Seen similar for Office too, am a bit dubious, anybody bought a key off Ebay before?

Surely this can't be legitimate

I bought an Office Profrssional 2016 key (from eBay for £5.99) for my son's PC as an experiment, it has worked just fine. There are plenty of people that say it will not work, or that it is illegal and the police will smash down our door one night - but neither has happened so far!

These keys usually last a year or so then are blocked. Your system will stay activated but when it comes to a reinstall the key will be invalid.

You can still upgrade for free

Oh god not this again..

Still free on upgrade, just downloaded :thumbsup:

free with em em em em forget it :wink:

Or try Linux Mint - fab, free operating system

If anyone can confirm this works let me know please i would be interested.

after a cheap 365 license if avail...

Obviously fake, you're a mug if you think this isn't

oos

Done the 'key scrap' deals a few times, and they work fine! Even easier with Windows 10 now, since the key gets tied to the hardware through EFI/Secure Boot. These keys are usually collected through scrap units from large corps, and are never used/registered. Every one I've bought over the last couple years has continued working fine :party:

Despite what the ill informed people would have you believe this deal is legal.

Microsoft lost it's case in the European courts when trying to ban the resale of licences.

Price now increased to £2.49

Now it's £2.49. Still good value for money...
‌ :nerd:

Bought one. Didn't work. I feel dumb.

I bought one of these keys once and then the next day my shoe laces came untied in the street. Be warned.

Don't see how this can be legit but don't blame people for going for it, I very nearly did last year but then decided to stump the £89.99 :disappointed: for a retail copy direct from Microsoft - I did get a student discount though :wink: If you don't game or need Windows based software then agree Linux is a great alternative, I have used Ubuntu and Mint and can recommend both. Very user friendly these days.

Real, real men use Slackware :grin:

Is the following link legitimate to Microsoft or some phishing scam website?

setup.office.com/

Bought one of windows 10 and also MS office 2016 in the last 4 weeks. Both activated without issue and are still working fine. Ebay itself sent me an email promoting one of the deals.

They don't get blocked.. they are simply 1 use keys designed for use in test labs... they are MSDN keys that someone is reselling.

Yep, but if you format your PC, they wont activate again. they are 1 use MSDN keys.

Are these things STILL worth buying?, lol.

Only reason for Win10 pro is Bitlocker - thanks!

This is not everyone's cup of tea!

Or you can get it for free zdnet.com/art…de/

I bought a key to Microsoft office professional from Amazon and it has worked fine including updates.

I believe that this works by the seller buying a multiple use licence from Microsoft and then selling those uses. It's intended for business use across multiple sites, which just tells how much discount Microsoft are prepared to give to bulk buyers.

Whether this is legal, or complies with the T&Cs, or maybe Microsoft turn a blind eye because of the numbers of people involved Is anyones guess

Bought several, Windows (various versions) and office, no issues, yet

Quidco too :sunglasses:

they take a win 7 key or whatever, update it, destroy the PC, and there you are, a fully functional win 10 key :smile: mine also cost a couple of quid, they take them from old school pcs and such and update them, then give you the key

Which Linux distribution Comes closest to a Windows expereince. i.e. I am Totally Zero in DOS commands. Never knew it. Also, which will be the equivalent of free MIcrosoft "Outlook" email client?

Rubbish.
I have 4 physical machines, 1 in Parallels on my laptop and 1 on my daughters live account all using keys from either eBay or Reddit sellers and have done for at least the last couple of years (including my Win 8.1 purchase and subsequent upgrade to 10). At least two of those machines have been rebuilt, the virtual machine - dozens of times, and they activate just fine and reinstall with my Live account details no problem at all.

Sells legit licenses... yet steals photos of scrap computer parts from round the world?

Los Angeles:
salvex.com/lis…988

Las Piñas - Philippines:
bulatetrading.com/ind…rds


Go on, just ask yourself if this seller is actually extracting Windows 10 keys from scrap computers.
30000+ sales and laughing his way to the bank! It's a joke seeing these listed on eBay (and gaining false credence via HUKD!).

That's just windows 10 not 10 pro?

Windows 10 Pro is free. Simply sign up here: microsoft.com/en-…ade

I did it when upgrading last month from Windows 7.

Real men read and write their own 1s and 0s onto the hard disk with a needle, a magnet, and a steady hand.

Just make your own OS in machine code ..its the way of the future.. 640K of memory is more than anyone would need

Well spotted :smile:

Only needle I need is to thread these little buggers on to my core memory..

Amazing how far we have come !!

