One thing that has been common on notebook and desktop computers purchased at retail for years is a little sticker on the bottom or on the back of the machine that has the Windows product key. The ...

Product keys for Windows 8 computers aren't printed on a sticker. They're encrypted in the BIOS. How might that affect you? Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT ...

Those purchasing Windows 8 PCs are noticing that the small "Certificate of Authenticity" that is normally home to the product key is missing, and instead a "Genuine Microsoft" label has replaced it.

All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. Let's say you want ...

At least for now, though, it seems like this change will only apply to future Windows versions. We were able to activate a fresh Windows 11 Pro 22H2 install with a Windows 8 Pro product key as of this ...