Vista SP1 already leaked onto the net

Redmond (WA) – We knew it was going to happen… Microsoft’s Windows vista Service Pack 1 has already been leaked onto Bittorrent sites around the globe. The release to manufacturing (RTM) version was announced just a few days ago on the Vista team blog, but the software is now available on sites like thepiratebay.org.

File sizes range from 400 to 800 MB and are currently getting hundreds of simultaneous downloads. Judging from the post dates, the files were uploaded within the past few days.

On February 4th, Mike Nash of the Windows Product Management Group posted on the Vista team blog that the service pack had been released to vendors. SP1 should solve many of the problems early Vista buyers have been experiencing including slow file transfers and frequent crashes. “Copying or moving files around your PC, your home network or your corporate network should now be much faster — up to 50% faster in some scenarios (according to our internal tests),” said Nash.

Nash adds that SP1 will be available through Windows Update in mid-March. Automatic updating will start in April.

Of course thepiratebay.org isn’t new to Vista Service Pack 1 postings. In the past months, beta versions of the pack have received very good traffic from early (brave ?) adopters.