The price is around 13 USD for a Windows 10 license.
The price is around 13 USD for a Windows 10 license.
Thanks AshKetchup! Looking forward to seeing you again! Also, that's one of the reasons I suggest Kinguin since their keys are all surplus OEM.
Hey there! Are you mentioning Kenguin again? I've worked with them before.
They’re likely to send you a key that will unlock Windows, but using it might violate Microsoft’s terms of service or end-user license agreement in several ways. If you need help, support could be tough to reach. The key can also be set to automatically turn off, which means you might lose money without realizing it. As Linus mentioned in a recent video, there’s a way to disable the “not activated” feature, but digging deeper reveals questionable actions along the way—such as aggressive enforcement of policies, selling keys multiple times, stealing them from old systems, or even reselling them. In some cases, it could involve illegal activities like money laundering or credit card fraud. In short, the keys exist, but they don’t fully meet legitimate usage standards due to these practices.
Well, I mean I could argue if you get the keys from the right place they could be perfectly fine. Then again, if you go searching on ebay, there's a high chance they could involve the aforementioned practices.
It's sadly a situation where the toughest criminal earns the most money, making it hard to trust anyone on the other side. My approach is to either buy a pre-packaged license or skip it entirely (except for the watermark, which has no real drawbacks). If I spend money on software, I want it to benefit the creators and maintainers.
OEM keys aren<|pad|>, shouldn't be sold again. I also heard Kinguin is a spot where people trade keys, which seems risky to me. I'd trust Linus and others, so I'd stick with what they recommend and avoid anything that seems too good.
My previous personal computer had never been licensed, never caused any problems. The watermark is completely acceptable, and I simply don’t feel the need to pay for a machine I rarely use. However, if you’re bothered by the watermark, consider cheaper alternatives—especially since TOS violations won’t be an issue.
The version of Windows I’m using is a copy purchased from eBay. There have been no problems so far, and it cost me $6.