Microsoft to remove Vista 'kill switch' in SP1

The controversial "kill switch" function of Windows Vista will be disabled by Microsoft after customer complaints that legitimate copies of the OS were recognised as pirate copies.

The function will be removed with Microsoft's first major update to the OS -- Windows Vista Service Pack 1.

The "kill switch" tool was designed as a piracy deterrent by Microsoft to identify counterfeit systems and lock them in a state of so-called "reduced functionality mode".

Its capacity as an anti-piracy measure will be replaced by a fix to the OEM BIOS exploit -- a loophole allowing pirates to feign the activation procedure necessary to install and run Vista.

In a statement released yesterday, the software behemoth said "the company is making changes in how it differentiates user experiences for genuine and counterfeit systems based on feedback from customers and partners."

Vista SP1 will also include a cautionary message to users of counterfeit systems: "Users whose systems are identified as counterfeit will be presented with clear and recurring notices about the status of their system and how to get genuine. "They won't lose access to functionality or features, but it will be very clear to them that their copy of Window Vista is not genuine and they need to take action," said Michael Sievert, Microsoft's corporate vice president for Windows product marketing in a statement.

The Service Pack 1 update is due for release early in 2008.