Users who switched to Windows 10 from unlicensed copies of Windows 7 or 8.1 will soon be able to easily get a legal copy of the operating system, Terry Myerson, director of Windows at Microsoft, said recently.
Myerson justifies this step by the fact that many users of pirated versions of Windows 7 or 8.1, after upgrading to a new version of the operating system, took the opportunity to get a licensed copy of Windows 10 through the built-in store. As a result, the company decided to simplify this process, reports .
Based on past experience, an experiment will soon be launched in the United States that can be extended to other countries after evaluating the results.
“We will offer the ability to migrate with just one click of the mouse in the Windows Store or by entering an activation key.” On its blog, the company also posted snapshots of the upcoming opportunity to purchase a legal copy, and it is integrated directly into the Windows control panel.
The company intends to update as many computers as possible, but it will still be impossible to achieve the legalization of illegally acquired copies through an update.
Switching to Windows 10 is free for users of two previous versions of the operating system. The question of whether this proposal will be valid for pirated copies first arose in the winter. The reason was Myerson's statement during his business trip to China. During the WinHEC conference in Shenzhen, he said: "We will upgrade all qualified PCs, regardless of whether they pass Windows 10 authentication or not."
This move was an unprecedented attempt by Microsoft to integrate legal copies of its software into hundreds of millions of computers in an Asian country. Recent studies show that three-quarters of all personal computer software in China is not licensed.
Myerson’s statement was interpreted so that all users of pirated copies will be entitled to switch to a legal copy of Windows 10. Later, however, the company specified that the pirates would not receive such a right.
Microsoft's new offer for users of unlicensed copies may be due to the fact that the distribution of Windows 10 has slowed significantly. According to Net Applications, in September Windows 10's market share was 6.63%. Compared to the achievement of the previous month, the share increased by only 1.42%. In August, in the first month after the launch of the Top Ten, the share of the operating system showed an increase of up to 4.8%.