Simply enter your product key and the program will tell you if it’s a real key or not. That means you don’t need to install them and can simply run them from a flash drive or any other storage location. In general, PID applications are portable. While there are a few choices, two of the most popular are the Microsoft PID Checker (not by Microsoft!) and the Ultimate PID checker.

These programs are not made by Microsoft and you should always use a virus scanner to check them before running any such application. One simple way to make sure if your product key is legitimate is to use a product key checker. Instead, if you see “activation expiration” or “renewal interval” it’s likely that your Windows installation has been cracked using an activator hack. If you see a box like this, which only shows entries for “partial product key” and “license status”, then your copy of Windows is genuine. If your computer came preloaded with Windows 10, it might be that the system builder is inflating their profits by cutting Microsoft out and loading compromised Windows copies on their systems.

You may have bought a cheap copy of Windows 10 from a third-party seller who is in fact selling cracked versions of the operating system. The short answer is that the counterfeit software business is big money. So why would your copy be cracked unbeknownst to you?

Obviously, if you cracked your copy of Windows yourself you wouldn’t be reading this article. Microsoft seems cool with it, so until their stance changes you might not actually have to pay any money for a Windows key.

If you want to use Windows 10 on a secondary computer or in a virtual machine where you don’t care about the minor restrictions imposed by not activating it, you may never have to bother. You can save up for a Windows license and buy it when you’re ready. So if you’re in a hurry to get a key because you believe your computer is going to stop working or isn’t getting security patches, you don’t have to worry.

Windows 10 product key free