Microsoft clarifies "Windows 10 free for pirate". It's not!

[dalekphalm]

"According to industry experts, use of pirated software, including Non-Genuine Windows, results in a higher risk of malware, fraud (identity theft, credit card theft, etc), public exposure of your personal information, and a higher risk for poor performance or feature malfunctions."

 

 

I have Windows 8.1 Pro and I can guarantee you that this is bs

 

I've never had a single hiccup or a virus in the year and a half I've been using my pc.

Do you continue to receive all Windows Updates? If the answer is yes, then if you are a more technical/power user, then you're probably fine.

[dalekphalm]

Actually it is more dangerous. When you download a Windows ISO off the internet you have no idea what tampering has been done to it.

 

Anyone can configure a Windows install however they see fit (changing registry settings to reduce security, changing obscure firewall settings, removing/disabling software and/or security settings. Bundling in obscure and undetectable software, etc. and then create their own bootable/installable ISO from it using a Microsoft tool called ImageX. Then they upload that ISO onto torrent sites and Blow Joe looking for free Windows downloads it, installs it, and doesn't know that its any different from the legit ISO (because everything looks and feels the same in every sense, even though its been tampered with to hell and back.

That's a good point, a pirated copy of Windows can easily pre-load back doors, keyloggers, remote access and screen sharing tools, etc. Often they can be integrated in such a way that you wouldn't even know they were running.

 

I'm really not sure if there are "trusted sources" for pirated copies, since you really never know what has been done to it unless you cracked it yourself.

[NumLock21]

Duh. I already know that, I said I just wish I would get a free copy because I joined insider.

So what you're trying to say is only insiders can get it for free then?

[Misanthrope]

Actually it is more dangerous. When you download a Windows ISO off the internet you have no idea what tampering has been done to it.

 

Anyone can configure a Windows install however they see fit (changing registry settings to reduce security, changing obscure firewall settings, removing/disabling software and/or security settings. Bundling in obscure and undetectable software, etc. and then create their own bootable/installable ISO from it using a Microsoft tool called ImageX. Then they upload that ISO onto torrent sites and Blow Joe looking for free Windows downloads it, installs it, and doesn't know that its any different from the legit ISO (because everything looks and feels the same in every sense, even though its been tampered with to hell and back.

 

Yes that risk exists, good catch.

[cesrai]

So what you're trying to say is only insiders can get it for free then?

Dafuq ?? You can read ?? No not only insiders and I never said that, I just said I fucking wish the MS would give me a free windows 10 copy, I would like an extra windows 10 copy for free.

[kpreg]

Actual thats happening.

Ofc they won't give it for free to pirated copies. Lol.Haha that looks like E:D trade route info

[mr moose]

Actually it is more dangerous. When you download a Windows ISO off the internet you have no idea what tampering has been done to it.

 

Anyone can configure a Windows install however they see fit (changing registry settings to reduce security, changing obscure firewall settings, removing/disabling software and/or security settings. Bundling in obscure and undetectable software, etc. and then create their own bootable/installable ISO from it using a Microsoft tool called ImageX. Then they upload that ISO onto torrent sites and Blow Joe looking for free Windows downloads it, installs it, and doesn't know that its any different from the legit ISO (because everything looks and feels the same in every sense, even though its been tampered with to hell and back.

 

Very good point,  and what people forget is that the experience pirate users have is still a reflection on MS.  Ergo they download a dodgy version and get viruses all the time, who do they bitch about? they complain MS made a dodgy OS, which then goes around the net.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if MS are allowing pirate copies to upgrade for this reason alone, forget the other possible reasons I gave.

[Opcode]

News flash Microsoft pirates don't care as they actually prefer to not get the free upgrade. Reason for this is most of us (PC enthusiasts) tend to like to do a fresh install when a new Windows launches. It won't take long for the new activation protocol to be broke and KMS emulators are updated to legitimately activate copies of Windows 10.

 

Actually it is more dangerous. When you download a Windows ISO off the internet you have no idea what tampering has been done to it.

 

Anyone can configure a Windows install however they see fit (changing registry settings to reduce security, changing obscure firewall settings, removing/disabling software and/or security settings. Bundling in obscure and undetectable software, etc. and then create their own bootable/installable ISO from it using a Microsoft tool called ImageX. Then they upload that ISO onto torrent sites and Blow Joe looking for free Windows downloads it, installs it, and doesn't know that its any different from the legit ISO (because everything looks and feels the same in every sense, even though its been tampered with to hell and back.

