on their system.

Yeah the battery compartment was a good place for it, because they always got rubbed away

[thekeemo]

3 hours ago, GoodBytes said:

 

As a guy whose job involved reinstalling windows maybe 20 times in a day

You are the kind of guy that made our lives hell

[GoodBytes]

2 minutes ago, thekeemo said:

As a guy whose job involved reinstalling windows maybe 20 times in a day

You are the kind of guy that made our lives hell

I work in software development in the simulation field. I don't see how I am related to anything.

But, having the serial key stored in the UEFI chip... how is that bad? You just install Windows, and it picks up the key and activate. You WANT to enter that super long key every single time, not to mention that if it is an OEM license that came pre-build with a system, the key isn't activated until you call?

[thekeemo]

58 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

I work in software development in the simulation field. I don't see how I am related to anything.

But, having the serial key stored in the UEFI chip... how is that bad? You just install Windows, and it picks up the key and activate. You WANT to enter that super long key every single time, not to mention that if it is an OEM license that came pre-build with a system, the key isn't activated until you call?

I come accross many devices where the bios is corrupt (if its not corrupt then its amazing because I can copy and paste it if for some reason its not auto detected)

its activated without calling