German online magazine The Tec Channel have uncovered the entire process that Microsoft uses when people activate their copies of Windows XP. They did this over concerns that more information was being transmitted by internet activation of Windows XP than was necessary! Here's a snip:

The graphical user interface for Windows XP product activation is implemented by a HTML-based application, i.e. a collection of HTML pages, Java Script code, and COM components, that is located in the "oobe" ("out of box experience") subfolder of the system directory. Running "msoobe.exe /A" in this folder starts the activation process. However the real work is done by the "COMLicenseAgent" COM component that is implemented by the "licdll.dll" DLL, which can be found in the system directory. The DLL also supplies a type library ("licdll 1.0 Type Library"), which can be easily viewed with the OLE-COM Object Viewer that comes with the Platform SDK. We are particularly interested in the following methods of the "IComLicenseAgent" interface, because they are central to the Internet-based product activation process.

Microsoft's XP Activation Process Exposed

Thanks to The Inquirer.net for pointing this story out to us.