I've fallen asleep with boredom

Hi, Confirmed as working - 1 hour so far :skull_crossbones:

Does anyone know how to tell apart VL from regular license, or how to verify that you have a full lifetime license - at least after you've activated your machine with it? I'm not too knowledgeable about it, so fall for it and got it. :disappointed:

But I previoustly bought two mini-PCs advertised here, from GearBest, and W10 worked on both for about half a year, after that it said the license ran out. Freaking scam!

Or, £free pounds none-ty-none if you know where to get the update :smile:

/*makes nervous, ignoring smirk face like teenagers do at the moment/*

lol.png

Didnt that expire ages ago?

It's not and don't call me Shirley.

"Assistive technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them."
Nice to know there is a legit way to get it free but not really very ethical....

Thanks upgraded to win10 from win 7

I bought one of these once, sent the fake software to MS who gave me a full retail box free of charge just for info on where I bought it. But they've stopped doing this now!

So you can do that from Windows 10 to 10 pro?

[IMG][/IMG]

It is a form of theft, whether you are buying or selling, please do not steal.

They're right and wrong. These are MSDN keys but they're not single use.

Used many and they will last. The only time they get revoked is if the account that generated them gets banned.

I don't know if it is still going and the route these sellers still take but back in the day how they got them was by fraudulently signing up as a fake start up company and then getting endorsed for lack of a better word by a Microsoft Partner.

The endorsed startup account scheme gave you a years MSDN and they generated as many keys as they could then sold them. Unless the fake account was obviously fake they never got banned.

But if they a business seller for over a year then must be somethin legitimate about it???

Because they make sales through their store for the uneducated

These are likely to be keys from foreign markets like Russia where piracy is so common Microsoft sells licenses for next to nothing or gives them away for free. Ebay has a strict ban on license keys and digital software so the listing will liekly be reomoved soon.

What other versions of windows can you upgrade from does anyone know please ??

Interesting ... thanx. :-)

If the nay sayers would bother to go to the link and scroll to the bottom of the page it explains how and why the keys are legit.

Previously all copies of Windows back to XP had a back door for MS or the NSA to steal your data if they wanted to. With Win 10 they are up front that you consent to them having all your browsing photos and docs sent back to their servers.

They want people to upgrade to Win10 as with anything that is free, you ARE the product!

Oooooooooo, nice!!, thanx. :-)

Finally someone who's hit the nail on the head.

Microsoft are happy to give it to you free because your personal data is much more valuable.

Thanx. :-)

Wouldn't mind to know.this too please?. :-)

Using win 10 since release. Bought from ebay for 10 pounds bavk then.

Office 2017?....it doesn't exist. MS are moving in the Office365 subscription direction so 2016 will be around for a while

yes and no. if you backup the activation key after installation, you can restore it time and time again. it happened to me last week, key wasn't working, now it does, still a bargain for under £3

People that think deals are bad are actually encouraged to pop in and voice their concerns. This isn't meant to be a circle jerk; it's meant to help people find offers that they will feel are actually worth their money.

I can find no such explanation at the bottom or anywhere else on the page.

Only Win 7 & 8

scroll to the payment and shipping details, the text is just above in white (probably missing a background colour). just press CTRL + A on your keyboard to reveal the text

I just ordered it but I couldn't use this key within 3 days because I didn't bring my laptop. I'm not at home right now. Will this key work if I use it 1 or 2 weeks later? According to sellers email we have to use it within 3 days otherwise it will deactivated :unamused:

As someone relatively new to Linux, I tried Linux Mint which has a pretty similar feel, I picked up how to use it pretty fast and now I try to use it as much as I can besides the times I want to play games.

It comes with Mozilla Thunderbird as the default mail client, it has a relatively tired interface but is clear and easy to use.

now £2.99

But does it?

"eBay Policy States:

"OEM, bundled, or recovery software may be listed only if it is included along with the original hardware, such as the motherboard, hard drive, or computer sold with the OEM software." - Therefore, this sale includes the original broken beyond economical repair computer and motherboard.

Then goes on to say:

"THIS PRODUCT DOES NOT INFRINGE ON ANY COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK, OR ANY OTHER RIGHTS, OR ANY OF EBAY'S LISTING POLICIES OR SPAM POLICIES."


But then it states:


"INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE PROVIDED TO YOUR EMAIL"


So just how are they going to email the original broken beyond economical repair computer and motherboard in order to comply with their statement regarding eBay's policy?

So the comment "oh god not this again" suggests he is fed up seeing the deal.....It is hardly review of the year.

I got stung by this before. Never received the key or refund

My take on it is if they don’t check after or during installation, then there’s fault on both sides. On the plus side, it is a legit way to get it for free.

It should work, yes.

If its not dodgy then why do you only get a few days to use the key before its deactivated?

