In a bid to combat piracy and move users over to legitimate copies of Windows, Microsoft announced that pirated versions of Windows will receive the free upgrade as part of their Windows 10 free upgrade program.
Speaking from China, Microsoft’s Terry Myerson told Reuters of the plan to include upgrades for pirated versions of their operating system.
“We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10,” he said in a telephone interview with Reuters. The plan is to “re-engage” with the hundreds of millions of users of Windows in China, he said, without elaboration.
Piracy is a huge issue in China, and according to Reuters, recent studies indicate that 75% of PC software in that country is unlicensed or pirated. There are many reasons for wanting to move those pirated versions over to legitimate copies including security and update reasons, not to mention increasing official market share.
Windows 10 is expected to release worldwide this summer and Microsoft is offering a free upgrade for the first year after release to users of Windows 7 or 8.
What do you think of Microsoft’s decision to include pirated versions in the update to Windows 10? Let us know in the comments below, or on Google+, Facebook, or Twitter.
[button link=”http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/18/us-microsoft-china-idUSKBN0ME06A20150318″ icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Reuters[/button]Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
