Here's my theory: They're taking all the Windows and Office OEM bundle license stickers stuck on those ewaste PCs that we sent to China. They record the serial numbers, then resell them bundled with a bootleg copy of Office or Windows. They're valid serials, but you always have to call-in to activate them. The next step is to use Magic Jelly Bean and extract the generated valid serial number so you don't have to call-in to activate it again. Copy that serial number down, and you now have a working copy of Office or Windows.
Back in the day the company I was working for replaced a bunch of random Win95 machines with a fleet of standardised Comaq Deskpros running XP, but before deployment they all got re-imaged and activated with a volume license key. All the original XP product keys were therefore going "spare" so I had a text file with hundreds of the things; they came in pretty handy over the years!
Either that, or a seller who bought the Office discs wholesale, unaware that it was a bootleg. That wouldn't explain the long shipping though, so your theory is more likely. Edit: nvm hadn't finished the video yet, seems a lot less likely with that many lmao.
@@MichaelMJD I ran into this with video cards. You find old accounts, great feedback etc selling dozens of 1080 tis for dirt cheap prices. Then the listing and sometimes the account will be removed by ebay and the item is never shipped. I think ebay has been substantially compromised by scammers in this fashion the last few months.
eBay should crack down on these bootleg copies of Microsoft Windows & Microsoft Office by banning these accounts based on negative reviews from customers who bought these bootlegs. 17:30
If they were smart bootleggers, they could have replaced the support phone numbers with their own in an attempt to do some phishing. Makes even more sense if they purposefully put a disk that won't install. They could add an official looking statement saying to "Don't return if you have issues. Please call support first!".
Fun fact: that “security stable reputation” wording was actually used by Microsoft on packages targeted at China market at this time period. I’ve never seen these words on packages for other markets though. I guess whoever made this bootleg copy just did an OCR and then fed the Chinese results into an online translator. Also, that is a volume licensing edition of Office, which is a popular target of piracy because its activation scheme is more easily bypassed than the retail editions.
the fact that the DVD looks genuine makes me think it just is. they are probably mispressings or second grade that got sorted out, and some guy just fished them out of the bin before they could get destroyed and eventually they ended up in some counterfeit operation.
Michael before opening the box: "I do believe this could be legitimate, but I'm not sure." Michael after opening the box: "Nope nope nope this is a bootleg."
Lol the funniest part is when somebody has a four-letter name and their first name starts with an f and then their last name starts with K then it looks like usernames the f word
This version of Office is a volume license. This also explains why the version is different (Professional Plus instead of Professional). Volume keys are used in large organizations which need to install Office on a large amount of computers, so the product key could be used multiple times. This key was probably stolen as are many on the internet. Hope this helps!
A microsoft office bootleg that actually activated? Thats interesting af, wonder if they used actual copies but didnt have the packaging so they had to recreate it themselves.
Office Pro Plus is a volume license thing. They bought 500 old Volume license keys for a few bucks and glued them to the box. This is not a retail version
@@BanterEdits the problem is that Pro Plus requires a business/academic institution to be attached to activate basically like the office at home purchased copies of office once you leave the organization the office install deactivates. I wouldn't be shocked if there selling spare keys off a MSDN academic Alliance account from there college.
@@JeffreyPiatt that's for 2013 and up, which you can activate using an academic or business email on which your administrator associated the license to. ProPlus 2010 required a VLK to activate
I'm betting the original office manual was scanned and then reprinted using text recognition software from the original scan. My guess is that the scanner they used was junk (which would explain the low quality pics) and they realized it after trying to print the manual directly from the scan, but it was too blurry to even pass as legit at first glance. So they just ran text recognition software over the blurry scan (which also tries to guess the font, spacing, etc) and printed from that. That would explain a lot of the inconsistencies like with spacing, URLs, and the Trademark "TM".
I think the reason it didn’t let you activate ‘over the internet’ was because the professional plus version was designed to be activated using a KMS server on a corporate network, obviously on the average home network one of these wouldn’t be running so it won’t let you activate.
What you tend to see is VLKs(Volume) or MAKs that work for the first few years. Then MS finds out and disabled those. Could also be a OEM pulled off of a computer. I use to get bran new copies of older software via bankruptcy buy out from small businesses that in general do not have a Volume License. I do SAM audits so pretty much am versed on all the licensing rules. The disks may not be boot leg. The Disks may be legit, but the keys/packaging is boot leg.
Something like this happened to me back in January. I have an older eBay account with 100% feedback and someone hacked it and immediately they posted an add for copies of Windows 10. Luckily, I caught it and eBay removed the ad and didn't charge me any seller fees.
MJD did a video on that very subject. He talked about using Ultimate PID Checker and found out that it was a VLK key. Somehow it was listed as Retail as well, though.