Except they're not reselling OEM licences. Despite what the ill informed people would have you and want to believe themselves so they think it's totally legitimate, this clearly isn't legit. The keys are likely from an MSDN or developer account and will probably work fine until Microsoft detects unfair usage, revokes the keys and you get a warning saying unlicensed - there are not thousands of scrapped nearly new PCs with Windows 10 Pro and Office 2016 Enterprise licences kicking around waiting to be resold but if it makes you sleep better at night believing it then so be it. You might as well just steal it from a torrent site, both are just as legitimate as the other.

If you really want to be sure, buy a key and check it's PID (product ID) three digit code and it will tell you where it came from.

How can they check that you use assistive technology?

I think they assume that anyone wanting a copy of Windows 10 needs help.

EVERYONE!!! Not to shout but any of these keys will activate fine and work, however, if you ever need to rebuild the machine then they will not reactivate again. I have had this twice with a seller on eBay for Visio and Project, each time I went back to him and reported this with a gentle reminder on piracy and got a new code each time. Be warned it's cheap and works but only as long as you don't need to rebuild the machine.

Ive reported these sellers on Ebay to Microsoft before.
The operators answer was: "you are an angel for doing this".
They must be taking it very seriously.

OOS Now, can't believe I missed it!

i bought a similarly priced code for windows 7 professional off amazon about 6 or 7 years ago and i've rebuilt my machine multiple times to add new PSU's, hard drives and even to add an SSD to install windows on as a boot drive and every single time the key has worked perfectly and it also let me upgrade to Windows 10 for free back when it was free as well.

They gonna have more soon believe me.
They are using a keygenerator.

This.

It's no more legit than using a free KMS activator.

Just wanted to add that though these aren't legit, Microsoft probably don't care enough to follow it up - so if all you want is a cheap key and don't really care about where it came from then you're not going to get someone knocking on your door. The worst that'll happen is they'll blacklist your key and you'll need to get another. Sellers have good feedback as people tend to leave feedback as soon as it works and only have a 90 day window otherwise

They might be removed temporarily but Ebay doesnt do anything about it.
Ive reported this activity to Ebay before.
They said they cant control every seller and every item on Ebay.
Ebay should let sellers sell as much as they can control but they get a cut of every item sold.
Its outrageous IMO.

If they mailed you a piece of the computer with the sticker attached, (side panel normally, or a bare bones pc) it would be legal. Simply selling a code like this is against Microsoft T&C's. The seller can get done, not the buyer.

Are you the mug if it isn't? :wink: These will just be licenses that were purchased with desktops or laptops by a large company but as they use their own image, the key is not required.

Just no mate, obviously bought from DHGate/Alibaba and resold

Your the biggest mug of all :grin:

Haha, you know what I mean... cmon mate... £2-3 for a Windows license... what planet do you live on to think that this will be legitimate? This David geezer is obviously cashing in big time on all you drongos thinking these are genuine :grin: Yes, they will work fine, maybe for a week, maybe for a month... then once you update at some point in the future it WILL flag up as being counterfeit.. luckily there is 0 in the listing right now so nobody else can get stung, which is more than I can say for the 6000+ other mugs who bought one.

Surely worth a punt for £3 but out of stock now anyway.

OoS

on BOTH shoes, simultaneously?

Im not the one who doesnt know.

Its not legit. It may work, may not. If it does, great. If it doesn't, you've not lost a whole lot. So if you're cool with theft, fill your boots. The real mystery is why HUKD persistently allow people to promote piracy.

Yes. Hence it could only have been related to my Windows license.

I'd say it's more likely that they are OEM keys from large Ex-Corp machines that have been replaced and sold on to a refurb seller or handed back to leasing company and then leasing company has sold on to a refurb seller.

either way unlikely the Key has ever been used as any decent sized company dumps their own image to a new machine which will be volume licensed via an internal KMS server as soon as it's imaged.

I've used dozens of OEM keys from old machines like this and never yet had one revoked.

Unleash the dogs of war!!

Can you legally resell those keys?

Don't forget to open a claim against the seller if they fail to send a broken motherboard.

Referral links.

I went for it anyway, worth a punt

This is what he states:
OEM, bundled, or recovery software may be listed only if it is included along with the original hardware, such as the motherboard, hard drive, or computer sold with the OEM software." - Therefore, this sale includes the original broken beyond economical repair computer and motherboard.

According to that he will send the hardware to you.
On the other hand he says the key will be emailed to you.
Another seller said if you need the hardware you have to email him before you buy the key.

Fishy as anything.

If we posted a link to KMSpico that would be piracy

I can clear up some of the confusion as to why these are allowed to be sold on Ebay. It seems a lot of people are quick to jump on the bandwagon as to "this is illegal, why do they do it". First of all, bare in mind if you 'believe' these are illegal then really Ebay should be the one taking these down, HotUKDeals arn't actually doing anything wrong.

