Security News > 2023 > March > Microsoft support 'cracks' Windows for customer after activation fails
In an unexpected twist, a Microsoft support engineer resorted to running an unofficial 'crack' on a customer's Windows PC after a genuine copy of the operating system failed to activate normally.
A South-Africa based freelance technologist who paid $200 for a genuine copy of Windows 10 was startled to see a Microsoft support engineer "Crack" his copy using unofficial tools that bypass the Windows activation process.
Windows XP-era users may also be familiar with Windows Genuine Advantage, a validation process that Microsoft earlier enforced to automatically 'deactivate' pirated OS copies.
"Activation helps verify that your copy of Windows is genuine and hasn't been used on more devices than the Microsoft Software License Terms allow," according to Microsoft.
Microsoft's official Windows activation methods involve either the customer entering a 25-character product key when prompted, or signing in with their Microsoft account to apply a digital license.
The Microsoft support engineer in this case, ran the following PowerShell command on the customer's Windows PC:. irm hxxps://massgrave[.
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