• @[email protected]
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    12211 days ago

    Funny enough I have a fond memory of a windows activation code.

    My friend gave me an “upgrade” code for XP, but when you go to install windows and then use that upgrade code on a new install it tells you that you can’t use it since it is meant to be an upgrade. After the initial install, I went to “install again” counting as an “upgrade” and then it would accept the code lol I used it a bunch of times.

    • teft
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      11 days ago

      I will remember those first 10 letters of the pirated XP code until I die. FCKGW-RHQQ2

      I wish i remembered the rest but i haven’t inputted it for well over a decade.

      • oleorun
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        3311 days ago

        FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8

        and

        CTQBH-WBMFB-J42VR-H6TGG-2DRDT

        are the two that I used almost non-stop.

        (I have them memorized - Never forget the 6 month cycle of reinstalling XP.)

      • Lucy :3
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        1311 days ago

        I will remember the arch install routine until I die.

      • @disguy_ovahea
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        1011 days ago

        Definitely, definitely FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8 toothpicks.

        • @P1nkman
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          511 days ago

          Fucking blast from the past! Thanks for the memory 😎

        • @Dasus
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          510 days ago

          I’ve a vague recollection of scribbling those letters on a CD with a marker.

    • FiveMacs
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      2511 days ago

      That was actually a cheeky workaround that was spoken about internally when I worked for some call center for vista rollout support.

      Upgrade key didn’t work as clean install But if you installed a clean install without a key, then upgraded to the same version the key worked because logic.

    • ggppjj
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      7311 days ago

      Lmao, QWERT YUIOP ASDFG

      • @PM_Your_Nudes_Please
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        1911 days ago

        Yup, that was the first thing I noticed too. Basically lorem ipsum for product codes.

    • @[email protected]
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      2111 days ago

      Dang dude, Cluade sucks. I tried a few different times and it also refused because it didn’t what to generate codes that could be used in a scam.

        • kadup
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          510 days ago

          Claude is surprisingly different than ChatGPT in that regard. Whoever tuned the model tried to make it seem like Claude is got something resembling a personality and core beliefs.

          For instance, you can easily bully ChatGPT into agreeing with you even if you make absurd points (the sky is bright yellow!) or directly oppose ChatGPT itself (AI models deserve to be deleted forever!) but Claude will often disagree or confront your arguments.

      • Zeppo
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        210 days ago

        Maybe just say the neighbor moved away

  • fxomt
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    4111 days ago

    Thanks, it helps a lot. Could you do it a couple of more times? just for old times sake.

  • @aeronmelon
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    2911 days ago

    I remember finding out that the code for a copy of Microsoft Bookshelf that came with a computer also activated a full retail copy of Office 97 when I lost that code. It wasn’t even the same length.

  • @[email protected]
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    1311 days ago

    Judging by the gift codes being not particularly random-looking, looks like they’ve closed that one

      • oleorun
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        711 days ago

        I laughed way too hard at this, well done

      • @SkunkWorkz
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        311 days ago

        Yours too? You wanna join my team?

      • @Buddahriffic
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        811 days ago

        Or it could be similar to how image generators generate text in images (by making things that look like text but is generally unintelligible nonsense).

        Though if it trained on enough keys, it might have picked up on some of the correlations. I’d be surprised if they don’t use a database instead of just a checksum to determine valid keys, but if it was just a checksum, it’s possible that a NN could figure out how to generate valid keys.

        • @cm0002
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          1011 days ago

          They have a proprietary algorithm that generates keys and shoves them into a DB, in many cases they have a form of checksum to quickly check the validity of keys in-form to reduce DB lookups. Credit/Debit card numbers also have a checksum built in

          If you had enough keys, it might be possible to train a NN to generate new ones, they are after all fantastic at pattern recognition it’s their whole schtick

  • @[email protected]
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    810 days ago

    I remember the Age of Empires 3 activation code like it was yesterday.

    QRR4P-F4FDP-H9876M… something something.