I didn't even know it was possible to get a seller rating that low. Seems like eBay will shut down a seller pretty fast for getting that many negative reviews, but I'm assuming it must have all hit all at once dragging it down that far.
If the both companies teamed up, the first one making packaging, and the second one making software on the disc, it could be passed as a legit copy lol
I can confirm that you can still activate XP over the phone! About 2 months ago I had to do so with a new install of XP on a computer I helped build to play old games. It *would* have had a month grace period, but I updated the date and time without thinking.
As for the age of the ebay accounts, you've basically got the right of it. :) It's actually pretty easy to buy stolen accounts on sites like Blackhatworld as 'aged accounts' which can get used for drop shipping or scams. It's trivial to get a proxy for these kinds of things to appear as if they're originating from the stolen account's area of origin and with so many credential dumps available out there, stealing accounts is very easy because the majority of people will use a tiny number of passwords for all their online accounts. If you do this, you need to change them and diversify! :) Great video as always, Michael. Thanks for educating people or giving them tools to explain these kinds of scams to non-tech savy folks. :)
Yeah, so Professional Plus is a Volume License version, which was as you suggested, not available in a retail form. It won't require a key up-front, but the key will be legitimate. The key will either be a legitimate volume license customers key, or a volume license style key taken from an MSDN subscription or similar. Happens all the time, and Microsoft do not give a toss - I've had many conversations with them when customers have clearly bought a dodgy copy, and the answer from MS every time is "did it activate?" "Yes" "then it's legitimate and you're fine". That's how little they give a toss.
imagine coming back to ebay 20 years later and realise you are now selling bootleg microsoft office and have half negative reviews on your account which you did not do
14:25 I would like to mention, XP activation over the phone still works! About a week ago I set up a new XP VM after my old one shat the bed with an activation loop, and to my surprise the hotline still works perfectly. I'll try Office XP soon since it has a similar activation countdown despite my copy having a valid registration key...still don't understand why Microsoft did that...
Office 2007 Also works fine, as of Xp , i just installed office 2007 on a 3rd pc in my house ( i actualy have a 3 pc license of office 2007) and xp aout a month ago.
Very interesting Michael, well done. I wasn't aware so much counterfeited software is being sold on eBay these days..it pays to be vigilant when looking for some new stuff...thx to your research we're better informed before we buy...Cheers :-)
I reckon the provided keys that successfully validate are in fact Volume Licence keys that have been leaked or stolen. This could have consequences for businesses who originally bought the keys when they have their next Microsoft Audit when there is a mismatch between their reported installations and actual activations.
Other comments mention companies reselling unused volume keys after they upgrade to the next generation of software, eg they buy 1000 keys and use 800. Microsoft is probably not giving them a hard time when they show up to buy another 1000 keys in a few years.
I think these *are* legit copies that didn't pass QC, or were "midnight runs" where extra legitimate copies were manufactured without Microsoft's knowledge or consent after the factory was supposed to stop production.
This video is awesome i also liked the original one because of all the spelling mistakes on the bootleg copy of Microsoft Office 2010. Keep the great work MJD.
The reason it's Office 2010 Professional *Plus* is probably because you were able to download it as an ISO file for free from Microsoft directly years back as a Trail version. If it actually is the Trial ISO file, just burned to a disc made out to be like a real copy, then that would explain why it didn't ask you for a Product Key, because it was expecting that you are just installing a trial of Office 2010. I think that's also the reason why these bootleg copies are always of Office Professional, as to the end user it might not seem too off if there's just a "Plus" in the installer's title bar behind "Professional". Then again, this doesn't explain why the first Bootleg copy had Office 2010 Standard edition on it... The key could've just as well been a scooped up as a volume license key from some company liquidation sale, or stolen in a Network breach of a still existing company. Most companies I've worked at as a software developer, I was able to just pull the volume license keys from a network share, accessible to all employees of the IT department. Not that I ever did, but I could certainly get ahold of them if I wanted to...
@@MichaelMJD Also With the Activation problem, I have activated offices all the way down to XP. I havent tried with 2000 or 98, but i bet it would work!
Nowdays, a bootleg and legged boot are virtually indistinguishable. You're gated off from content that's usually free unless you pay and the only thing paying for it does is pay for a license that either makes you less stable or seats you below the cumulative update of Damocles while it plays piñata with your system. but at least you can change wall paper or some herpderp.
It’s funny/sad to think there are people buying these with the thought “well I don’t wanna *pirate* software, I want something legit” and then spending $60/70 on something as illegitimate as whatever they would have torrented.
The "shutdown" of online activation is due to TLS upgrades in the servers. The error means the OS and/or the software could not validate the secure connection to the server due to the upgrades.
