Two full time Microsoft employees have allegedly had their employment terminated due to Windows 8 leaks.

Microsoft’s next-generation of Windows, named 8 internally, is currently in development and has seen a large amount of leaks recently. Several builds have been made available on file sharing websites thanks to leaks from inside Microsoft. Canouna, a well known leaker, is now claiming that two Microsoft employees have been fired due to the recent leaks. WinRumors is unable to immediately verify the claims and Microsoft does not comment on employee terminations. One of the two employees is reportedly part of Microsoft’s Redmond based team, the other based in Russia.

Microsoft is currently compiling different versions of Windows 8 that require a “red pill” licensing check to enable certain features. WinRumors understands that most of the publicly leaked builds are from branches of Microsoft’s build process that do not contain a specific DLL required for loading a number of new Windows 8 features. It is understood that certain branches of Windows 8 contain extra components that activate with a specific Windows key. The components likely unlock the full Tablet immersive UI of Windows 8, one that the company is working hard to keep under wraps.

Regardless of the checks, if the reports of employee termination are genuine then it’s further proof that Microsoft has something special that it wants to share with the world later this year. Microsoft is expected to reveal Windows 8 at its Windows Developer Conference (a rumored name) in September.

Source: WinRumors

The fact that it is a server SKU means that it will require a bit of work to get all the client features working.  So that’s where this blog comes in, the real purpose of this post is to announce that within the next 2 days I will be publishing a full guide covering everything about this build.  I will also post some nice tips like how to get rid of the hash that appears after the build tag on the desktop .

In the screenshot below, you will notice the build string of build 7959, immediately followed by the “hash” that everyone has been talking about:

So now for the huge question, how is this hash calculated?

Well after some looking into it, it was discovered that this hash is calculated by the data located in HKLM\SYSTEM\WPA.  Within this key you will see a GUID key, and inside this you will see 3 binary values.  So I got the idea to play with this key, which required me loading the system hive from outside Windows 8 since WPA is a protected key.  Removing the GUID key resulted in the following:

Notice that the hash is gone?  So this is proof positive that the hash depends on the data within HKLM\SYSTEM\WPA.  I’m willing to bet that if the values in that key are changed then the hash itself will change as well.

NOTE: Deleting the data in the WPA key, while removing the hash, will cause a BSOD (Black screen of metro loving death ) after some time of the system running.  There is another way to remove the hash that doesn’t have this side effect, and if I receive enough requests, I’ll think about disclosing that method.

So in a nutshell, the hash is not a means of tracking the origin of the build, as every Microsoft employee that gets a build has the same ISO as whoever else gets that build.  But this hash does however identify the WPA data, and it does have some dependance on the product key used during installation, although it’s hard to test that theory as none of the M3 builds floating around have original installers (which require you to enter a key during setup).

So there you have it, the hash is not a means of tracking you.  Using Windows 8 will not have the Sinofsky secret police knocking on your door, and no leaks will be traceable back to any single employee.  Anything suggesting otherwise is pure speculation.

-Chris