Timebomb

Timebomb or time bomb is a software mechanism that renders a computer program unusable after a pre-set period of time. It is commonly seen in pre-release software, where it is used to discourage users from holding onto outdated testing versions.

Windows
In Windows 9x-based builds of Windows, the timebomb is activated by. Once the timebomb is triggered, Windows will display a message on boot saying the pre-evaluation period has expired. Windows will then immediately shut down and will not boot until the operating system is reinstalled with the correct BIOS date ( patches itself on disk to infinite loop). Windows 95 build 216 is the first build to include a timebomb.

In NT-based Windows versions, once a timebomb is triggered, a bugcheck (BSOD) of 0x98, END_OF_NT_EVALUATION_PERIOD, is used. Even though Windows 2000 build 1627.1 is the first NT build with a timebomb, the Japanese-language version of Windows NT 3.5 build 756.1 included a concept of a timebomb as a message box that would change to tell the user to install a retail copy of Windows.

Windows 8 builds 8161 to 8432 (fbl loc), as well as the fbl_partner_eeap builds of Windows 10 contain broken timebombs and thus if you install it on the current date, it won't activate the timebomb.

Most notably, most builds of Windows 10 version 1507 and 1511 are flightsigned (file signatures take certificate expiry time into account). Should the timebomb activate, the bootloader will be broken due to expiring certificates.

Locations

 * Windows 10/8/8.1: C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WSLicense
 * Windows 7/Vista: C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SoftwareProtectionPlatform
 * XP/Server 2003/2000: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Session Manager\Executive\PriorityQuantumMatrix HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\setup\SystemPreFix

macOS
Currently, only the Public Beta includes a timebomb. While the timebomb didn't allow the user to log into the user interface, it didn't affect the Darwin kernel or any other components not related to the Aqua interface.