I used to work in a Computer recycling center, and I can confirm that ALOT of the software on Ebay can be from those places and CAN be legit software and in many cases, NON USED older software from Companies and schools that donated or "recycled" old software and computers. The disc you just used was legit most likely, and the key may be legit but remember that each disc can get upto 3 activations, legit, activiations. Now as for the Saft ware? Yeah that is funny! But I used to sell unused legit OEM and sealed retail and enterprise software that came in big bins in the computer recycling center. Alot of it was from companies that never used all copies and licenses and upgraded before the life of the old software/computer hardware expired. Crazy stuff. But the CHINA thing sounds about right too. I had parts that were supposed to come from US location and took 3 weeks to arrive and turns out it came from China so yep, been there had that.
The old TechNet subscriptions would give you one key, usable for up to 5 or 10 activations. The TechNet DVDs were marked NOT FOR RESALE, but you could always download the .iso images from Microsoft’s subscription portal, and burn your own disc. Make some packaging, sell on eBay, collect cash. I’m not saying that’s what they did, but it would explain how they got legitimate keys with knock-off discs.
that phone number seems to be a united kingdom number, i'm in the uk and it seems like they used some online service as some US services have that wierd formatting.
OK, I think I got it! The license key that was included in that box is a volume license. Office professional plus is the volume license version that is typically marketed to enterprise clients. I would not be surprised to learn if that same license key is in all of the boxes that that guy sent out. If you have a volume license you’d be able to install that version of Microsoft office professional +2010 on a countless number of computers.
It’s interesting that you had to activate it over the phone. I freshly installed and activated office 2007 last year, even installing all the updates through Windows update.
I find it very interesting how both bootlegs are both better and worse than the other one. The print looks better on one, but the plastic case is worse. The disc has a sketchy looking folder in one, but the other has a worse looking disc.
My theory is that the product key is valid, like the cheap keys you can buy on ebay for windows and office but for some reason this seller sells it with a bootleg disc and packaging.
It might be because you can't use eBay to sell digital goods so they have to mock up (or pay someone in China) to make the packaging and disc to go with it, give it a tracking number, etc. so eBay/the buyer can't complain they didn't receive anything.
eBay from its beginning to 2011 didn’t have captcha during signup which is why the accounts are old because bots would creat them at mass and have since sold them to people who need to buy accounts in bulk
Could be that they had some old stock of just the cd's with key but without the box and basically repackaged it to sell as new / sealed copies. Simple sleeved copies that where mostly bundled do exist.
My brother got a copy of office 2003 when he was in college. He got it from the school IT department. It was labeled student & teacher edition, the box looked legit, but the CD itself was burned. I figured, maybe it was a volume license of their student version, because it said "for [College name] internal use only!" So I pop it into my laptop. Turns out it was a cracked version of 2003 standard with instructions on how to apply the crack in the root directory. Oof.
A few thoughts, the old accounts suddenly getting lots of negative feedback are probably pwned abandoned accounts or purchased accounts. But you've got onto that now The parts that seem real are probably ewaste, the rest of it has been bootlegged to fill in the missing blanks. The varying prices, probably listed in different currencies and if you convert it to the currency they list it in it'll be some round number
I bought a copy of Office 2019 Pro Plus for my mother last year from G2A at a 91% discount and it was valid... for a day. Was able to phone-reactivate but it was dumb stuff having to do that.
For a long time now, possibly since before 2010, Microsoft office has released in multiple channels. The main 2 are volume licence and retail. Retail asks for a key when you launch the installer. Volume licence does not. This is to allow corporations and network admins to use volume licence management tools to deploy software using deployment services and activate keys across their network. There is a program called volume activation management tool which is used for this purpose. In this tool you can see the pcs on your domain and the Microsoft products they have installed along with their activation status and push keys out to them which is all hidden from the user. If you were to input the keys you have received into this tool it would tell you what kind of keys they are (retail or volume) along with the number of remaining activations. Keys can often have hundreds of thousands of licences attached to them depending on the agreement the company has with Microsoft.
they just throw in licence keys stolen from some company's computers, that have already been activated but only once. Usualy microsoft will allow those keys to activate a few times (like 3 times), but only through phone activation, not internet. I think this is to cover cases where computer turns faulty and needs to have swapped partes inside, causing activation to break down. I believe in this bootleg they altered the software somehow so it won't connect to activation servers, forcing you to activate through phone, which will work. When you see those websites selling office 2019 keys for like $5 it's the same deal. Pre activated licences that can still be activated once or twice through phone only.