The company I work for occasionally decommission keys, and reuse them for VM's (arguably not to make £3 on ebay). Reselling a decommissioned windows/windows server key is completely within the realms of possibility, which is why Ebay can't deny the sale of this and don't. Now I'm not saying these keys are done this way, but I'm also not saying they aren't. I know a lot of you would LOVE to jump on that.

As for people who give off the impression 'you might aswell crack your own', I mean sure? But would you would have a hard time explaining why you have an illegal copy of windows if you ever did get caught. The crack can't exactly just 'slip' onto your PC. :wink: You also have the problem of having to restrict certain updates, because there is a chance it could deactivate your windows. Sure you could argue there are cracks at BIOS level, but is it really worth the stress for £2? Once a key is activated, the chances of it being deactivated are next to none. If you login to Microsoft, it is tied to you by a digital license and if somebody did complain about their key they would just be issued with another one. Yours would be intact, because it's not worth the effort for anyone.

As for consequences I mean let's be honest, the chances of people going to jail for either of these are are pretty LOL. If you bought one of these keys you are buying into the fact that they are decommissioned unused ones. If anything ever happened (which is unlikely), just provide the details of the seller you bought it from because you bought it lawfully from their own description. It's the same with anything stolen, you don't know. I love how people are so off putting by saying 'pfft, buy it if you really want to', when really 90% people would actually buy it themselves. You can't categorically say these keys are illegal, or legal. It makes me laugh how much mob mentality there is online, and how people argue the toss for the sake of arguing the toss. :popcorn:

What do you think will happen if you buy a stolen item like a car?
You can't just point at someone and say he stole it or sold me illegally :grin:

The seller will get into trouble. I've covered this already. :wink:

I like how you editted your comment, after I replied to cover my reply. What are you saying? If you buy a stolen car you will go to jail? There is a digital record of every purchase you make on ebay, you simply send whoever requests it the details of the sale. There are paypal transactions also. You haven't really thought this through have you. :grin:

And the car will be given backto the lawful owner.
Are u a lawyer too? :grin:

I'm saying these are illegally sold softwares.

Are you trying to argue schematics? I'm not actually sure what you're trying to say. I never said I was a lawyer, so just want to clear up for you. :wink:

The car is a physical object, the ebay key is a digital license. If you buy a car WITHOUT a contract, that's different to buying a digital license WITH a contract. An ebay listing is a contract you abide to, you pay this money to receive the good as advertised. The police need to retrieve the stolen vehicle, the digital license will just be reissued. EVEN if it wasn't, you're out of pocket £2. I don't really understand how anything you said is the same. If you're unsure just purchase a £100 license for Windows, thats all I can say. :thumbsup:

These are always totally illegal and totally worthless - not worth 1p let alone £2.49 lol

These kind of ebay listings are always totally fraudulent as they don't send out old motherboards etc. So it's fraud on all counts lol. Even if it works in the short term, keys like this eventually get flagged and deactivated by Microsoft and it's you that will lose out. You are effectively giving your money away for nothing. Anyone doing these listings should always be reported.

So the licence is illegal as it is.

If you 'actually' believe you 'know' all listings like this are fraudulent, then you would be better purchasing a full license. Although I can tell you know, your reports won't do much. Listings like this will always be available, because decommissioning PC's for keys is something that happens.

Here is one example of a method of decommission.
howtogeek.com/124…pc/

You can try and stop it, but you do you. :smile:

If you think listings like this are not fraudulent, garbage and worthless then you are beyond my help. You have much to learn.

Then don't read it. It doesn't apply to you so why comment ?
Ive used one of these after my upgrading from Windows 8 went out the window, after SSD failure, and it wouldn't accept my serial. Got it off eBay with major doubts, and 8 months later its fine.

No it isn't.
Instead of whining about illegality - know what the hell you're talking about first

Master_YodaIf you think listings like this are not fraudulent, garbage and worthless then you are beyond my help. You have much to learn.

If you see everything as unnaturally cheap, therefore illegal without having the nous to ask WHY then you'll miss out while lecturing others on a subject you don't know much about (very common these PC days)

I said it was illegal. That's all.

Nah that's nonsense and completely contradicts how the system works.

Once the key activates windows on your pc the key has done it's job and its validated on that particular computer forever. IF you have done major upgrades to that pc the identifying code that Microsoft's uses will not match and then you will have to phone them which is an automated system passes completely fine.

