Microsoft’s own Copilot will tell you how to activate Windows 11 without a license
Facepalm: A Reddit user has made an uncomfortable discovery for Microsoft. The company’s own AI assistant Copilot will provide you instructions on how to activate Windows 11 without a valid license. When asked, “Is there a script to activate Windows 11?” Copilot readily offers a step-by-step guide that enables unauthorized activation of the operating system.
Since the discovery, the activation method has been independently verified by multiple sources including Windows Central and Laptop Mag. While the method itself is not new – it has been circulating since 2022 – its promotion by Microsoft’s own AI tool is particularly eyebrow-raising.
The technique relies on a PowerShell command that integrates a third-party script to perform unauthorized activation. The script is typically sourced from GitHub repositories dedicated to Windows activation methods.
To its credit, Copilot does include a brief warning about the risks of executing such scripts, reminding users that unauthorized activation may violate Microsoft’s terms of service.
When questioned about the dangers of using activation scripts, Copilot outlines several potential risks, including legal ramifications due to violation of licensing agreements, security vulnerabilities from potentially malicious scripts, system instability and performance problems, lack of official support from Microsoft, potential issues with updates, and ethical considerations regarding software piracy.
Furthermore, the ease with which potentially harmful scripts can be obtained and executed poses significant security risks. A recent Wall Street Journal report highlighted a case where malware was disguised as an AI tool on GitHub, demonstrating the very real dangers of blindly trusting and executing online code.
For decades, Microsoft has grappled with the persistent issue of software piracy – a challenge that has both hindered and, paradoxically, fueled the company’s global expansion.
In 2006, the company reported staggering losses of approximately $14 billion due to unauthorized use of its products, despite investing millions in anti-piracy measures. However, Microsoft’s approach to piracy has been nuanced – far less aggressive than one might expect from a company facing such significant financial damage.
A long time ago, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates candidly discussed his attitude toward software piracy during a 1998 presentation at the University of Washington. He acknowledged the rampant theft of Microsoft products in China, where millions of computers were sold annually without corresponding software purchases. Rather than expressing outrage, Gates remarked: “As long as they’re going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.”
Microsoft’s tolerance for a certain level of piracy appeared to persist well into the 2010s. In a move that surprised many, the company announced in 2015 that it would allow users with non-genuine copies of Windows to upgrade to Windows 10 at no cost (but they would remain non-genuine and marked as unactivated).
