Slashdot has linked to news out of Microsoft that the option to upgrade your non-genuine version of Win7, 8 or 8.1 to Windows 10 is not as clear cut as it sounded earlier in the week. Microsoft stated in the interview that "they will remain in a “non-genuine” status and Microsoft will not support them". This is more than a little odd if the stated purpose of this move, to reduce piracy rates across Asia, is correct as there is little to no reason to upgrade if your PC still remains unsupported. Perhaps there is some sort of disconnect at Microsoft in which they think that one look at their new OS and Store will cause an epiphany in lifelong software pirates and they will leap at the opportunity to pay for Windows 10?
As Microsoft declined to elucidate further we really have no idea what they mean when they state that your Windows will remain unlicensed. Will you simply have the same Reduced Functional mode, the black desktop overwrite that appears on non-genuine Windows currently? Will you get all, some or none of the security updates? Will it simply refuse to boot after a certain amount of time? All in all it seems that Microsoft could have just skipped their original announcement as nothing seems to have changed.
"When Microsoft confirmed it will offer free Windows 10 upgrades to pirates worldwide, many were shocked. VentureBeat has been trying to get more details from the company, which disclosed today that after PCs with pirated copies of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 are upgraded to Windows 10, they will remain in a 'non-genuine' status and Microsoft will not support them."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- At Least 700,000 Routers Given To Customers By ISPs Are Vulnerable To Hacking @ Slashdot
- Apple is reportedly pulling 'misleading' anti-virus apps from the iOS App Store @ The Inquirer
- Our 4King benders are so ace we're going full OLED, says LG @ The Register
- Hackers prove security still a myth on Windows PCs, bag $320,000 @ The Register
I have a lot of installations
I have a lot of installations where I used a valid key, but reinstalled the OS using Digital River ISOs, but in each instance, Windows complained and I had to call and talk to a live person to activate them. Yes – I did use the correct ISOs for my keys. I hope these installs don’t give me trouble when upgrading to 10. If I choose to upgrade, that is.
I don’t get it either Jeremy,
I don’t get it either Jeremy, i thought at first it was a brilliant move seeing how estimates are hundreds of millions of illegal copies of windows are still being used. Upgrading to full in the hopes that once on a new platform that can be controlled better in the hope they they spend a bit in the windows shop made a lot of CENTS to me 😉
get a little bit from hundreds of millions of folks rather than a guarantee of nothing at all. I think you guys even said something like that on the last podcast.
You know what I think it is:
You know what I think it is: Microsoft has more value to suck out of you, pirate or not, if you upgrade to their shiny, new data-collecting version of their OS and use as many of their shiny, new data-collecting apps and ecosystem, than not partaking in their new ecosystem at all – that clearly is a paradigm shift for MS.
It could be seen as cynical, but really it’s just the reality of their shifting business model. Software piracy doesn’t matter for Google’s (own) software, because they WANT you to use it no matter what – it’s SaaS. MS is clearly going SaaS.
And M$ wants you to pay out
And M$ wants you to pay out the a$$ for the SASS, so bend over and get ready for some 24/7, 365 days in a year action! Those XP POS versions are still being supported with security updates, and it’s 5 more years before 7 EOLs. 10 is most definitely the slippery slope down to the bottomless pit of pay to play, and a never ending source of revenue from all the candy on a stick types that fall for it hook line and sinker! I’ll stick with 7, and forgo the pain, those Linux options are not going away and 2020 will still see 7 getting some XP style extended support, as some enterprises, who have just switched to 7, will not switch until the costs of the move to 7 is amortized over at least 10 years. Enterprises are not concerned about the latest DX, or the TIFKAM crApp store abomination surrounding the useless Tiled apps. Most enterprises wont even consider any new OS, until at least 2018-2019, so 7 will continue to dominate, no matter what M$ does, or promises!
well they fucked that up
well they fucked that up quick.
That was actually my initial
That was actually my initial understanding of Microsoft’s statement. There was nothing in it saying that the new versions will be legal, all it said was that the upgrade will be possible, that is, it won’t be blocked.
Microsoft could have made the upgrade harder, but it wants to have a software ecosystem where developers can target the latest OS without worrying too much about compatibility with older versions. Allowing all owners and non-owners of older OS’s to easily upgrade to Windows 10 helps this.
I would not be surprised if
I would not be surprised if MS goes back and forth on this a few more times, as the final release gets closer and the economics become clearer (internal to MS that is). Initially, the release said that China-only was targeted for this free mass-upgrade and then later, it was said that the mass-upgrade was world-wide.
We shall all wait with baited breath…
Agreed. I think that with a
Agreed. I think that with a huge company like Microsoft it’s easy for a confusion to happen, lotsa pipes of communication, lotsa memos, lotsa quick changes, I’m sure that not everyone is on the same page until AFTER launch and they all know what IS instead of what might be.
I mostly attribute this to
I mostly attribute this to the media. I’ve seen a lot of news turn out to be non-news, and simply overzealous interpretations.