No, you lectured others about what you don't know for sure. As did a couple of others

Spoken like a true Yoda! I have much to learn! I have learned that I can't really argue with someone who completely misses the point. I never said they weren't fraudulent, I said that ebay allows them because its within the realm of legality. If you are naive enough to think that EVERY SINGLE listing is bad without a shadow of a doubt, then don't buy it. Simple. :raised_hand:

Everything I said I know for sure

So you've experienced one of these ? I have. And it worked fine - and this is 8 months plus. Activated etc. You know, actual experience of the thing in question.
Besides which, it's expired anyway so irrelevant

Can I add to this aswell? Plenty of sellers do this, not just ebay. CDKeys etc. I actually know people that have bought these keys and never had a problem. Google search it. Think how many people have bought these keys (it literally says 100's on some of these listings), and compare it to the amount of reports where keys have been deactivated. I can't find any.

I would say this proves the point made here by peekaboo.

Haha such nonsense!!! MICROSOFT ARE GIVING IT AWAY FOR FREE!!!! They want it on as many computers as possible.

You just don't understand what's going on.

Yes it is.
That's your personal experience.
You still don't have a valid license.

Thank you Sir.
We should state all the facts not just whatts actually working on someone's computer.
That's not the whole point here.

Damn, I didn't realise we had a member from Microsoft checking our licenses. Can you check mind for me aswell?

Sometimes I have more fun on here than Reddit. :joy:

You tell me.
Is your licence legal?
Suppose you bought it from eBay for about the same price under same conditions.
I can check it for you if you like.
Give me the key and I contact Microsoft.

Heres another cheaper one on ebay. £1:79 Actually a mate used this one earlier than me. He has no probs either - but says it must be activated within 3 days Windows 10 genuine key from scrap PCs

I honestly can't remember where I got it, I bought it about 7 years ago and it's still going strong. :muscle:

Not that it's anyone else's business where I got my license from. :thumbsup:

EDIT: They edited their post again, GIVE ME YOUR KEY THEY SAY!!! Let's get our keys checked guys! LMAO :popcorn:

Take your time - what the hell has anyone elses items got to do with you ?
No-one is remotely interested in satisfying your uninvited interest on any subject.

Now Spark sums this whole ranting crap up in one extremely witty return

Yeah, I get that.

My point is - these sellers try and assert they make the rules. If they're selling a key:

eBay states it must include a piece of the hardware to comply, i.e the motherboard.

The seller tries to say you must be additional shipping, but the listing is for a key including board and 'free shipping'

It's very easy to inconvenience the seller by forcing:

A) They send the board
B) You open a claim and win because, well, no motherboard. :smile:

You have something to hide?

You have much to hide.
Yourself, preferably

Okay seriously, none of this even scratches the surface of my original point.

I know I'll need to reiterate it again server times before people grasp the concept so let me try again. Whatever you buy from ebay is stated in the agreement, if you don't trust it don't buy it. I was merely explaining why ebay allow such listings. If you want to argue with me about the legalities, you're arguing nonsense points. I was originally explaining why they are sold on ebay and other retailers, I haven't mentioned anything about whether individual listings are legal or not. It's your choice what you do, but calling everyone criminals isn't the right approach. They're only purchasing what they believe is a decommissioned key, hence why the sales are processed and allowed. :wink:

If you're so against it, go report all the listings. Also drop Ebay a message, and tell them about the Black Market they actively have going on their platform. I'm sure your prayers will be answered! :joy:

That's why we should cross check each others licences so others can make an educated choice.
Mine will be illegal confirmed by Microsoft.

LMAO.

Don't download any cars from Ebay boys, there are reports of the engine being deactivated.

Ok Sir.
I've stopped reasoning you.
I know what your talking about.
We just have a difference of opinion.

... and I wouldn't drive to Marrakech in a copy of MS Office Professional 16.

If it wasn't for witty comebacks, I'd have little to say ! :grin:

Did you try taking them off and putting them back on again?

Grass......

Silly comment and you know it

Couldn't agree more :grin:

Well my purchase on eBay was sent via email and didn't seem legit.

Agreed, but if the point of it is to help people who trouble to select stuff it would be ironic (and wrong) to the process longer.

This clearly doesn't look kosher:

"Activation key is for 1 device ONLY (Please use the key within 3 DAYS of NOW, it could be deactivated if not used in time)"

Serial number ends in HMH3B.

However you look at it, they will ALL be emailed though regardless of legality. It would seem he's in a rush to sell it though? I would imagine the best way to find out is to see if it activates more than once. If the keys both activate, there is more of a chance that it HASN'T been decommissioned. More possibilities could be volume licensing (and they're selling off the spares), BUT if they're claiming it's a decommissioned key then that IS dodgy purely because they're telling lies.

I doubt there many ebayers actually stealing keys though, it would be more likely for them to be buying them in bulk from China and reselling them to the rest of the world. Ebay does mainly consist of resellers, and all it takes is a Google search to find sites like this: dhgate.com/who…tml. Even they 'could' STILL be decommissioning old units/software for all we know.

