Users of the pirated version of Office have started receiving a very interesting message from Microsoft: Switch to the good side, and on the way you will be given a discount
One of the most popular software in the world is the Microsoft Office application family. And while licenses can be purchased for office use for a few bucks – more or less legally – some people still prefer to download pirated versions of the software. For years Microsoft has pursued them with lawsuit threats and legal proceedings (remember that?), But now, as has happened in quite a few other areas of Microsoft – it seems to be changing direction.
Pirated copy? Have a discount
Quite a few people are reluctant to purchase Office apps today due to the fact that they no longer come in the form of that disk with the serial number used by them – but a SaaS subscription that has to be paid for every year or month – and sometimes turn to piracy. In order to try and “convert” those pirated users, Microsoft decided to go the creative route – unlike other companies that remotely disable their products or operate draconian DRM mechanisms, with their servers receiving an indication that a pirated copy was being used.
According to the German website Ghacks, Microsoft has started offering users pirated copies of Office an offer: Pay us to subscribe to Office 365 – Microsoft’s suite of applications – and enjoy a reduced price. According to the report, users of Office 2019 in a pirated version got to see a message inviting them to make the switch to original software at a discount that reaches half the price it offers to the other users. A message that jumped to the pirated users read: “Get up to 50% off for a limited time, and save up to 50% on an original subscription to Microsoft 365”.
According to Ghacks, clicking on the message that jumped out at the pirates pops up a page explaining the risks of using a pirated version of the product from Microsoft, including security risks, loss of information and lack of support for updates that Microsoft pushes into the system.
Along with the multiple warnings on the same page Microsoft is really offering those users of pirated copies of Office the ability to purchase a subscription to Office 365 at a discount. All users were asked to do was log in to their Microsoft account to see if they were eligible for the discount.
The author of the offer says that when he tried to log in via the above link he did not accept the discount that Microsoft offers, but at the same time states that his account has an original subscription to Office 365 – and that Microsoft may only offer this to those who clicked on the link through the pirated subscription . Readers who have reported on the new offer from Microsoft have confirmed that they have indeed reached a page offering a discount on subscription to Office applications.
The interesting part of this story is the fact that Microsoft is offering users a discount on the subscription to its cloud suite of apps, which are available to users everywhere. On the other hand, the readers who discovered the offer generally used the Office version, which is only available offline – which can be purchased at a one-time cost. This means that she may have tried to buy new subscribers, but in practice they will not want the offer – even with the significant price discount.
It is important to note of course that there are other ways to make use of Office apps without paying for a subscription. Microsoft offers free access to some of these applications through Office Online; If you have children in the education system or spouses who work in the system, you will have free access to Office not only online, but also students are entitled to free access to applications from Microsoft.
On the other hand, there is a whole and legal industry of users selling office licenses on sites like eBay at floor prices – in the past we found a permanent license for NIS 10 per purchase – so you will not have to deal with an online version only or risk a pirated version.
Using a pirated copy and did not receive the message? Microsoft has said that they will be happy to receive your full name, phone number and IP address from you.