Windows 10 free upgrade! Can piracy be washed away?

At the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft announced that existing Windows 7 and 8.1 users can upgrade to this version for free within one year of the release of Windows 10, breaking the company's decades-long practice and winning wide acclaim from the industry. However, Microsoft did not disclose the details of the upgrade plan, nor did it explain the upgrade fee for XP users and the licensing fee for new users.

In China, a large number of users are still using pirated XP or Win7 systems. Do they have any hope of benefiting from Microsoft's preferential plans and becoming users of genuine systems from now on?

When Microsoft released Windows 8 in 2012, it launched a three-month preferential upgrade plan. Within three months after the release, XP, Vista and Win7 users at the time only needed to pay $39.99 (RMB 248 in China) to get a genuine Win8 Professional serial number.

Users who bought branded computers pre-installed with Windows 7 after June of that year could also get a discount, with the upgrade fee being only $14.99 (98 yuan in China). After the promotion period ended, the price of Windows 8 rose back to nearly 2,000 yuan, which shows how big the discount was.

After the promotion started, netizens quickly discovered that although this upgrade plan was only for users of genuine systems, in fact, pirated users could also enjoy this discount. Any PC running XP, Vista, or 7 system only needs to download an upgrade assistant from Microsoft's official website. The assistant will automatically guide users to complete the payment, serial number acquisition, upgrade file download, and disc burning. During the whole process, the assistant program will not check whether the local system is genuine.

In addition, users only need to fill in some simple information on a Microsoft website that can be easily found online, stating that the machine is a branded machine pre-installed with Win7 purchased after June 2012, and they can get a discount code. When the upgrade assistant guides users to the payment page, enter this discount code to buy genuine Win8 for 98 yuan. Obviously, this is a loophole deliberately left by Microsoft officials to encourage pirated users to choose new genuine systems at a low cost. At that time, many Chinese pirated users took this opportunity to clean up their names, and from then on they were no longer "victims of pirated systems", and they seemed to have more confidence when going out.

Will the free upgrade plan for Win10 give pirated users such a good opportunity as last time? Judging from the current trend, it is very likely. In fact, even if the Win10 serial number is directly distributed for free, there will still be a large number of conservative users who stay on the Win7 or even XP platform. Upgrading from Win7 to 10 generally requires reinstalling the system, and the operation method of the new system is still quite different from the old system, and the stability is also questionable.

Win7 itself is not backward, and many users do not have an urgent need to upgrade. In this context, if Microsoft does not give pirated users a break, the rapid popularization of Win10 will be in vain. Only when Win10 has a firm foothold on the desktop can it drive the development of Microsoft in tablet and mobile platforms. Therefore, Win10's upgrade plan is very likely to treat pirated users equally.

In terms of specific operations, existing 8.1 system users will enjoy the experience of upgrading directly in the app store without reinstalling. Win7 users are expected to use the upgrade assistant to obtain the serial number and system image, and then create an installation disc or USB flash drive to deploy the new system. If Microsoft provides a second method at that time, it is recommended that users of XP, Win7 or 8 apply for a few serial numbers as backup - even if they are not used temporarily, it is a good idea to prepare for the future. After all, this preferential plan only lasts for one year, and there will be no free meals to enjoy after one year.

Judging from the situation in the Win8 era, even if you get a genuine serial number, it may not be completely trouble-free. The genuine authorization may become invalid when the computer upgrades important hardware, and it is difficult to use the authorization on the original machine after buying a new computer. So as long as you can apply for more, apply for more to avoid future troubles, after all, it is free. Of course, at that time, you may only be able to apply for one serial number for a computer, and you may need to apply multiple times on multiple PCs. The serial number will generally be sent in the form of an email. Remember to save the email and don't disclose it to others. In addition, don't buy an account from Taobao for convenience, because it is very likely that the same account will be sold to multiple people or stolen.

After Win10, the upgrade of Windows system will be similar to Android and iOS, directly upgrading online without reinstalling the system. The support cycle of XP platform has ended, and the support of Win7 will not last long. It is a good choice for old users of these two platforms to enter the new era by taking advantage of the preferential plan of Win10 free upgrade. If even pirated users can upgrade for free, pirates will have no excuse to continue to use piracy in the future. I also hope that Microsoft can see the situation clearly this time, promote the full popularization of domestic genuine operating systems, and bring good news to the majority of pirated users. China has been a pirated country for so long, and it is time to take off this hat.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.