Demand for pirated versions of Windows has grown in Russia

Google searches related to Windows 10 activation methods have grown by 80-250% over the past three months, depending on the wording. About this with reference to Google Trends data writes "Kommersant".

In June, one of the fastest growing searches was the free download of Excel (up 650%). And the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool, which allows you to create boot OS images have been searched 47 times more often in the last week than before.

The reason for these changes was restrictions from Microsoft to download Windows from Russia and Belarus.

According to Igor Martyushev, a representative of Marvel Distribution, there are no new deliveries of boxed OS from Microsoft, and at the current level of sales, the stock will last for several months.

One of the sources of the publication "Kommersant" also clarified that buyers of the "boxed" version of Windows now they will be able to use the OS only if they indicate another country during registration, not Russia and not Belarus. The same goes for new laptops with a pre-installed OS.

Recall that all Microsoft restrictions on downloading utilities and OS images can still be bypassed using VPN.