Microsoft is utilizing an unconventional methodology to make an ally out of a longtime enemy: providing individuals who use pirated copies of its Office suite apps a 50% {discount} on a reliable model.

Whenever a pirated model of Office is opened, a ribbon on the high seems with the message: “Get up to 50% off. For a limited time, save up to 50% on a genuine Microsoft 365 subscription.” Within the message is a hyperlink to an official product page titled “Pirated software exposes your PC to security threats.” These dangers, in line with Microsoft, embody elevated publicity to viruses and malware assaults, id theft, corrupted recordsdata, and information loss, and never receiving important updates to the software program.

First reported by Ghacks, the sneaky deal popped up on a model of Office 2019 and the {discount} solely appears to work in case you clicked the direct hyperlink from the pirated copy of Office. It appears pirates can get Microsoft 365 Family for simply $50 or Microsoft 365 Person for $35 whereas those that adopted the foundations have to pay twice as a lot.

Some could view this as a win-win state of affairs the place pirates flip their backs on a lifetime of crime whereas Microsoft ekes out no matter earnings it could from those that had no intentions of paying. Others will discover that the {discount} is for Microsoft 365, an annual subscription service that may doubtless ask pirates to pay full worth in a yr’s time. Oh, and “full price” will probably be better subsequent yr when Microsoft raises the worth of its 365 subscriptions in March.

Of course, these indoctrinated customers of reliable Office merchandise can at all times cancel as soon as their subscription expires and return to a lifetime of swindling (although we don’t encourage this conduct). Perhaps if Microsoft had discounted the one-time $150 buy of Office 2021 it could have a greater probability of gaining lifelong clients.

Microsoft Office is likely one of the most pirated software program suites and has been for the past decade. It’s stunning to see Microsoft lastly taking a stance in opposition to a follow that has absolutely misplaced the corporate thousands and thousands of {dollars} over time. Then once more, the software program big has been pushing its 365 subscriptions laborious these days and there appears to be no boundary on who it desires to rope in.

If you’re utilizing a pirated model of Office, this 50% off is likely to be price contemplating even when it means handing over your once-secret id to Microsoft. Or, you realize, you may use a free different, like Google Docs or LibreOffice.