Yesterday, we told you that Windows 8 had reached its ‘RTM’ (Released To Manufacturers) stage. We also mentioned that this stage, in the past, has been where illegal versions of Windows start to appear online.
While a Windows 8 leak isn’t unexpected, nobody expected it to happen this quickly. Today, on August 2, one day after Windows 8 was released to manufacturers, it looks like the full version of Microsoft’s latest operating system has already been leaked online.
A quick search on sites like The Pirate Bay doesn’t appear to turn up any copies of Windows 8. However, other file sharing sites do appear to have copies of Windows 8 currently available. We don’t want to get in trouble by linking to those sites, but you’ll be able to find them without trouble after a few seconds of internet searching.
Obviously, Microsoft doesn’t recommend using these copies of Windows 8, and they’re generally not a good idea. In many cases, those who leak early versions of new operating systems will simply infect a demo version with a virus. After you install the new operating system on your computer, you’re infected with that virus right away. Meanwhile, the operating system isn’t anywhere near what it was promised to be.
It’s interesting to see that Windows 8 has been leaked online, but if you want to install Windows safely and easily, then you should probably wait until October 26 like the rest of us.