People going CSI on all this, would mean they actually learn something from experience than baseless conjecture. The only thing I would put my money on is Microsoft not deactivating any of the keys, simply because there are too many people/variables involved.

No issue with that but stating the following gets alarm bells ringing:

"Please use the key within 3 DAYS of NOW, it could be deactivated if not used in time"

Not great if you are buying for a build in a few months time.

I think the BigBen is ringing again, nevermind the alarm bells. I would return on the pretense that you didn't realise there was a time limit on a Windows key for a unit that is out of commission. See how that sits with them. :joy:

First I heard of that. It makes no difference to me I have a full backup of the C drive after I activated windows. I will just restore that if I need to then it doesn't need re-activating

In the street? No I didn't.

Thanks I'm going to try this when I get to my laptop

No pretence needed as I just stated it was sold without the full information presented and wanted a refund which I have received.

Item not received dispute will be raised in a week or so when the damaged motherboard is not posted to me.

YOU WILL GET A BROKEN MOTHERBOARD AND OFFICIAL DVD THAT COMES WITH THE OEM KEY AS REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH eBAY POLICY OF OEM SOFTWARE.

#whereismyitem?

I bet nobody will receive the broken motherboard and the official dvd

Thats it guys, FIGHT! YOU GET YOUR £2 KEYS REFUNDED! How dare they sell us these keys cheaper than RRP! I kinda feel sorry for the person at the bottom of the chain, trying to make a living out of this. I mean whatever happened to stick it to the man? I guess Microsoft really are lucky to have you guys backing their corner, our streets are clean! :joy:

Thanks

Bottom of the chain selling perhaps thousands of them and raising their position in the chain you mean?

You could call it sticking it to the man before he gets a chance to becomes the man.

Prevention is better than cure.

microsoft.com/en-…spx

Software piracy risks are real, and everyone pays the price‌ Know the facts Software piracy is the illegal reproduction and distribution of software applications. Piracy not only steals business, revenue and customers from legitimate resellers but stifles job creation and IT innovation.

Every year our industry loses financially through piracy. Unlicensed and counterfeit software is causing legitimate resellers to miss out on selling opportunities, ongoing revenues and the chance to add value.

In studies by the Harrison Group conducted on counterfeit versions of Microsoft software, one in three disks could not be installed on a computer. More than 40% of the remaining counterfeit disks installed contained additional programs or binaries with known vulnerabilities.

We've removed an item you recently won:
282642795447 - WINDOWS 10 PRO 32 / 64BIT PROFESSIONAL LICENSE KEY ORIGINAL OEM GENUINE CODE


It looks like you haven't paid for this item yet, and the seller hasn't shipped the item. Since we've canceled the transaction, please don't send any payment.

We understand that this may be disappointing and hope your future experiences are pleasant and successful. If you have questions, please click "Help & Contact" at the top of most eBay pages.


Ironically I'd already received a refund and the transaction was cancelled but seemingly somebody grassed him up.

I've bought 15 or so Win 10 Pro keys from various ebay sellers for around this price, all have worked fine.

That has NOTHING to do with this deal.
The deal is for genuine Windows license, not pirated software...

The license is tied to the machine IT IS ACTIVATED ON!
These OEM license are normally from large companies that buy thousands machines in bulk, but install Windows with their own Enterprise licenses on them (I've done this on hundreds of HP desktops/workstations in investment banks).
These OEM licenses are never activated on the machines they are sold with, therefore can be resold.

So many clueless muppets.
These are not 'pirate' licenses.
People that have no idea what they are talking about really shouldn't comment on it.

The Chinese seller will always be at the bottom of the chain. People don't trust Chinese retailers. :popcorn:

HaHa

I'm coming to your house later to steal your PC. It's justified because I'm just trying to make a living :wink: #MyStreetsAreDirty

B*llocks.

If it were genuine then these 1000's of PC's 'broken motherboards' would be sold along with the listing. Also use the key within 3 days :thinking:

Yes it would raise the price but that's reassuring and complies with 'sold in a legitimate manner'.

Legitimacy argument aside. The way in which these are sold on eBay is not 'genuine' - you have to open a case because the motherboard does not ship, what happens? Well, we all know don't we.... it gets refunded, no motherboard is shipped.

*Sellers get shut down for this because smarter folk than you and I know these are not genuine sales.*

*With the exception of HUKD - It would appear HUKD do not want to wade into this territory and claim a position on either side. If the link clicks, it clicks until it doesn't, money is made and nobody is looking too closely.

Maybe we should just put them all on an island. People breaking into houses, and stealing PC's with the people reselling their old digital licenses. Same thing. :wink:
EDIT: #KeepingItClean

Using a KMS activator involves running dodgy software everytime your computer starts up which flags up in most antivirus.

