I imagine, despite what they say publicly, that at least some cracked copies of 7 and 8 will pass whatever upgrade qualification checks they have in place. In

I imagine, despite what they say publicly, that at least some cracked copies of 7 and 8 will pass whatever upgrade qualification checks they have in place. In 2012, when they offered cheap (£/$15) 7 -> 8 upgrades it was effectively open to anyone who was willing to lie about having bought a machine running Windows 7 in the last X months. Windows 8 could then be installed on any machine using the product key provided.