Non-Genuine Windows has a high risk of malware, fraud, public exposure of your personal information, and a higher risk for poor performance or feature malfunctions.

If you ever encounter this watermark on a new machine, I encourage you to return the device immediately to the retailer from whom you purchased it and request a Genuine Windows device. 'When we can't verify that Windows is properly installed, licensed, and not tampered with, we create a desktop watermark to notify the user. Instead a paid upgrade path will be provided. In less than two months, the company backtracked, with Terry Myerson, Executive Vice President of the Operating Systems Group, in a blog on Friday clariying that Microsoft will not offer a free Windows 10 upgrade to users of non-genuine Windows copies. However, the announcement left many suspicious over Microsoft's ambiguously-worded blog. When Microsoft in March promised free Windows 10 upgrade for all users including those on non-genuine Windows 7 and higher operating systems, the move was seen as an attempt to tap users who were stuck with pirated copies.

Windows 10 pirated reddit