I think a lot of it is the same - abusing enterprise licensing and reselling those keys. Some of those listings have legitimate keys that get added to your Microsoft account. The real bad ones are the "Office 265 Lifetime" listings -- those sell you a Microsoft account (email/password) you must use that has Office 365 on it. Probably the same enterprise abuse, or maybe stolen accounts... I would like someone to investigate that.
The Microsoft Saftware Genuine Authority has given you the gift of high-performance and secure.
Very Cringe
If you'd remove the period at the end you'd keep me hanging
Microsoft®️ sa ftware
*Genuine* authority
Security Stable Reputation
lmao
@@instinctivelycorner ＳＡＦＴＷＡＲＥ
(ｓａｆｔｗａｒｅ）
@@instinctivelycorner ツッ
Here's my theory: They're taking all the Windows and Office OEM bundle license stickers stuck on those ewaste PCs that we sent to China. They record the serial numbers, then resell them bundled with a bootleg copy of Office or Windows.
They're valid serials, but you always have to call-in to activate them. The next step is to use Magic Jelly Bean and extract the generated valid serial number so you don't have to call-in to activate it again. Copy that serial number down, and you now have a working copy of Office or Windows.
That has tobe the reason, as the keys on the box themselves are no longer even applicable anymore.
Another option is someone that just generated a key with a keygen.
@@espertalhao041 Keygens can’t be activated over the phone...
In other words: Defund Chinese bootleggers. (19:27)
Back in the day the company I was working for replaced a bunch of random Win95 machines with a fleet of standardised Comaq Deskpros running XP, but before deployment they all got re-imaged and activated with a volume license key. All the original XP product keys were therefore going "spare" so I had a text file with hundreds of the things; they came in pretty handy over the years!
Could be a hacked or bought eBay account, hence the change in feedback. You sometimes see scam mails looking to buy eBay accounts with good feedback
Either that, or a seller who bought the Office discs wholesale, unaware that it was a bootleg. That wouldn't explain the long shipping though, so your theory is more likely.
Edit: nvm hadn't finished the video yet, seems a lot less likely with that many lmao.
This is discussed near the end of the video!
@@MichaelMJD I ran into this with video cards. You find old accounts, great feedback etc selling dozens of 1080 tis for dirt cheap prices. Then the listing and sometimes the account will be removed by ebay and the item is never shipped. I think ebay has been substantially compromised by scammers in this fashion the last few months.
eBay should crack down on these bootleg copies of Microsoft Windows & Microsoft Office by banning these accounts based on negative reviews from customers who bought these bootlegs. 17:30
@@wadmodderschalton5763 problem is if these are hacked accounts then the people who originally had the account would not have an account anymore
If they were smart bootleggers, they could have replaced the support phone numbers with their own in an attempt to do some phishing. Makes even more sense if they purposefully put a disk that won't install. They could add an official looking statement saying to "Don't return if you have issues. Please call support first!".
They might take it down, though. Ebay or Amazon might get a complaint about it, and they would investigate.
Don't give them ideas
@@Yellowpick10 They'd just make a new account. It is much easier than it should be to avoid takedowns from Ebay and Amazon.
Fun fact: that “security stable reputation” wording was actually used by Microsoft on packages targeted at China market at this time period. I’ve never seen these words on packages for other markets though. I guess whoever made this bootleg copy just did an OCR and then fed the Chinese results into an online translator.
Also, that is a volume licensing edition of Office, which is a popular target of piracy because its activation scheme is more easily bypassed than the retail editions.
You don't have to say "Fun fact". We aren't on reddit.
@@hammondOTreddit didn't invent fun facts 💀💀💀
@@hammondOTbuddy, reddit did not invent fun facts. 💀💀💀
@@Windows2000Professional.s Redditors love adding "fun fact" to their posts.
the fact that the DVD looks genuine makes me think it just is. they are probably mispressings or second grade that got sorted out, and some guy just fished them out of the bin before they could get destroyed and eventually they ended up in some counterfeit operation.
I love this bootleg copy series! I would love to see more of this :)
Same!
,
Not me - when you've seen one.... you've basically seen them all. These have so many red flags it gets boring as they get listed.
@justaPERSON me three
S O F U A R E
Sa ftware
*LOL*
Michael before opening the box: "I do believe this could be legitimate, but I'm not sure."
Michael after opening the box: "Nope nope nope this is a bootleg."
GoAnimate
TBONE? YOU WATCH MICHAEL MJD TOO?
@@Linus7671DX Yes I do. I'm a big fan of computers and operating systems. It's what I want to do going further in life.
@@tboneanimatetwoaccount2094 OMG me too. I love computers and operating systems. I even use VirtualBox to emulate Linux distros.
I love how eBay censors usernames except for first and last letter, so it just looks like a bunch of swearing
Lol the funniest part is when somebody has a four-letter name and their first name starts with an f and then their last name starts with K then it looks like usernames the f word
At least you got a Physical CD and a Box, Microsoft doesn´t even include that anymore.