Actually you do as Microsoft officially publishes the SHA1 of these ISO's on MSDN. When you grab an ISO from the web all you have to do is match the SHA1 to know if you have an official copy of Windows that hasn't been tampered with (straight from Microsoft). You can't fake a SHA1 hash as the algorithm can't be broken with modern hardware.

 

Example of the official copy of Windows 8.1 x64

[LAwLz]

This should be good news for the majority of people who bought Windows.

How is this good news for people who bought Windows?

 

 

When you download a Windows ISO off the internet you have no idea what tampering has been done to it.

Bullshit

Just compare the hash with the hashes Microsoft have published on their website. If they match then it has not been tampered with.

I've had to do it several times back when you couldn't download Windows ISOs from Microsoft's own website.

[mr moose]

How is this good news for people who bought Windows?

 

 

Bullshit

Just compare the hash with the hashes Microsoft have published on their website. If they match then it has not been tampered with.

I've had to do it several times back when you couldn't download Windows ISOs from Microsoft's own website.

 

What about all the people that don't even know you can do that let alone how?

[LAwLz]

What about all the people that don't even know you can do that let alone how?

Yep those people are at a greater risk and I won't deny that.

 

What I am arguing against is the claim that you have no idea if the ISO you have downloaded has been tampered with or not. Checking the hash is very easy to do. You can find it for any product on Microsoft's website here, and there are a lot of very good hash calc programs out there.

 

 

"You can't know" and "a lot of people don't know" are two very different things.

[Trik'Stari]

 

"According to industry experts, use of pirated software, including Non-Genuine Windows, results in a higher risk of malware, fraud, public exposure of your person information, and a higher risk for poor performance or feature malfunctions."

And in reality that means "if you pirate this, we will fuck your computer up."

 

I've seen it happen before, my mom bought a PC from this shady repair place, terns out it was a non genuine copy of windows, and once you started it up, CPU use would steadily climb to 100% and the PC would eventually lock up, even if you reformatted and re-installed that copy of windows.

[Arty]

wow  this is so unrealevent 

windows 10 cracks will be out within the week of release 

[Arty]

And in reality that means "if you pirate this, we will fuck your computer up."

 

I've seen it happen before, my mom bought a PC from this shady repair place, terns out it was a non genuine copy of windows, and once you started it up, CPU use would steadily climb to 100% and the PC would eventually lock up, even if you reformatted and re-installed that copy of windows.

You can download isos from MS anyway...

[Sauron]

Honestly I think they should just make the os free for personal use. They already gain so much from users having it installed that I doubt they care about the (actually fairly few) os consumer sales they make. Or at least make it cheap. Dishing out 100+ euros every release isn't exactly ideal, especially when it is not clearly superior to other OSs.

[Trik'Stari]

You can download isos from MS anyway...

What, legit copies? Yeah I know. I was just pointing out that their comment isn't entirely truthful, since they actively mess with any computer running pirated software.

[dalekphalm]

So what you're trying to say is only insiders can get it for free then?

No, you've misunderstood him. What he's saying is that he wishes that Microsoft Insider members got an extra copy of Windows 10 for free - as in, in addition to any free upgrades you may get.

 

News flash Microsoft pirates don't care as they actually prefer to not get the free upgrade. Reason for this is most of us (PC enthusiasts) tend to like to do a fresh install when a new Windows launches. It won't take long for the new activation protocol to be broke and KMS emulators are updated to legitimately activate copies of Windows 10.

 

 

Actually you do as Microsoft officially publishes the SHA1 of these ISO's on MSDN. When you grab an ISO from the web all you have to do is match the SHA1 to know if you have an official copy of Windows that hasn't been tampered with (straight from Microsoft). You can't fake a SHA1 hash as the algorithm can't be broken with modern hardware.

 

Example of the official copy of Windows 8.1 x64

While you have a good point, that's not even what we're talking about.

 

@RH00D was referring to downloading a Pirated copy of Windows (eg: Cracked, activated, etc). Downloading a fully legitimate ISO from TBP isn't even technically illegal (though is sort of a grey area) and is not piracy, because that's just a copy of the installation media, which is useless without a key and being activated.

 

Most of the Windows copies you find on torrent sites are pre-cracked and activated, or come with an activation tool. If anything is pre-loaded into the ISO image, then your SHA hash won't match, because it's been altered.

 

In fact, downloading an ISO that matches the SHA Hash is completely useless to a pirate on it's own, unless they find supplemental activation cracks.

 

Certainly, that particular route still exists, but that's not how the majority of people get a cracked copy of Windows. They simply search TPB (or similar) for Windows and look for something that says cracked or activated.

