Please Read this if your UI is black and painting slowly

Published on December 17, 2005 By Neil Banfield In WindowBlinds

If you have installed a pirate copy (AKA cracked) version of WindowBlinds 5, please be aware that the crack is faulty and WindowBlinds will cease to function correctly on your computer.

To fix this you just need to uninstall WB and if you wish install a purchased copy of WB, or the trial.

To uninstall, you can either wait for your computer to login, unload WB (either using wbconfig, display properties, or from a command prompt calling WBLOAD UNLOAD) and then uninstall WB. Or you can boot into safe mode & uninstall WB from there.

Your computer has not been harmed in anyway. Whoever made the crack did a poor job and patched out code that causes WindowBlinds to no longer be able to paint bitmaps (so title bars, borders, everything will be black).

Comments (Page 4)

scorpio-logic

on Dec 20, 2005

the people stupid enough to install the cracks

Neil Banfield

on Dec 20, 2005

I think comparing a broken crack to 9-11 is just a little insensitive to those who lost loved ones on 9-11...

If anyone wants to try WB out, thats what the trial version is for. Gives you 60 days to try out some of WBs features and decide if its worth the money.

You could ask the person who made the crack for your money back of course.

Neil Banfield

on Dec 20, 2005

On the topic of powerdesk additional buttons. Those are simply not compatible with per pixel alpha.

Neil Banfield

on Dec 20, 2005

One other question. If WB5 was not worth the money & slow, why didn't you remove it and go back to WB4?

Bichur

on Dec 20, 2005

You could ask the person who made the crack for your money back of course.

I believe most of them give it for free, that way they can claim no liability when their crack blows your shit.

Neil Banfield

on Dec 20, 2005

The old saying 'you get what you pay for' comes to mind.

ShelbyGT_The_Car

on Dec 20, 2005

Neil I completely agree with you on that last statement!
If you want the best - you buy the best from Stardock period.
I just hope somehow the cracked programs are found and removed from the net somehow.
People just need to realize they can get so much more by just being part of Stardock and Wincustomize...
By just trying and then buying if they like. There are so many prospects for the people to take advantage of doing so.
There are also so many visitors - that could be so benefitted by doing so as well. It would be nice to see the visitors who want so much to come around and just buy things - instaed of trying to figure ways to get it for free.

The old saying 'you get what you pay for' comes to mind.

Thats the best statement here as of yet - which I completely agree with...>~!
SGT

Cyberworld

on Dec 21, 2005

Well i'm only having problem like this only with MAME32 and that is only after exiting an emulation. Not sure why, WB4 didn't do that so i reverted to that.

That is just with WB5 Trial, don't know about full versions though cause it does say you can skin non-skin-aware apps...Well...

There are various backup checks in WindowBlinds that work in a variety of ways. However, the cracks that are out there brute forced it and made it so that when one of the backup checks turned on, that WindowBlinds could no longer repaint their resources.

I think this is illegal...noone has the right to tresspass and load or take info from my PC...unless this is said in the Terms of Services or Disclaimer during install then i do not agree to this SD handling, although i do understand the reasons, still think is malpractise...just remew Disclaimer so that people know that info WILL be sent from their computers...

PS: This WB informing service can it become an exploit from hackers?

Wouldn't like anyone snooping and messing around with my computer...

Jafo

on Dec 21, 2005

Cyberworld....apart from the initial 'product activation' [just like XP] there IS no need for WB to contact ANYONE at all.

The 'checking' referred-to is coded within the program....if it found an 'issue' [read 'crack'] it would have ceased functioning whether the system was online or not.

Nothing in the program or its EULA, etc is illegal, nor is there any 'tresspass', or malpractise.

To suggest otherwise is to potentially invite a certain amount of legal 'grief' for unsubstantiated assertion/s....

If, for example...a program was date-aware [as most are] it is a simple process to trigger a program integrity check....[crc] and if it's found to be 'altered' then the proggy can be set to exit....or pop up a warning, eg..."CRC failed....system altered...contact support for solution"

Now, if the alteration was clumsy....it's quite probable that the 'ideal' exit sequence may also be 'damaged', leading to a 'broken' install...and system errors.

From the number of 'irate' crack users coming here it's clear that the crack was crap...some pea-brain got it wrong...and SHOULD be quietly having his nostrils slit as a thankyou....

But...

Instead they come here blaming Stardock for all kinds of nefarious deeds...[they were also on the grassy knoll....].

These CHILDREN need to go to school and get learned a bit...because even this whole bunch that turned up couldn't make a gestalt between them....

ZubaZ

on Dec 21, 2005

think this is illegal...noone has the right to tresspass and load or take info from my PC

If it's illegal to harm your PC, then one would have to have the cracker charged. Windowblinds (when used legally) causes no harm.

And if one chooses to install (cracked) software, there is no tresspass, that person made a choice and [I think] is ok with breaking the law. How wrong can it be t o steal from a thief? {personal note: stealing is wrong no matter what. But am I going to shed tears over the thief? Don't think so]

If one uses legal software then the license agreement covers (or should cover) what is transmitted.

If one is a thief and stealing software I think the phrase "caveat emptor" takes on much more weightLink.

Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central

neoevolution76

on Dec 21, 2005

LOL

....found a "cracked" version of Windowblinds that works. It fixed all that black screen stuff and missing taskbar. The reason i said "cracked" becasue the every dang program is crack proof. People need to make programs uncrackable but that is impossible. Crack means that it is broken. Make a Windowblinds or any program crack proof....In a car company if part is broken they fix it so it will not happen again. The car will run fine. So in the code of windowblinds something is broken "FIX IT" so it will not be cracked or hacked again. I am not downing crackers or hackers or Stardock. I am just mad that somone found a problem with your windowblinds making use of it. Oh well enough of the Bit@hing just had to put my two cents in all of this.

LittleBearJason

on Dec 21, 2005

The old saying 'you get what you pay for' comes to mind.

My previous comment about crack kills is now replaced by this :

Software Cracks are like drugs : you use you lose

Bichur

on Dec 21, 2005

well, you coulda changed this so's as not to appear I was dissing Jason

[edited by Troll]

LittleBearJason

on Dec 21, 2005

changed this so's as not to a

Wonder what I missed....

Bichur

on Dec 21, 2005

not much actually

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!