Microsoft today announced in a blog post that they won’t treat Windows pirates as nice as they will treat users running genuine copies of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. The company clarified on how pricing will be treated for current Windows consumers. Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Operating Systems Terry Myerson said in the post that pirated copies of Windows 10 will display a watermark in the desktop. Encouraging users running pirate version of Windows, Myerson stated that, “when we can’t verify that Windows is properly installed, licensed, and not tampered with, we create a desktop watermark to notify the user.”
Myerson also stated the risks and down sides of having a Non-Genuine copy of Windows running on your machine which include “high risk of malware, fraud, public exposure of your personal information, and a higher risk for poor performance or feature malfunctions. Non-Genuine Windows is not supported by Microsoft or a trusted partner.”
Current Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 will receive a free Windows 10 upgrade from Microsoft, which will require users to know their current OS’s product key. This free copy will receive updates from Microsoft like a normal purchased copy of Windows 10.