 

How is this good news for people who bought Windows?

 

 

Bullshit

Just compare the hash with the hashes Microsoft have published on their website. If they match then it has not been tampered with.

I've had to do it several times back when you couldn't download Windows ISOs from Microsoft's own website.

See above. You're both referring to unaltered, uncracked, and unactivated copies of the Windows ISO. Ergo, not a pirated copy.

[Wojethebest]

We all knew that that nice company that is giving all of us free stuff is eventually going to think why am I making it so easy for people to steal our stuff and not pay us.

[LAwLz]

See above. You're both referring to unaltered, uncracked, and unactivated copies of the Windows ISO. Ergo, not a pirated copy.

Okay fair enough. The forum I used to browse before LTT had people installing Daz loader and then sniffing packets over very long periods of time, without any unexpected packets leaving the computer.

Obviously that's not a 99.99% secure method like the hash checking, but you can be 99.9% sure.

[NumLock21]

Dafuq ?? You can read ?? No not only insiders and I never said that, I just said I fucking wish the MS would give me a free windows 10 copy, I would like an extra windows 10 copy for free.

Dafuq?? Can you type so that it makes sense.

 

No, you've misunderstood him. What he's saying is that he wishes that Microsoft Insider members got an extra copy of Windows 10 for free - as in, in addition to any free upgrades you may get.

 

Didn't misunderstood him, he wasn't clear in the first place

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/330983-microsoft-clarifies-windows-10-free-for-pirate-its-not/?p=4493891

 

I know this wasn't true, but damn, I hope they give me a free copy for being an insider.

Fixed: I know this wasn't true, but damn, I hope they give me a extra free copy for being an insider, for my future build.

[dalekphalm]

Dafuq?? Can you type so that it makes sense.

 

Didn't misunderstood him, he wasn't clear in the first place

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/330983-microsoft-clarifies-windows-10-free-for-pirate-its-not/?p=4493891

 

Fixed: I know this wasn't true, but damn, I hope they give me a extra free copy for being an insider, for my future build.

Oh, certainly, he wasn't clear at all. But you still misunderstood him, even though it wasn't your fault that you did so. He simply didn't articulate what he was trying to say clearly.

 

 

Okay fair enough. The forum I used to browse before LTT had people installing Daz loader and then sniffing packets over very long periods of time, without any unexpected packets leaving the computer.

Obviously that's not a 99.99% secure method like the hash checking, but you can be 99.9% sure.

Certainly, those people are dedicated individuals

[BloodySinner]

Good. Why should a thief be rewarded?

[Pesmerga]

I hope they'll make a nice offer on new licenses like they did with windows 8, I'd love to buy a couple of them

[GoodBytes]

To take the counter argument point of view, which I'll be saying that Microsoft SHOULD make it free for pirates, for discussion purposes.

1- They won't pay for it in any case.

2- Illegal copies of Windows are often hacked to includes malware or implement security holes (not viruses or spyware or any of that. OS files have been modified, level), where your A/V can't detect anything, is common. These are systems that can be turned into a zombie and be part of DDOS attack, or a keygen can be injected remotely or implemented in such way that is not detectable by any security software (much like you don't' have your A/V flagging many Windows 10 technical preview files, as it built-in, or other malware, which affects others. This is a big problem, and having everyone on a legit copy of Windows, would help reduce attacks, identify theft and so on, a lot.

3- Why Spotify, XBox Music, Rdio, etc. all works. Why Netflix is now this massive company making multi-million dollar shows? Because, people are willing to pay for convenience. Right now, all these services are, for many people, hugely better/more convient than illegal music download, and hence why piracy has been reduce thanks to such services. Having Windows for free, would open doors for people to download free ad supported programs from Microsoft app store, and maybe subscribe to other Microsoft services, say Office 365 if it is compelling enough to them. Microsoft makes more money that way. Well, they make money compared to none.

4- Legit users aren't getting the short end of the stick. Microsoft is NOT making Windows 7 or 8 free. Only Windows 10 for free, at least I'll argue that they should, as listed above. You too get Windows 10 for free. You haven't paid for it yet. Sure it would be nice to get a "thank you for your support" but you are by having the OS free. Microsoft won't give you money to use Windows 10. Not to mention that will look very bad, from an image point of view.

[JAKEBAB]

 Reason for this is most of us (PC enthusiasts) tend to like to do a fresh install when a new Windows launches. 

I like doing this but what if i installed a fresh copy of win 7 then upgraded immediately would that be the same as doing a fresh install of windows 10? Never really understood what the upgrade option did besides let you keep your stuff tbh.