If the key is not genuine or has been used in situations outside of its license agreement, Microsoft can and will deactivate it at some point.Īlthough perhaps not as likely as some of the other risks listed here, it is possible that using keys from third-party vendors could lead to malware being injected alongside the activation. But that doesn't mean that it will remain working forever.
No Security Updates If the Key Is DeactivatedĪ key bought from a third party might work at first, and may even continue working for months. Sure, you might have only lost the $10 or $15 you paid, but it's frustrating nonetheless. Good luck getting a refund from a website or eBay seller that only appeared a week ago and might be gone again just as quickly. Websites selling Windows keys pop up all the time and it isn't always easy to spot the overnight scam websites among the established software key sellers. That could be because the key is entirely fake, or because it is a duplicate of a key already in use or a used OEM key. The most obvious problem you could face when buying a key from an unknown or untrusted third party is that it simply doesn't work. Understanding the potential risks of buying cheap Windows 10 keys from third-party websites will help inform your purchasing choices, and hopefully let you sidestep the worst problems. Pirated keys - Keys that have been duplicated and cracked (the software protection is broken or circumvented) to work on multiple computers.Foreign Keys - Windows keys purchased in a country where they cost less at retail, and then resold in countries where genuine keys are expensive.Used Retail keys - Retail keys can be swapped to a different computer, but can only be activated on one PC at a time.OEM keys cannot be transferred to a different PC, so used ones are useless. OEM keys - Original Equipment Manufacturer keys are purchased by PC and laptop makers, such as Dell, to be pre-installed on a device before it is sold.They should only be used to activate copies of Windows within the terms of the MAK license agreement. MAK keys - Multiple Activation Keys (MAK) are part of a large bundle of Windows licenses sold to large companies by Microsoft.
Where these keys originate from isn't all equally suspect, but the problem with buying from third-party websites or eBay sellers is you often won't know where it came from until it's too late to do anything about it. There are many places from which the cheap Windows keys you see for sale could have been obtained. But that doesn't completely absolve the buyer from blame. This side of the transaction is commonly the focus for software companies and law enforcement, rather than someone buying a single software key. Selling pirated or stolen software, particularly in bulk, is also very illegal.
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