A: Ah, the venerable Windows Product Key. That 25-digit alphanumeric prize that marks the difference between a legitimate copy of Windows and one that Microsoft considers pirated. This little piece of ...

Product keys for Windows 8 computers aren't printed on a sticker. They're encrypted in the BIOS. How might that affect you? Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT ...

Anyone want to help me win an argument…or maybe make me look stupid? I'm in an ongoing argument elsewhere about the circumstances under which Windows product keys can be stored in the BIOS of a system ...

The Microsoft Windows Product Key Tech Support Scam is a Trojan.Tech-Support-Scam that displays a lock screen that blocks you from accessing your Windows desktop. This lock screen pretends to be ...

Those purchasing Windows 8 PCs are noticing that the small "Certificate of Authenticity" that is normally home to the product key is missing, and instead a "Genuine Microsoft" label has replaced it.

Heidi Richards purchased Microsoft certificate of authenticity (COA) labels at a discount and resold them in bulk, in ...

A copy of Windows is genuine only if it has been activated using a valid key. When you buy Windows Keys from Microsoft websites or get them from the OEMs, you can be sure that they are genuine. But ...

Yes, Microsoft officials insisted and insisted again that after July 29 at 11:59 p.m. UTC, the free Windows 10 upgrade offer would end. But it didn't -- at least not completely. The Get Windows 10 ...

One thing that has been common on notebook and desktop computers purchased at retail for years is a little sticker on the bottom or on the back of the machine that has the Windows product key. The ...

The US Department of Justice says 52-year-old Heidi Richards of Brandon, Florida, who ran Trinity Software Distribution, has ...