Win 10 Pro 64-bit $40

[dlerious]

Seems legit. Article here . Link to buy is at the bottom of the article.

 

[VirtualLarry]

How about $39.99 for the official retail version of Windows 10 Professional?

Please note this deal is for an unlimited lifetime license for a single PC.

Does not compute. If this is truly a RETAIL license, then it should be transferable between PCs? Is it just worded funny, and they mean, "a single PC at a time"? That would make sense, I guess.

PCWorld is a pretty legit outfit, I think that they would lose their shirt if they were partnering with an online software sales company and advertising them, if they were selling illegitimate copies. So yeah, this should be good.

If only I had the funds, maybe someone will buy one of my PCs (that I have for sale).

 

[Replay]

Semi-sketchy, despite the sale going through PCWorld. Might activate ok once, but have problems later with the key, if it plays out like the super sketchy online W10 key sellers. No mention of a physical COA, and they do mention an ISO, so likely a bare key.

"... PCWorld’s partner, Mediamart, is able to secure great discounts by going directly to software vendors and publishers, buying licenses in bulk, and then working with safe, secure brands (like PCWorld) to sell the software directly to consumers. Please note this deal is for an unlimited lifetime license for a single PC..."

 

[esquared]

They have Win 10 Home for 29.99

PCWorld Software Store - Windows 10 Home - 79% off MSRP

Discounted downloadable software from the PCWorld Software Store

software.pcworld.com

 

[esquared]

Difference between the two.
Is it worth the 10.00?

Compare Windows 11 Versions: Windows 11 Home & Pro vs. Windows 10 | Microsoft

Compare Windows versions and see why you should upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Find out the difference between Windows 11 Home and Pro to see which is best for you.

www.microsoft.com

 

[UsandThem]

Difference between the two.
Is it worth the 10.00?

For only $10 more, go with PRO.

The sandbox feature alone is easily worth that. I use that when checking out links and other suspicious stuff so I can keep isolated from the rest of my PC.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I haven't used the Sandbox feature, maybe I should for my mining software. Can you sandbox apps the use the GPU, or spawn other tasks that use the GPU? That's always been a sore spot in VMs.

 

[mikeymikec]

PCWorld is a pretty legit outfit, I think that they would lose their shirt if they were partnering with an online software sales company and advertising them, if they were selling illegitimate copies.

Amazon UK has been allowing third parties to sell dodgy copies of MS software for freaking ages. I've pointed it out and they do nothing about it.

 

[Steltek]

Amazon UK has been allowing third parties to sell dodgy copies of MS software for freaking ages. I've pointed it out and they do nothing about it.

It is happening everywhere. MS apparently makes no attempt to stop the folks selling keys on eBay or from dodgy websites, either. It almost seems that MS has resigned themselves to giving it away but doesn't want to officially announce it as long as there is any sort of revenue stream whatsoever that they can squeeze out of it.

 

[dlerious]

How about $39.99 for the official retail version of Windows 10 Professional?

Please note this deal is for an unlimited lifetime license for a single PC.

Does not compute. If this is truly a RETAIL license, then it should be transferable between PCs? Is it just worded funny, and they mean, "a single PC at a time"? That would make sense, I guess.

PCWorld is a pretty legit outfit, I think that they would lose their shirt if they were partnering with an online software sales company and advertising them, if they were selling illegitimate copies. So yeah, this should be good.

If only I had the funds, maybe someone will buy one of my PCs (that I have for sale).

It is weird wording, sounds more like OEM, but they say retail so I assumed the same as you 1 PC at a time.

 

[gizmo23]

Here's link to explanatory text about the Win 10 Pro offer
https://software.pcworld.com/?act=news

"What does 1-PC, lifetime mean? It means you can only install on one PC at one time, but the lifetime aspect means you can move and migrate to another PC at a later date. Just make sure you fully remove from your old system first."

So it's one PC at a time

 

[spdfreak]

I've used Direct Deals for lic keys and they are about 85.00 but totally legit and activate with no problem.

I suspect these are OEM and maybe from systems that were never sold. My experience is that you will have to call MS to get it to activate.

 

[funboy6942]

Link removed pending further discussion

Iron Woode
Super Moderator

 

[spdfreak]

Just bought Win10 home for an extra set of hardware I have laying around... they emailed me the key instantly.

 

[esquared]

They ran out of supply a couple days back but they just got in some more Win10 Pro.

 

[MisterE]

I bought 2 copies of the $40 Retail Windows 10 Pro a couple of days ago. I'm going to replace my aged desktops if new CPUs and motherboards ever come back in stock.

 

[esquared]

I bought 2 copies of the $40 Retail Windows 10 Pro a couple of days ago. I'm going to replace my aged desktops if new CPUs and motherboards ever come back in stock.

I bought one a few days ago and thinking about buying another for a new, future ryzen build.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

I just ordered and paid extra for the disc. I far prefer having physical media.

Now I am thinking I will order another for my second pc, which is actually more powerful than the one i was deciding to upgrade. I love Windows 7 Pro, but I have to admit that it's time to suck it up and move on.

