Did A2D Scam Us?
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Did A2D really scam us? How is it different from piracy?
Yes, he scammed us. No, it's not the same as using a Spotify mod. I support piracy in a lot of cases, but this goes beyond piracy.
These keys are stolen from small businesses, directly harming them. Ironically, businesses like the PC building company that Nanda runs. These keys also get revoked by Microsoft, directly harming his audience who believed him and bought those keys.
To understand it, we need to know how Windows licenses work.
Before we dive into the explanation, you need to know that there's a legitimate way to get Windows licenses for all editions, directly from Microsoft for free. If Nanda cared about you, he would've taught you that instead of selling you stolen keys for profit.
There are multiple types of Windows licenses, but to keep it simple, I'm categorizing them into two: consumer license and enterprise license.
Consumer licenses are sold to, you guessed it, consumers. Windows calls them retail licenses. You and I are individual consumers. The only licenses we can buy are retail licenses.
Enterprise licenses are sold to manufacturers, companies, and businesses. As individual consumers, these are not available for us to buy.
There are different types of enterprise licenses, but we'll focus on OEM licenses specifically. What even is OEM?
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. These are the companies that build your laptops and PCs. Acer, Dell, even A2D's PC building company comes under this category.
When you buy a laptop or PC, they usually come with Windows installed and activated. You probably have a Home edition license.
These companies sell lots of computers. Microsoft offers cheaper Windows licenses to such companies. These are OEM keys. They come with their own restrictions.
Retail keys (remember, they're the ones we can buy) can be transferred from one PC to another. OEM keys are tied to the specific hardware it was activated on. It can't be transferred. Making sense so far?
If Microsoft only sells these OEM keys to companies, how did Nanda get his hands on them?
He's working with a Chinese company that registered itself as a Microsoft Gold Partner to get those keys. Remember, these keys can only be used for PCs they manufacture, and they cannot be resold. That's in the agreement.
Now now, hold on. Take a breath. It gets deeper.
I had posted info about this company in my old account, but it got nuked and I didn't save the info.
These companies might be registered partners, but they're not buying OEM keys. They hack and steal OEM keys from other companies and businesses. Remember how I told you it harms small businesses?
Let's say I start a PC building company. I get a Microsoft Gold Partnership and buy a bunch of OEM keys. Hackers steal my shiny new OEM keys and resell them to you for profit. Microsoft will find out, and I have to face the consequences. Me, the small business owner who just wanted to make an honest living.
How is this fair? Nanda, after talking all his bullshit about supporting small businesses, is harming me.
We should hold him responsible. Get this info to as many people as you can. I'm willing to answer any questions you have.