Microsoft needs to take these unofficial box art rips some legal action. (1:06)
They use USBs
Petition to name Bootleg Software as "Saftware"!
Lemme just boot up "Winders", it's my favorite Saftware.
Im signing up
@@SECONDQUEST isn't that an oparating sistam?
It's like Engrish and English
also, don't forget, *sofuare* as well!
3:58 Fun fact you’d regret: the Chinese letters says “Never gonna give you up”
Lmao
This version of Office is a volume license. This also explains why the version is different (Professional Plus instead of Professional). Volume keys are used in large organizations which need to install Office on a large amount of computers, so the product key could be used multiple times. This key was probably stolen as are many on the internet. Hope this helps!
A microsoft office bootleg that actually activated? Thats interesting af, wonder if they used actual copies but didnt have the packaging so they had to recreate it themselves.
Or they just got a legit key from another internet listing, bc people are stupid so many times and make a photo where the product key can be seen.
@@DokuFREENET totally possible
Office Pro Plus is a volume license thing. They bought 500 old Volume license keys for a few bucks and glued them to the box. This is not a retail version
@@BanterEdits the problem is that Pro Plus requires a business/academic institution to be attached to activate basically like the office at home purchased copies of office once you leave the organization the office install deactivates. I wouldn't be shocked if there selling spare keys off a MSDN academic Alliance account from there college.
@@JeffreyPiatt that's for 2013 and up, which you can activate using an academic or business email on which your administrator associated the license to. ProPlus 2010 required a VLK to activate
I'm betting the original office manual was scanned and then reprinted using text recognition software from the original scan. My guess is that the scanner they used was junk (which would explain the low quality pics) and they realized it after trying to print the manual directly from the scan, but it was too blurry to even pass as legit at first glance. So they just ran text recognition software over the blurry scan (which also tries to guess the font, spacing, etc) and printed from that. That would explain a lot of the inconsistencies like with spacing, URLs, and the Trademark "TM".
I think the reason it didn’t let you activate ‘over the internet’ was because the professional plus version was designed to be activated using a KMS server on a corporate network, obviously on the average home network one of these wouldn’t be running so it won’t let you activate.
Michael is trying everything in his power to try and figure out a logical solution to all of the weirdness in this sofuare manual.
Yas! Tahdis prabably idy.
Sa ftware*
This saftware manual is so bad, even a 10-year-old could do better.
So nobody’s going to talk about how the “O” in “Office” is still lowercase?
lol
loll
Counterfeiting, without utilising braincells be like:
michaelshaft binbows ton
michealshaft oficce 2010
@@weegeenumberone2 Oficce 2013 Ward, Eksel, Puwarpont, OutLoek, Pablišer
What you tend to see is VLKs(Volume) or MAKs that work for the first few years. Then MS finds out and disabled those. Could also be a OEM pulled off of a computer. I use to get bran new copies of older software via bankruptcy buy out from small businesses that in general do not have a Volume License. I do SAM audits so pretty much am versed on all the licensing rules. The disks may not be boot leg. The Disks may be legit, but the keys/packaging is boot leg.
Something like this happened to me back in January. I have an older eBay account with 100% feedback and someone hacked it and immediately they posted an add for copies of Windows 10. Luckily, I caught it and eBay removed the ad and didn't charge me any seller fees.
The background music reminds me of some other channel...
oh... i know... "I'm ARMING THE NUGGET!"
A man of culture I see. How many dollaridoos for this?
@@rGunti 1 Grit should do it!
**bluechewch** mode
It’s the freakish ears on a stand music
@@n.d1282
A U X I L L A R Y
M O D E
That is the volume licensed version of Office 2010. You can tell by the EULA shown. The retail versions always have the full EULA.
MJD did a video on that very subject. He talked about using Ultimate PID Checker and found out that it was a VLK key. Somehow it was listed as Retail as well, though.
I didn't even know it was possible to get a seller rating that low. Seems like eBay will shut down a seller pretty fast for getting that many negative reviews, but I'm assuming it must have all hit all at once dragging it down that far.
3:11 Microsoft sometimes sends out Office products in that cheap packaging but that rarely happens.
Interesting....
Mikerowsoft Office Professional 2010
Yep, genuwin saftware indeed.
"All your base are belong to us" pretty much describes that documentation
The Chinese at 4:00 says “Never gonna give you up”
these have been popping all over eBay from my recent experience
Ah, another Bootleg Office Professional video. I love bootleg sa ftware videos.
