Key Highlights:
- Microsoft is providing a drastically reduced version of its cloud-based collaboration suite to pirates.
- Users who join up will receive a 50 percent discount at checkout on an annual Microsoft 365 Family membership ($99.99 per year) for the first year.
- The announcement comes only days after Microsoft stated that it was altering the way it paid business customers for Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Office: 50% off for pirates
Microsoft is providing a drastically reduced version of its cloud-based collaboration suite to pirates. According to reports, the Redmond software behemoth is providing a 50 percent discount on Microsoft 365 to customers of pirated Office products.
A banner appears over the top of a pirated version of Excel, according to an image posted by gHacks. “GET UP TO FIFTY PERCENT OFF. For a limited time, save up to 50% on a genuine Microsoft 365 subscription, the banner states. When you click on that notification, you’ll be sent to a Microsoft website concerning pirated software. In addition to outlining some of the dangers of using unlicensed software, the page includes a buy button with a 50% discount.
For those who have not pirated a copy of Office, the link does not appear to work. There’s a potential that having a legitimate subscription associated with your Microsoft account prohibits the connection from working, but we can’t confirm this. The gHacks source was able to take advantage of the discount, indicating that it will work in some situations.
It’s worth mentioning that the pirated software utilized by the gHacks source was part of the desktop suite, which is offered for a one-time fee. Microsoft’s discount is only available for Office subscriptions.
Pirate party
In addition to the danger of virus exposure, pirates face identity theft, file corruption, and data loss, with Microsoft noting that pirates do not have access to vital upgrades.
Users who join up will receive a 50 percent discount at checkout on an annual Microsoft 365 Family membership ($99.99 per year) for the first year. It is valid for six users and has 6TB of cloud storage. For Microsoft 365 Personal members ($69.99 per year), the discount is also available for one person and 1TB of storage.
Fixing Errors
According to the sources, those pirates who elect to pay for the membership may still get the message. Microsoft recommends that these customers thoroughly uninstall Office in order to eradicate all traces of the pirated edition before installing a clean, authorized version.
The announcement comes only days after Microsoft stated that it was altering the way it paid business customers for Microsoft 365. Although the corporation has yet to confirm it, it appears that the idea is to raise the cost by 20% for customers who pay on a month-to-month basis, thereby driving them into a yearly membership.
Additionally, consumers will no longer be able to save money by canceling their subscriptions. Even if they cancel their membership, they will be charged for the rest of the year.
Read more: Alexandra Elbakyan, the Intellectual Pirate
