Microsoft is using TPM chips to crack down on pirated Windows activations
akyuu
28 points
27 comments
July 27, 2026
Related Discussions
Found 5 related stories in 475.8ms across 15,062 title embeddings via pgvector HNSW
- Microsoft Can Track Users via a Windows Device ID ifh-hn · 333 pts · July 07, 2026 · 59% similar
- Security researcher says Microsoft built a Bitlocker backdoor, releases exploit nolok · 558 pts · May 17, 2026 · 57% similar
- Microsoft Patches a Record 570 Security Flaws robin_reala · 82 pts · July 14, 2026 · 51% similar
- For the 2nd time in weeks, Microsoft packages laced with credential stealer cdrnsf · 40 pts · June 08, 2026 · 51% similar
- Microsoft's open source tools were hacked to steal passwords of AI developers raffael_de · 533 pts · June 09, 2026 · 50% similar
Discussion Highlights (9 comments)
xfour
What is windows actually good at? I bought a computer with it pre installed a copy a few years back and it seemed like just an upsell into Microsoft’s ecosystem and random other ads. Everything was slow, barely responsive you could just feel the code bloat. After a few hours I just gave up and installed a Linux distro. Are people really putting up with this en masse as consumers?
0x1d7
This is for KMS running on Windows Server. Doesn’t impact retail, OEM, or MAK.
kotaKat
... But nobody's abusing KMS anymore. Silly Redmond, we've been over here zeroing out the Confirmation ID to activate Windows for a while now. No pirate has time to queue up 25+ activations to get a KMS request to go out to Microsoft.
vivzkestrel
- can microsoft cut the crap and give us a windows optimal version already? - no bloatware, no malware, no adware, no unnecessary tools, 4x the price - am sure a whole chunk of people ll happily pay it to get their hands on an OS that runs at blazing speeds instead of the bloated crap we got in the name of windows these days
sgalbincea
If you're ordering new servers without TPMs these days, you are doing it wrong.
deltoidmaximus
Pretty obvious place to start. The purpose of the TPM is to prevent users from running unapproved software on the device.
ChrisArchitect
Source: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/...
lurkerforawhile
still not convinced TPM actually does anything useful for an end user.
dpoloncsak
It's insane to 'crack down on pirated Windows activations' while doing nothing about massgrave. Even worse when it's open source and hosted on a website your company owns. Long live massgrave though.