Windows 8 Licencing Flaw Leaves it Vulnerable to Piracy

Microsoft is currently offering Windows 8 Media Center for free until January 31, in order to help boost sales of Windows 8. However, this has lead to an activation loophole which allows Windows 8 to be pirated. The trick is to use a Key Management Service (KMS) server, normally used for volume licence customers, to activate a temporary 180-day Windows 8 licence key. Setting up such a server isn’t too difficult. All the user then has to do is to put the free WMC key into the Add Features wizard and the temporary Windows 8 key becomes permanent! Ouch. It remains to be seen what measures Microsoft takes against this, but suspending the free giveway, at least for now, seems the most likely possiblity. Microsoft didn’t comment on this problem, when asked.