I was fixing a computer for someone, and decided to run Windows Update to check for updates. Well, I was alerted that the copy of Windows was illegal. So I checked it out. The sticker on the computer says Home Edition. The one installed on the computer: Professional. It turns out, they had taken their computer several times to a couple of different shops, and of course, their solution to removing spyware is format and reload. Well, I guess they didn’t have a CD, so they loaded an illegal copy of Professional on a perfectly good Dell that had Home Edition. Should I report it? Does Microsoft give away rewards? I mean, I don’t really care, but that is just awful to be putting that on someone elses computer without their knowledge. And why do people format and reload in the first place? It would have been a 2+ hour process to do all that, and I removed the spyware, uninstalled McAfee, installed AVG, showed the customer how to use Spybot and several other programs like Disk Defragmenter, all under 2 hours. An hour and a half to be exact.
Illegal Software
It’s simpler, requires less time in front of the keyboard, has less liability. Gee, did USA Computers work on that machine?
How is it simpler? You have to (well, you don’t HAVE to) restore everything back. That is what I would do anyway.