This is just a key your entering into Windows operating system directly so much more safer.

I missed this! I didn't realise we had a Bran Stark on HotUKDeals. He sees and knows how all keys are sold. Some have been found to be untrustworthy, therefore NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO SELL THEM. God forbid if somebody sold a stolen laptop on Ebay, luckily it's never happened before! :wink:

The island consists of people who have had their PC's stolen, only the islanders soon realised it wasn't even their own PC's that were pinched, it was next doors.

In an act of madness and misdirected 'stick it to the man' philosophy, the islanders felt compelled to sell licences from PC's that they either still used, or misinterpreted as a PC, in fact, many a bread bin PC licences were sold as a result.

The islanders soon became embarrassingly aware of their misdirected 'stick it to the man' strategy and in defiance of sanity and compliance with the law, employed the same techniques, often even the same strategies as those stealing PC's, all in the name of freedom or some other ideal.

Painfully unaware of just how dirty the streets were on the island, the islanders continued to source the keys however they could; some even offered bread bin lids to try and remain convincing.

The outside world continues to buy the keys whenever they can. The islanders remain undeterred, continuing the reselling of bread bin lids and the next-door neighbours PC, although they make a convincing sales argument:



It's cheap, and nobody is checking or even wants the bread bin lids.

I'm not trying to make any moral argument for or against anyone buying the keys from these sellers. It happens, eBay - as Bran in this anology, know it happens.

The North folk know it happens - they don't care, after all, you don't need to be Bran Stark to know.

Cerci and the people of westeros are painfully unaware, some may even say stupid for not seeing the truth they had been told for years.

"Look in your End-User License Agreement (EULA) for your OEM software. You will notice it does not include Transferability of License Rights."

blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/mss…ht/


You are able to use these licences we all know that. They will work for some time maybe for years but it doesnt mean you can legally use it.
So somebody whos selling it doesnt have a right to sell it on the first place.

Yes we know you are buying it for £2-3 and you dont care. And you are not the only one.
You are talking about practicality not legality.
If you buy it you buy it but people should know what they are exactly buying.

The simple mention of the 'Stick it to the man' was enough for it to indeed be misdirected, and turned into a philosophy by Bran himself! In a flurry the islanders were confused by Bran, the know'er of all. Having judgement passed on them and losing their heads is not what they expected? If a poor man can't afford such things, then a poor man deserves to be like Ned Stark! Allow me to join you Stark, choices cannot be made! Nobody wants such bread, I stick my nose up to those!

Did you buy one?

Nah, I'm here for the bants. :popcorn:

Got email saying listing been removed, sounding bit dodgy now

LOL.
If anyone had any doubts before it indicates how legal the software is.
Yesterday i asked the seller how much the shipping cost for the motherboard and the software is and as you can guess i got no answer. I suppose they are very quick to email keys but they are slow to respond to emails.

I was stating the 2 are as just as bad as each other but one you aren't paying someone for.

This is how you deal with these people:

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your submission.
We have reviewed this and will be treating it with attention.

Indeed Microsoft does not tolerate piracy and takes all leads seriously.

We would like to assure you that the online marketplaces - such as ebay - are constantly monitored and Microsoft takes action daily to reduce the distribution of infringing and potentially harmful software unlawfully resold under Microsoft's name.

Kind Regards,

UK Piracy

DCU Investigator: UK & Netherlands
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MSFTPiracy

Thank you for for proving my point.

The license cannot be transferred from the computer IT HAS BEEN ACTIVATED ON!
It doesn't mean transferred by physically by moving the sticker from one box to another...
These OEM licenses WERE NEVER ACTIVATED ON THE MACHINES THE STICKERS WERE ON!

That is why there is no issue with those licenses being sold on ebay.

Having bought around 15 of these licenses from various ebay sellers for around the same price, and used them far longer than 3 days after I have purchased them, I am not the one talking 'B*llocks'.
One seller had them for many Months without them being removed from his listings.
The listings get removed by the sellers when they have no more licenses to sell, they don't bother creating the listings when a set amount to be sold, they don't count when they have and just put a huge number so they don't have to create multiple listings for smaller amounts of licenses if they have more than they said in the first place.

Im not proving any of your point.
Did you receive the sticker?

The physical sticker is not what you are buying on these auctions, it's the license key.
When they are selling them for such a small amount of money, why would they then further incur postage costs when they can just email you a photo of the license or type it out?

Legitimate websites, like Kinguin, also sell the same OEM license keys without sending the sticker, have done for years but for more money.

For arguments sake let's say you get through the Microsoft problem.
According to eBay's policy the seller can only sell the licence if he includes the physical drive or computer.
Have you received any of those?