And NOW it is learned that
And NOW it is learned that the Option of disabling Secure Boot(Forced M$ boot) is going to be optional for Windows 10 device OEMs! How much subtle arm twisting by M$ will happen in the decision making process of OEMs can only be estimated, but for sure many laptop systems will have no Secure Boot disable abilities, and be vulnerable to the forced OS hardware option. M$ can then say no “secure keys” for you open source Linux distros! Talk about securing the hardware against any competing OS, we will see what happens now that the big M$ monopoly drops a big 10(ton weight) on user OS choice, enjoy your servitude!
M$ W10 is the Root Kit malware to avoid!
Sorry if you don’t want this
Sorry if you don’t want this here, feel free to delete it, just an honest opinion from a “pirate”.
The last copy of windows I bought was Vista, that’s probably self explanatory as to why it was the last.. I had purchased windows every version before that, and never pirated it. The only good thing with Vista was a few of the songs it shipped with (Artist “Karsh Kale”). Went back to XP until Win7.
I have probably had about 2-3 thousand people have me format their computers for them, and even when it’s an AIO/Laptop with a partition with windows install + drivers, I’ve always used a pirated version. XP Black Edition 2009 was the first I used regularly. I’ve used it for myself as well.
When the first Technical Preview for Windows 10 came out, I installed it and enjoyed it, but formatted back to 8.1 after hearing it was to be disabled on April 14th. Windows 10 looks great, I might even pay for it!… yeah probably not.
Getting to the point : What made me want to write this post is simple. I noticed you mentioned the watermark of “Non-Genuine” windows versions will be a possible persistence if you did the whole upgrade from pirated thing. I haven’t had a pirated version that doesn’t work the same as genuine for years. Every version I’ve downloaded of Windows 7 is “genuine”, you can download updates, and never gives you shit about registering etc. One out of 10-15 I’ve used did have a registry problem I could find, but the rest were actually pretty legit.
Point is, I don’t use updates on a genuine version.. I couldn’t care less because I know how to use a computer and when I go online I’m beyond conservative, and have no interest in sites or things that would make me susceptible to attack. I know one of you had mentioned in the podcast “I don’t think people using pirated versions are worried about having a legit copy, and will just wait for the pirated versions”… correct sirs, mams, and Josh’s (somewhere in the middle? 😛 jk #joshtekk).
After the whole $150 for vista which was… vista… I wouldn’t care if it was $5 for windows 10 I’ll most likely still pirate it. It’s very good to have experience with a pirated copy if you’re going to be installing it on others machines, so when shit hits the fan for them you may be able to relate to, or assume why. Also I only use windows for programs inaccessible on linux (Photoshop, Fruity Loops, Maya, etc.), and hopefully that will change one day too. Sorry for the rant, and again feel free to burn this post to the ground. Just figured you might want a pirateer’s perspective ;D
Cheers guys keep up the great work!
Just run a Linux based VM,
Just run a Linux based VM, and let the Linux based VM host the windows 7, or Steam OS/whatever. You’ll be able to run all your games, and Vulkan will have just as many features as DX*, for sure Gaben/Khronos will make sure of that! So there will be open source/closed sourced graphics drivers under the Linux and 7 OSs, that utilize the Vulkan API/LLVM. There will probably be a win 10 version that you can run under the Linux based VM, but you will have to be able to turn off all that win 10 baked in spying, and under the Linux based VM you could boot up windows 10 and make it think it is booting up from a UEFI secure boot virtual hard drive/UEFI firmware chip, that is what the Linux based VM is for, that and the system BIOS that is set to load the Linux based VM. There has to be plenty of server BIOSs that are made to boot up a Linux based type 1 hypervisor, and all the OSs running under the Type 1 hypervisor, appear to hosted by the VM OS, to have their own computer hardware all to themselves, but the OS is none the wiser that the OS is being hosted, and are one of many OSs running.
For sure there will be much windows/Linux dual booting once Steam OS arrives, But all UEFIs/BIOSs should be OS neutral.
Those laptop makers and the Retailers will find out that they better tell the consumer up front if the Secure Boot disable option is allowed on their systems, there will be a whole bunch of product returns, or lost sales if they are not truthful if a customer asks. For sure in the EU, computing systems are mandated to have an option of being sold without an OS, and maybe this is needed in the US also. The control of the Secure boot certificates needs to be handed to a responsible independent third party, and no single OS company/entity needs to be in total control of the boot certificate issuing authority. The forced restricting of third party PC/Laptop/mobile hardware to any OS should be made illegal.
The only time you can get
The only time you can get away with not updating windows, is if it will never be online. There are many exploits which do not require user action to take place, and beyond that, it is not uncommon for even a trusted website to become malicious. If a website has content that is not controlled by the owner (e.g., a banner ad where its content can be changed by another person or company), then there is always a risk that it may display a malicious ad. The ability to get security updates, can mean the difference betwbeen the attacker having a successful privlage escalatio, and an exploit that fails because you are up to date, and the attacker is simply looking through the update history for critical updates, then writing an exploit for it in the hopes of catching people who had not updated yet.