A former Microsoft employee explains that the company’s revenue model for Windows 11 relies on OEM pre‑install fees and the usage of bundled services like Edge, Bing, Microsoft 365 and Copilot, so it tolerates pirated activations as long as the OS remains in use.
After Microsoft halted sales and blocked Windows downloads in Russia, piracy surged and Russian government bodies began rapidly shifting to Linux, especially Astra Linux, signing billion‑ruble contracts while facing the complex challenges of migrating embedded, software‑controlled systems.
BetterIntelliJ, a plugin that falsely promises to crack IntelliJ IDEA until 2099, has been exposed as malware; JetBrains warns users to stop sharing it and provides a simple three‑step guide to uninstall the dangerous plugin from the IDE.
The article recounts how a developer created the “Da Niu Assistant” app to spoof DingTalk check‑ins, generated several hundred thousand yuan in revenue, was analyzed by Alibaba security engineers, and ultimately led to a five‑year‑six‑month prison sentence, highlighting the risks of security‑related startups.
A Chinese court case reveals how a reverse‑engineered, unauthorized WeChat client for feature phones spread illegal ads, compromised encrypted communications, and led to criminal charges for providing tools to infiltrate computer systems, highlighting serious information‑security risks and the legal consequences of software piracy.
