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[.
News URL
Related news
- Microsoft Will Remove the Free VPN That Comes With Windows Defender Soon (source)
- New Microsoft script updates Windows media with bootkit malware fixes (source)
- Microsoft has finally fixed Date & Time bug in Windows 11 (source)
- Microsoft shares workaround for Windows security update issues (source)
- Windows 10 KB5051974 update force installs new Microsoft Outlook app (source)
- FINALDRAFT Malware Exploits Microsoft Graph API for Espionage on Windows and Linux (source)
- Microsoft fixes bug causing Windows Server 2025 boot errors (source)
- Microsoft to remove the Location History feature in Windows (source)
- Microsoft testing fix for Windows 11 bug breaking SSH connections (source)
- Microsoft launches ad-supported Office apps for Windows users (source)