It’s not a great idea to pirate your operating system these days, especially a Microsoft one. Whilst of course there are ways to circumvent the law, you can’t run and hide from the anti piracy measures forever. In fact, as is the case with the upcoming Windows 10, anti piracy measures are going to be updated and bolstered.
So then, it’s no surprise that an announcement from Microsoft has squashed any chance pirates may have of getting their hands on a free upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7/8.1. You can download it, but can’t keep it if you haven’t paid, according to the company.
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Microsoft are however going to offer the upgrade free from any previous Windows 7/8.1 version. if you have a valid license, you’re golden, but if your license isn’t valid your upgrade will be subject to the anti piracy measures. In other words, you can try to get the OS for free, but once you get it Microsoft will want you to pay for it.
Pirated copies will always be pirated – a standardization effort by Microsoft is planned to ‘re-engage’ pirates who haven’t taken steps to hack their OS. This will mean that in piracy heavy regions such as China a clear ultimatum – your download might come free, but you’ll still be unlicensed.
Of course, this will mean a piracy backlash will undoubtedly come, and some users with the know how and the elbow grease may still be able to circumvent the new measures. In the majority of cases however, there’s no escape.
Pirated copies picking up upgrades to Windows 10 will bolster early adoption numbers for the company, but once you do Microsoft he favor of giving them the numbers, they won’t be returning it by letting you get away with cheating them out of the new OS.
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For a while it did seem that pirates would be free to get the OS for nothing, but a clarification by Microsoft has revealed it not to be the case. The time has come, it seems, to get on board and pay up to look big.
The writing’s on the wall – it’s never been a better time to get yourself a Windows license, especially given the new attitude from Microsoft that their future OS plans might continue to provide free software in this manner. It might be a dent in your wallet, but ultimately you’re paying for what is going to be the best version of Windows yet.
Via: Neowin
Via: Techspot