 

[Lanyap]

I bought 2 copies of the $40 Retail Windows 10 Pro a couple of days ago. I'm going to replace my aged desktops if new CPUs and motherboards ever come back in stock.

Same here. I'm thinking about buying one more now that the deal is back on.

 

[MisterE]

I just ordered and paid extra for the disc. I far prefer having physical media.

Now I am thinking I will order another for my second pc, which is actually more powerful than the one i was deciding to upgrade. I love Windows 7 Pro, but I have to admit that it's time to suck it up and move on.

I think that the free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 still works if you already have Windows 7 Pro installed on that computer. Download Microsoft's "Media Creation Tool" ( https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 ), use it to make a USB install drive, and upgrade the PC. Windows 10 Pro should automatically activate after the install has finished. Have your Windows 7 Pro product key handy, but you probably will not need it. After you've done the upgrade, you can wipe the machine and perform a fresh install. Pick "I don't have a key" during install and Windows 10 will automatically activate after the installation has finished.

 

[piokos]

It is happening everywhere. MS apparently makes no attempt to stop the folks selling keys on eBay or from dodgy websites, either. It almost seems that MS has resigned themselves to giving it away but doesn't want to officially announce it as long as there is any sort of revenue stream whatsoever that they can squeeze out of it.

The problem is that the whole license key idea is from the pre-Internet era. It didn't work well then and it absolutely doesn't work now.
Game and other software mostly moved on. Windows hasn't.
It's really difficult to design a license confirmation model that works on 3rd party offline systems. Windows is the only major OS that does this.

A key is just a key. It's not a license. Most of these dodgy sellers sell you a sequence of characters, nothing more. It just happens to pass the validation test - just like the keys you could find on forums.
You can even "mine" them.

Windows is just 15% of their revenue. Retail channel is probably few % of that, i.e. maybe ~1% of the total.
They just don't bother with tracking and blocking every illegal copy. It would cost more than they make from a legal one. It's better to lose a few million USD on stolen Windows and sell more Office / games / services etc.

Semi-sketchy, despite the sale going through PCWorld.

Asian sellers do this all the time: either advertising or selling via use a known "front" to sell keys. Just look what happens on techpowerup:

KeysWorlds Unveils Hot Summer Deals on Genuine Software

KeysWorlds, an international merchant of discounted genuine software, today unveiled Hot Summer deals on genuine software. Get stellar deals that help you get your new Summer and Back-to-School desktop or new notebook off the ground, with deals on Windows 10 + Office 2019 combos, over 50% off...

www.techpowerup.com

Keys advertised on TPU are obviously dodgy - probably coming from bulk licenses.

Those on PC World are probably the same, just camouflaged a bit better.

The question one should ask is: who sells these keys, really?
Article linked by OP mentions a "partner": Mediamart. There's no link or precise corporate info.
The only Mediamart I found is this: https://mediamart.vn

The good part is that it looks like a proper store, selling hardware and having physical locations.
The bad part is... well, it's Vietnam:




Honestly, I just don't understand why people consciously give money to parties they don't know anything about, for a product that may or may not work.
What if I started selling Windows keys on the street? Would people pay $40?

That said, I'm also fully aware that people generally don't understand copyright and licenses.
Education systems just haven't caught up yet. General understanding of ownership is from XIX century at best.

I just ordered and paid extra for the disc. I far prefer having physical media.

You can make your own. Specifically: you can make a USB key, which is easier to use in modern PCs. Or you can reuse a DVD+RW for older ones.
What's the point in ordering one? That's just more garbage on the planet.

 

[mikeford]

$7 seems like the common price on ebay for win10 64 pro. As long as MS is ok with it, why should I have any concern when paying via paypal and not a CC directly?

 

[piokos]

$7 seems like the common price on ebay for win10 64 pro. As long as MS is ok with it, why should I have any concern when paying via paypal and not a CC directly?

Why would MS be not OK with it? Most of these auctions are 100% legit.
But do you know what you buy with that $7? A key.

We're not allowing how to get free/pirated licenses on this forum.


Perknose
Anandtech Forum Director

 

[Magic Carpet]

Some very useful info can be found here, at best these keys are sourced from the gray market and at worst are bought with stolen credit cards. Which is which is hard to tell, really.

2) Most keys sold on eBay are dodgy. Not recommended, unless it’s a fully sealed retail copy.

3) Microsoft has definitely been a little blasé about this issue, which is why this “cheap digital keys business” has been on the rise.

 

[mikeford]

Actually the link above doesn't dip its toe into anything factual about the legit or not quality of the licenses, just echoes the MS preference that we all pay full retail from a MS store. The dodgy quality of the cheap licenses is the lack of a physical COA and media, which violates maybe MS terms of service?

My view is that MS is obligated to decide what can be activated or not. If they did not pass MS test for genuine, nobody would use them, or pay for them.

I 100% agree with the moderator, free and/or pirated licenses should never be used.