Are you saying to me an emailed photo of a sticker ( that can be fake) is enough to prove that you are the legal owner of the software?
That's if you receive that photo.

As long as you get the key that works why are others so bothered about how the seller actually got the keys? For under £3 why waste anymore of your time and energy writing a message about wheres my broken motherboard and putting a dispute even though there was no problem with the key sent. You guys need to chill

it comes with a coa does it?

Be careful!
Somebody called me a grass for doing the same thing:-)

If it doesn't come with a Chart of Accountants I ain't buying from them. They can keep their crummy keys, I just need my assets sorting so I can do my damn taxes!

In the case of SLP 2.0-2.4, a generic key would be used to activate the copy of windows, but the licence sticker and key which makes the installation "Genuine" would be stuck to the outer case of the pc. That licence sticker would then be tied to that machine in the sense that its stuck on the case and shouldn't be removed. Just because you can remove it, or you can copy the key off the licence sticker and activate that key in the future for reinstallations, doesn't make it genuine, and they can't be resold as they have been used on that pc as in its stuck to that pc and dies with that pc. SLP3.0 which is used by windows 8 and 10 embeds that key into the bios, and they don't usually stick the keys on the labels any more. You going to argue that its OK to extract the keys from the bios and activate it elsewhere and that makes it genuine? Just because you can physically do something that results in activation of a copy of windows doesn't make it legit or genuine.

Just because I can open and start a stolen car, doesn't mean I have the right to open or start it, or that I own the car.

this guys clueless.

because this sort of post is not genuine, and shouldnt be allowed.

who are you? the hukd police?!
if the mods didnt have a problem then why do you? :joy:

The license is not tied to the computer the label is stuck on, it's tied to the computer it is activated on.
Is that so hard to understand?

Oh, and your stolen car comparison is hilarious...

A huge amount of new Win 10 machines don't even come with a COA anymore, lol.

microsoft.com/en-…htm

2. Installation and Use Rights.

a. License. The software is licensed, not sold. Under this agreement, we grant you the right to install and run one instance of the software on your device (the licensed device), for use by one person at a time, so long as you comply with all the terms of this agreement. Updating or upgrading from non-genuine software with software from Microsoft or authorized sources does not make your original version or the updated/upgraded version genuine, and in that situation, you do not have a license to use the software.

b.‌ Device. In this agreement, “device” means a hardware system (whether physical or virtual) with an internal storage device capable of running the software. A hardware partition or blade is considered to be a device.

c.‌ Restrictions. The manufacturer or installer and Microsoft reserve all rights (such as rights under intellectual property laws) not expressly granted in this agreement. For example, this license does not give you any right to, and you may not:

(iii) transfer the software (except as permitted by this agreement);

4. Transfer. The provisions of this section do not apply if you acquired the software as a consumer in Germany or in any of the countries listed on this site (aka.ms/transfer), in which case any transfer of the software to a third party, and the right to use it, must comply with applicable law.

a. Software preinstalled on device. If you acquired the software preinstalled on a device (and also if you upgraded from software preinstalled on a device), you may transfer the license to use the software directly to another user, only with the licensed device. The transfer must include the software and, if provided with the device, an authentic Windows label including the product key. Before any permitted transfer, the other party must agree that this agreement applies to the transfer and use of the software.

You want to argue against Microsoft own terms and conditions. The terms of conditions of use state you are licencing the software, its not sold to you, so you have to abide by the terms of that licence. It states that if the software was preinstalled on a device, not activated on a device, that's the licenced device. It also says you can give the licence to somebody else, but only with the licenced device. There is no other clause that then gives you the right to transfer the licence from the device to another device. If you do manage to activate that key on another device, its not licenced so not genuine, as it breaches those terms and conditions. Just because you can do it, doesn't make it licenced or genuine. I think thats pretty cut and dry.

I have a problem with people advising other people that its all above board, and that the software is genuine. Yes the installation is genuine in the sense its not been modified, and its likely that its also activated on the internet, but its not properly licenced so in the eyes of the company who you are licencing the software from, its not genuine and potentially a pirated installation. Please see the above post linking directly to the vendors terms and conditions for licencing of its OEM software, its quite clear that the use case of removing a key or COA is not covered in the terms of the licence therefore that must violates that licence. Im not a lawyer so I don't know much about UK law, so I don't know if HUK are allowed to list potentially pirated items, but I can read software licencing terms and conditions.

Listing removed

what a surprise, and oh look, jukkie has gone quiet aswell.

I don't spend my life on HUKD waiting for people to respond to my comments, lol...
I did actually type up 2 responses to your comments, but to be honest I give up trying to argue with you so I deleted them, there are better ways to spend my time.

ye right, you cant possibly argue against those t&c's

You're trolling!!!

Prove it