But they are genuine sofuare
Michael: Im finally done making that bootleg windows video
The sketchy company: "There is another one"
If the both companies teamed up, the first one making packaging, and the second one making software on the disc, it could be passed as a legit copy lol
I can confirm that you can still activate XP over the phone! About 2 months ago I had to do so with a new install of XP on a computer I helped build to play old games. It *would* have had a month grace period, but I updated the date and time without thinking.
I dident even know they put office on a DVD....
Now they don’t but before people didn’t use the internet as much people before used floppy disks and dvds for everything
In the mid-2000's to early-2010's, everything came on a DVD (or CD if the software was small enough).
What is a dvd?
@@drueckglueck9918 a disc that you put ur files and shit on
@@HeenaPatel253 Actually, theres still a versión of Office 2019 on disc that you can buy, albeit rarer to find.
As for the age of the ebay accounts, you've basically got the right of it. :)
It's actually pretty easy to buy stolen accounts on sites like Blackhatworld as 'aged accounts' which can get used for drop shipping or scams. It's trivial to get a proxy for these kinds of things to appear as if they're originating from the stolen account's area of origin and with so many credential dumps available out there, stealing accounts is very easy because the majority of people will use a tiny number of passwords for all their online accounts. If you do this, you need to change them and diversify! :)
Great video as always, Michael. Thanks for educating people or giving them tools to explain these kinds of scams to non-tech savy folks. :)
3:58 Wait Michael, did you just rickrolled us with Chinese? (It's Never Gonna Give You Up translated into Chinese)
Yeah, so Professional Plus is a Volume License version, which was as you suggested, not available in a retail form. It won't require a key up-front, but the key will be legitimate. The key will either be a legitimate volume license customers key, or a volume license style key taken from an MSDN subscription or similar. Happens all the time, and Microsoft do not give a toss - I've had many conversations with them when customers have clearly bought a dodgy copy, and the answer from MS every time is "did it activate?" "Yes" "then it's legitimate and you're fine".
That's how little they give a toss.
When the copy of windows office you ordered to compare to a bootleg is ALSO a bootleg!
Yay another bootleg Microsoft office video
'
@@PlanetComputer No sir, I disagree with your statement.
@@PlanetComputer Thank you for this important information
@@PlanetComputer Very informative
@@PlanetComputer lol
did you even notice the briefcases have different shadows?
imagine coming back to ebay 20 years later and realise you are now selling bootleg microsoft office and have half negative reviews on your account which you did not do
What they most likely have done was get a iso from the web and put it on a CD
3:59 The box with the Chinese text is actually a rick roll. The text is a google translated version of "Never gonna give you up"
The account may be hacked or bought, hence the feedback change from 93 from 72.
at this point, you are no longer just michael. you are michaelsoft. michaelsoft binbows
It looks like older Ebay accounts are being cracked and then used to sell Microsoft Office scams. Looks like a pretty massive scheme too.
I absolutely love the little Santa Claus pointer.
14:25 I would like to mention, XP activation over the phone still works! About a week ago I set up a new XP VM after my old one shat the bed with an activation loop, and to my surprise the hotline still works perfectly. I'll try Office XP soon since it has a similar activation countdown despite my copy having a valid registration key...still don't understand why Microsoft did that...
Office 2007 Also works fine, as of Xp , i just installed office 2007 on a 3rd pc in my house ( i actualy have a 3 pc license of office 2007) and xp aout a month ago.
Office 03 last good Office
Very interesting Michael, well done. I wasn't aware so much counterfeited software is being sold on eBay these days..it pays to be vigilant when looking for some new stuff...thx to your research we're better informed before we buy...Cheers :-)
I reckon the provided keys that successfully validate are in fact Volume Licence keys that have been leaked or stolen. This could have consequences for businesses who originally bought the keys when they have their next Microsoft Audit when there is a mismatch between their reported installations and actual activations.
Other comments mention companies reselling unused volume keys after they upgrade to the next generation of software, eg they buy 1000 keys and use 800. Microsoft is probably not giving them a hard time when they show up to buy another 1000 keys in a few years.
Really. This is the best bootleg series ever! Please make more of these!
9:51 I love the "I hope" there, the guy making this bootleg decided to talk to the person who was unfortunate to have purchased this product
I love how the package is blatantly hinting this is pirated by saying genuine so much lol.
I think these *are* legit copies that didn't pass QC, or were "midnight runs" where extra legitimate copies were manufactured without Microsoft's knowledge or consent after the factory was supposed to stop production.
"Midnight run", man haven't heard that phrase for a while, not since I dabbled in bootleg Adidas and Nike
This video is awesome i also liked the original one because of all the spelling mistakes on the bootleg copy of Microsoft Office 2010. Keep the great work MJD.
