Windows 7 forum: Major Fault Within Windows 7

I wouldn't tell MS because they'll probably confiscate your copy of Windoz and not reimburse you for it. (as cheap as they are) Thinking you may be the pirate or affiliated with him/them.

More like just add that product key to the list of known pirated keys so that it's permanently blacklisted. They could also potentially initiate legal action, which could potentially result in the seizure of the system as evidence.

that xl240.exe is coming from Microsoft? Did you check if it was present on 12/06/10 when you bought the machine. Or is something you put on the system yourself? In that case, you can't blame Microsoft, can you?

Things that are unclear in your post:
1. Where it appeared exactly (on the desktop, in a browser tab, etc)?
2. What exactly appeared (a filename, an icon, an open window)?
3. How it did allow you to hack passwords?
4. What passwords you were allowed to hack?

And, no, Microsoft is not seeing this post. And, no, without much more details (like the ones I asked and more) they can't do anything about it anyway.

Kees

It's very unlikely that the OS you bought from PC World was corrupt - much more likely that you picked up this "xl240" from somewhere in the intervening 4 months.

If you want to be sure, partition yourself a 16 GB section of your hard drive, hide the original partition and re-install the OS - you don't need to put in the product key for the test. As soon as the system is installed, do NOT connect it to the internet, scan it for "xl240". If you find it, go back to PC World and have their tech guys fix it under warranty.

But more likely, it won't be there. If not, connect to the internet and run Windows Update to apply all the outstanding patches. Rescan for "xl240". If you find it, contact Microsoft and tell them what you've tested. But if you don't find it, the OS isn't to blame and you need to look elsewhere.

You might want to start by checking when "xl240" was installed on your system (date stamps, etc.).

Oh, and by the way, it's "Leicestershire".

I'm afraid he said xl1240, not x1240. And searching for that doesn't give such a clear result, alas.

Kees