An in-depth investigation by a German web site has uncovered the entire process Microsoft uses when people activate their copies of Windows XP over the Interweb.
The investigation, at tec channel, also provides the tools the web site used in order to crack the process.

Tec Channel said it was concerned that more information was transmitted by Internet activation of Windows XP than seemed necessary, which is why it conducted the investigation.

Microsoft uses a number of software tricks and methods to ensure that people don't pirate its software, with, the site says, most of the work being done by the COM component in a DLL (dynamic link library) in the systems directory.

You can find the entire article, in English, here. The web site also launched www.tecchannel.com today, which contains a heap of English language articles.

source: The Inquirer