Even though Microsoft made many efforts to ingratiate everyone with the release of its new Windows 10 operating system, even going so far as to give free copies to every legitimate owner of Windows 7 and 8.1, some people are still going to pirate it.
However that’s actually proving much harder than usual. Due to fear that Microsoft is snooping on those that do download it, the OS has been banned from many high-profile Torrent trackers.
The worry is that Microsoft will be able to see if a torrent had been downloaded and can then delete any mention of that operating system and much of its associated content from a user’s hard drive, remote wiping their disk. This is, unsurprisingly, overblown, as TorrentFreak points out. It stems from a single line in Microsoft’s Service Agreement which makes it possible for it to prevent the use of pirated games.
However, that hasn’t stopped people being scared, so getting hold of a pirated copy of Windows 10 is rather difficult.
For some tracker owners however, it’s not necessarily this claimed anti-piracy feature that is the cause for the banning, but the general amount of information that Windows 10 shares with other services and companies, making it difficult to prevent it from at least tipping somebody off that it might be being used unlawfully.
Even if nobody pursues the user of such a pirated copy, it’s not good for those that aid its distribution, who if they are ever found out, often receive far harsher penalties than someone who merely downloaded an installer for personal use.
Still, you could argue that some are taking it to the extreme, with a handful of torrent focused websites stating that they are contemplating banning anyone using Windows 10 from even visiting their website.
Paranoia, or a valid concern for site owners? What’s you’re take?
