I would like to slipstream updates into Windows ISO's and share them with the world. There will be no activators, keys, cracks, tools, etc, of any sort bundled. It would be up to the users themselves to activate it, either legally or illegally. What I would like to know is if it is illegal for myself to share this software taking into account that no activators will be included. I will not be using a VPN for this, so my IP would be exposed. Thoughts?
Well it's illegal, at least in terms of MS policy. They'll send a cease and desist letter to any site from hosting their iso images. Though with bittorrent there's no way of enforcing that. Still they can go after sites that host the magnet or torrent links, but if the server is in a country that does not respect their copyright there's nothing they can do. Lots of Windows iso images floating around torrent space, always will be. Personally I'm always a little wary of software that lives in torrent space. You never really know what's in there since the files do not come from official sources. Still that does not keep me from using bittorrent at all, but I always like to verify stuff through hashes and what not as much as possible.
Ok, cool. I'm not concerned about the site since it would be a magnet link on TPB. What my concern is, is me. I would be sharing a file through a magnet link with my IP visible to everyone, and not through a VPN. As the person who shares this magnet link through TPB, is there any chance that I could get in trouble for it? I've downloaded MS software through TPB and never got any notices. Movies and T.V. shows are a different story. But as an author and host who initially starts the sharing of MS software through a magnet link on TPB, I don't know if I would get notified or in trouble somehow.
If they catch you, you will get a letter from a lawyer to cease what your doing, unless they decide to make an "example" out of you then you might need a lawyer too
I'm not familiar with "TPB", but if it's a server outside the realm of MS copyright you won't have to worry about it. Even if not they tend not to go after sites that host torrent/magnet links as much as those that host the iso files themselves, but it's still within their rights. It's their intellectual property and they have the right to protect it. MS has actually backed off on that quite a bit in recent times. They now consider consumer Windows more of a vehicle to other revenue streams rather than a source of revenue itself.
TPB = The Pirate Bay https://thepiratebay.org/ Depending on where you live, Some ISP's have been known to block their web site
Oh okay, Pirate Bay, didn't register, familiar with that one. That's a hit and miss site. Some ISPs block it and a lot of times its servers are just down. They've had a very storied past with people going after them. In any case you can post a torrent/magnet link there without much concern. I suppose it's possible, but I've never heard of anyone going after torrent seeds with legal papers. What happens mostly with that is bad seeds put up intentionally to mangle torrents. You need a filter on your client for that reason. It's kind of a cat and mouse game.
