Users who have pirate copies of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free when it launches later this year, Microsoft has confirmed.<\/p>\n
Microsoft\u2019s plan to offer the free upgrade to pirates was detailed in a Reuters report<\/a><\/strong>, which said the company was making a\u00a0push into the heavily-pirated Chinese market.<\/p>\n In a post<\/a> <\/strong>on the Windows Blog, the executive vice president of operating systems at Microsoft Terry Myerson announced a number of partnerships to help drive adoption of Windows 10 in China.<\/p>\n Microsoft has since confirmed it plans to offer free Windows 10 upgrades to users of genuine and pirate versions of Windows beyond China, too.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone with a qualified device can upgrade to Window 10, including those with pirated copies of Windows,\u201d said Microsoft.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe customers over time will realize the value of properly licensing Windows and we will make it easy for them to move to legitimate copies.\u201d<\/p>\n Microsoft announced in January 2015 that it would offer free Windows 10 upgrades<\/strong><\/a> for the first year after the operating system launches.<\/p>\n The upgrade will be available to Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 users.<\/p>\n Once a device is upgraded to Windows 10, Microsoft will keep it current for the supported lifetime for the device.<\/p>\n For businesses, Microsoft will continue to support Windows the way it works today: with long-term branches and long-term support.<\/p>\n Myerson also announced that Windows 10 would launch \u201cthis summer\u201d (May \u2013 September 2015).<\/p>\n Windows Holographic: Microsoft unveils the future of Windows<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Expect Windows 10 in SA on the same day as the US<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Project Spartan: new Microsoft web browser announced<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore Windows 10 news<\/h3>\n