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 ...

Most pieces of commercial software come with some form of protection to deter unauthorized copying and installation. Although software makers use different methods to achieve this goal, one common ...

I've noticed that when I install the Windows 8 Consumer Preview I have to enter a product key during installation. There doesn't seem to be an option to install the operating system and then add the ...

You may for some reason need to change your Windows 11/10 product license key – maybe you want to upgrade your copy of Windows to a higher version, or maybe you ...

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.