Thank you! I appreciate it!
when you realize the background music is the same one Dankpods use to test headphones *mindblowing*
The reason it's Office 2010 Professional *Plus* is probably because you were able to download it as an ISO file for free from Microsoft directly years back as a Trail version.
If it actually is the Trial ISO file, just burned to a disc made out to be like a real copy, then that would explain why it didn't ask you for a Product Key, because it was expecting that you are just installing a trial of Office 2010.
I think that's also the reason why these bootleg copies are always of Office Professional, as to the end user it might not seem too off if there's just a "Plus" in the installer's title bar behind "Professional". Then again, this doesn't explain why the first Bootleg copy had Office 2010 Standard edition on it...
The key could've just as well been a scooped up as a volume license key from some company liquidation sale, or stolen in a Network breach of a still existing company. Most companies I've worked at as a software developer, I was able to just pull the volume license keys from a network share, accessible to all employees of the IT department. Not that I ever did, but I could certainly get ahold of them if I wanted to...
I love seeing the real world exposed, seeing how much you truly are going to get is amazing. Makes me think twice before making a purchase.
Always love When I get a notification for when you upload! Keep up the good work! Also I have made my own windows 98 PC with new old stock parts!
That's awesome!
@@MichaelMJD Thanks! I never really expected you to resond! Haha! I love your channel. Don't tell Linus, but I watch you way more than him.
@@MichaelMJD Also With the Activation problem, I have activated offices all the way down to XP. I havent tried with 2000 or 98, but i bet it would work!
Nowdays, a bootleg and legged boot are virtually indistinguishable. You're gated off from content that's usually free unless you pay and the only thing paying for it does is pay for a license that either makes you less stable or seats you below the cumulative update of Damocles while it plays piñata with your system. but at least you can change wall paper or some herpderp.
Really liked the flying calendars, lol
Addendum: ok this is looking to be a theme today, excellent
It’s funny/sad to think there are people buying these with the thought “well I don’t wanna *pirate* software, I want something legit” and then spending $60/70 on something as illegitimate as whatever they would have torrented.
It took me way too long to realize i was watching MJD, not LGR.
“Greetings”, (using LGR catchphrase)
@@RonnyFebri "Hello everybody and welcome back..." (MJD catchprase intro)
The "shutdown" of online activation is due to TLS upgrades in the servers. The error means the OS and/or the software could not validate the secure connection to the server due to the upgrades.
Digital Signature means nothing if you won't verify it (you can do it by clicking details)
Great editing! Keep up the great work.
Thank you!
If you want to identify whether that's a bootleg DVD, try peeling off the hologram. Genuine holograms are integrated into the disc itself.
I used to work in a Computer recycling center, and I can confirm that ALOT of the software on Ebay can be from those places and CAN be legit software and in many cases, NON USED older software from Companies and schools that donated or "recycled" old software and computers. The disc you just used was legit most likely, and the key may be legit but remember that each disc can get upto 3 activations, legit, activiations. Now as for the Saft ware? Yeah that is funny! But I used to sell unused legit OEM and sealed retail and enterprise software that came in big bins in the computer recycling center. Alot of it was from companies that never used all copies and licenses and upgraded before the life of the old software/computer hardware expired. Crazy stuff. But the CHINA thing sounds about right too. I had parts that were supposed to come from US location and took 3 weeks to arrive and turns out it came from China so yep, been there had that.
The old TechNet subscriptions would give you one key, usable for up to 5 or 10 activations. The TechNet DVDs were marked NOT FOR RESALE, but you could always download the .iso images from Microsoft’s subscription portal, and burn your own disc. Make some packaging, sell on eBay, collect cash. I’m not saying that’s what they did, but it would explain how they got legitimate keys with knock-off discs.
that phone number seems to be a united kingdom number, i'm in the uk and it seems like they used some online service as some US services have that wierd formatting.
OK, I think I got it! The license key that was included in that box is a volume license. Office professional plus is the volume license version that is typically marketed to enterprise clients. I would not be surprised to learn if that same license key is in all of the boxes that that guy sent out. If you have a volume license you’d be able to install that version of Microsoft office professional +2010 on a countless number of computers.
Thank you your support for genuine sofuare. You're winner! Be sure to maintainup.
That leaflet gave me strong Vincent Adultman vibes xDDD
It’s interesting that you had to activate it over the phone. I freshly installed and activated office 2007 last year, even installing all the updates through Windows update.
Unsupported as of October 2020. So if you tried to activate prior to that, it would work
I find it very interesting how both bootlegs are both better and worse than the other one. The print looks better on one, but the plastic case is worse. The disc has a sketchy looking folder in one, but the other has a worse looking disc.
I love these videos so much. Gotta love the spelling mistakes, always makes me chuckle.
