Posted on 10/29/2015 6:27:50 PM PDT by dayglored
If you own a pirated copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you'll have the chance to come clean.
If you pirated Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, Microsoft wants to welcome you back—all is forgiven.
Microsoft said Thursday that it will run an “experiment†to offer a path for those users who have either pirated or purchased an unlicensed copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to download a licensed copy from Microsoft itself, or to use a code from a third-party reseller. Either way, the licensed Windows 10 software will be used to update the PC with a valid license.
“We’d like to welcome as many of these customers as possible to the legitimate Windows ecosystem,†Microsoft’s Terry Myerson said in a blog post Thursday afternoon.
Why this matters: Microsoft originally said in March that users with a pirated copy of Windows 7 or 8.1 would be able to upgrade to Windows 10. The company later clarified that any user who did so would still be running an unlicensed copy...
Myerson said that one unexpected aspect of the Windows 10 upgrade process was discovering how many pirates were upgrading to Windows 10—and then turning around and purchasing a valid license from Microsoft. That gave the company an idea.
“We’ll offer a one-click opportunity to get Genuine via the Windows Store or by entering an activation code purchased elsewhere,†Myerson wrote. “If this turns into a path for most customers to get Genuine, we will expand the experiment.â€
(Excerpt) Read more at pcworld.com ...
LOVE IT!!
Now, if I can get a license and free upgrade on my pirated PhotoShop, it would be nice, although I still can’t understand or figure out how to use 98% on the stuff in it.
There was a time MS was also sort of encouraging downloads/torrents of VISTA, but VISTA was so bad, they didn’t have many takers.
I had “genuine” Win 7 on my laptop, but a repair shop installed a non-genuine version.
Used it several years, without trouble UNTIL I attempted to upgrade to Win 10.
Microsoft detected it, prevented the upgrade, and have nagged me ever since.
If this amnesty is real, wonderful.
Offered to the entire nation of China then.
Hell. I have a laptop running a legit OEM copy of Win7(shipped without install media), and MS Update says it isn’t “Genuine”. The manufacturer advised me to contact MS, and MS told me to contact the manufacturer who again told me to contact MS. It was beginning to be like a civil war among Indians with such a conflict regarding the mutual lack of “tech support”....
This may be a way of escaping this months long clusterf*ck, and I’m a paying customer!
The first time I tried to install 10 over 7, I got an error that the Product ID was not recognized.
The second attempt, I selected the ‘skip’ option when I got to the Product ID screen, and it loaded and installed okay.
They sure are desperate to get everyone on Win10.
What’s in it for Microsoft, hmmmmm?
Wow, they may really despise pirates if their response is to give them W10! OTOH, maybe they just don’t want to miss out on the spying and tyranny assistance opportunities that W10 gives them.
They're damned if they do and damned if they don't.
They either need to get a handle on their installed user base and get them upgraded and try to make sure they get patched, or they get blamed for the botnets.
.
>> “They sure are desperate to get everyone on Win10.”
>> “What’s in it for Microsoft, hmmmmm?” <<
.
Same thing I’m wondering.
There’s a suitcase nuke hiding here somewhere.
.
I had a non-genuine Windows 7 , but I was just holding it for a friend.
MSFT just wants everyone on 10 then MSFT will start charging annual rent.
Ya think? Even though they said updates would be free as long as you installed them all in a timely fashion? Yep, they might. Promises, like rules, were made to be broken, right?
Ya think there's a hidden magic switch inside Windows that can turn off the OS remotely if the rent doesn't get paid? Guess what, they already have that switch. It's called Windows Activation Technology, and was called Windows Genuine Advantage. They can turn off your copy of Windows at any time, for any reason.
Just sayin'...
I can think of only one reason to move my Windows 7 computers to Windows 10. That Windows 7 updates will cease in 4-5 years.
LOL!
MS says this as if people with pirated copies were having difficulty getting Win10 before.
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