“A new message in the Office ribbon bar is appearing on pirated Office apps, tempting people with a 50 percent discount on a genuine Microsoft 365 subscription,” citing Ghacks, The Verge reported. The message is linked to the official Microsoft website. The link on the website claims “pirated software exposes your PC to security threats”.

Microsoft warn the users of pirated Office that their systems are at a risk of data loss, identity theft, malware, and will not be able to receive important updates.

The discount brings down the price of Microsoft 365 Family subscription to $49.99 for the 1st year.

All about the 50% discount offer

“GET UP TO 50% OFF. For a limited time, save up to 50% on a genuine Microsoft 365 subscription,” the promotional offer states.

To check the eligibility criteria, the user will need to login to their Microsoft account. The user may proceed to complete the purchase once he verifies the price differentiation. But when hen the user will click on 50% discount offer, he will be redirected to Microsoft 365 landing page. There the user will be warned about the risk of using pirated software.

The subscription costs $99.99 / year. It also supports 6 users with the cloud storage of 6TB.

Will the offer appeal the pirated software users?

Not all pirated users of Office software may find the offer appealing. But it will definitely push people to switch to Office software.

The Tech giant has come up with the discount 0f 50% to curb the number of pirated software users. The offer will also help to increase the number of active subscriptions to Microsoft 365.

KMSPico- Tool to activate Office by pirates

KMSPico was developed and discovered by cyber criminals. It is a not a legitimate tool, hence not recommended by Microsoft corporation.

The use of tool violates terms and conditions of Windows Operating System and has malicious content.

Red Canary reported that a fake version of KMSPico is used to by pirates to activate Windows and Office. It is also used to outspread Cryptbot malware.

Free alternatives to Microsoft Office

Rather than using the pirated version of Office software, you can use the ones listed below:

Apple iworkGoogle WorkspaceWPS Office  Image 147Dropbox PaperFreeOfficeZoho Docs