The one that is printed twice is an Office Standard DVD with the Office Professional label plastered over it.
BRUH I DIDNT EVEN GET A NOTIFICATION THANK YOU UA-cam RECOMMENDED :D
My theory is that the product key is valid, like the cheap keys you can buy on ebay for windows and office but for some reason this seller sells it with a bootleg disc and packaging.
It might be because you can't use eBay to sell digital goods so they have to mock up (or pay someone in China) to make the packaging and disc to go with it, give it a tracking number, etc. so eBay/the buyer can't complain they didn't receive anything.
eBay from its beginning to 2011 didn’t have captcha during signup which is why the accounts are old because bots would creat them at mass and have since sold them to people who need to buy accounts in bulk
LOL What does Office have to do with security? That packaging is hilarious! XD
"help you a helping hand"
Yep, activating windows xp through the phone still works, at least on a portuguese number, it was a really boring and tedious process though
I just activated Xp on a US number last month
Could be that they had some old stock of just the cd's with key but without the box and basically repackaged it to sell as new / sealed copies.
Simple sleeved copies that where mostly bundled do exist.
I'm pretty sure the activation servers are still up, it's just that Windows XP doesn't support TLS 1.1 or above so it can't talk to them.
So... there’s XP activation servers that XP can’t use... Nice
The ironic part is that they probably created the packaging using Microsoft Word 2010.
You should make this a whole series!
Hey...that background music...kinda reminds me of iPods...
"This is supposed to be a real copy of Microsoft Office"
Me: *looks at unbranded, cardboard box* "If this was Among Us I'd be voting that box out"
corny joke 😐
My brother got a copy of office 2003 when he was in college. He got it from the school IT department. It was labeled student & teacher edition, the box looked legit, but the CD itself was burned. I figured, maybe it was a volume license of their student version, because it said "for [College name] internal use only!" So I pop it into my laptop. Turns out it was a cracked version of 2003 standard with instructions on how to apply the crack in the root directory. Oof.
Oh. The serial was also legit, and the sticker itself looked legit. I'm thinking someone swapped the disc.
A few thoughts, the old accounts suddenly getting lots of negative feedback are probably pwned abandoned accounts or purchased accounts. But you've got onto that now
The parts that seem real are probably ewaste, the rest of it has been bootlegged to fill in the missing blanks.
The varying prices, probably listed in different currencies and if you convert it to the currency they list it in it'll be some round number
We need a part 3 with the genuine version! I'm loving this series!
Sohappy you are able show this genuine MicRosaut Office Professional for viewing preasure us. Dammit I just can't do it. Great video MJD 😊 👍
I bought a copy of Office 2019 Pro Plus for my mother last year from G2A at a 91% discount and it was valid... for a day. Was able to phone-reactivate but it was dumb stuff having to do that.
The trick here is that these disks have the volume version of office, and the key is a MAK key (Multiple Activation Key, not RETAIL or OEM)
i don’t know how i found this channel, but i’m glad i ended up here
For a long time now, possibly since before 2010, Microsoft office has released in multiple channels. The main 2 are volume licence and retail.
Retail asks for a key when you launch the installer. Volume licence does not. This is to allow corporations and network admins to use volume licence management tools to deploy software using deployment services and activate keys across their network.
There is a program called volume activation management tool which is used for this purpose. In this tool you can see the pcs on your domain and the Microsoft products they have installed along with their activation status and push keys out to them which is all hidden from the user. If you were to input the keys you have received into this tool it would tell you what kind of keys they are (retail or volume) along with the number of remaining activations. Keys can often have hundreds of thousands of licences attached to them depending on the agreement the company has with Microsoft.
It's funny to see this bootlegs, and when suddenly zoom or make a flying text it's even funnier... Simple but effective :)))
3:59 i cackled out loud because the chinese translates to "never gonna give you up"
they just throw in licence keys stolen from some company's computers, that have already been activated but only once. Usualy microsoft will allow those keys to activate a few times (like 3 times), but only through phone activation, not internet. I think this is to cover cases where computer turns faulty and needs to have swapped partes inside, causing activation to break down. I believe in this bootleg they altered the software somehow so it won't connect to activation servers, forcing you to activate through phone, which will work. When you see those websites selling office 2019 keys for like $5 it's the same deal. Pre activated licences that can still be activated once or twice through phone only.
I think a lot of it is the same - abusing enterprise licensing and reselling those keys. Some of those listings have legitimate keys that get added to your Microsoft account. The real bad ones are the "Office 265 Lifetime" listings -- those sell you a Microsoft account (email/password) you must use that has Office 365 on it. Probably the same enterprise abuse, or maybe stolen accounts... I would like someone to investigate that.
Yes. Because the more it says it's genuine , the more legit will look