I want to install MAS to my clubhouse’s computer so I can share MS Office with our member, but I wonder if it’s really safe.
Some people on Reddit say that it’s a trojan
https://www.reddit.com/r/pchelp/comments/1crolj9/reinstalled_windows_10_and_windows_security/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/comments/16rdsc4/regret_using_microsoft_activation_scripts/
They say that I can check the source code since it’s open sourced, but I’m not sure. It’s too complex, and downloading several files inside a script. I haven’t checked yet but it can be downloading some blobs, idk.
Also the domain of the official page sounds suspicious… “mass grave”??
Edit: I use Debian btw
Its safe to use as an individual I wouldn’t recommend people use it for their business where Microsoft is much more willing to investigate and fine you.
It is safe, I scrolled through the code very quickly in the past and I didn’t see anything suspicious in it. Windows labels it as trojan, but Windows label most keygens as trojans even if they are safe.
I know what community this is, but is your clubhouse a registered non-profit? They can get 10 business premium licenses that include office at no cost on Microsoft 365. If you are worried about the activator it might be a less worrying route.
registered non-profit
No, we’re not. We’re just a group of people in a university, lol
Also check what options you have with uni IT. Some unis have student access to paid software or if you are a uni club.
In all jurisdictions where I have personal experience, getting some “group of people” properly registered as a non-profit organization usually isn’t too much of a hassle.
Yes it’s not even really considered piracy. It creates a fully activated legitimate copy of Windows. It’s just basically a key-gen. It is a trojan in that it works like a trojan would, except it’s verified as safe.
But really you gotta know coming to Lemmy for this you’re just gonna get told to run Linux. So I’ll do it for you. Run Linux. The real trojan MAS creates is a fully activated copy of Microsoft Windows.
Oh, I use Debian as my daily driver, so don’t worry about that ;). In fact, that’s why I want to install Office on my clubhouse’s computer.
I managed to run Windows on KVM but it’s too slow and crashes occasionally, thus not very suitable for doing assignments.
Is this something that OnlyOffice could solve? They aim for strict compatibility with MS Office IIRC and it’s been working really well for me.
I’ve tried using OnlyOffice before, but it failed to open an Excel file properly
Edit: I realize I use mas, but if you’re ok with less customization you can probably avoid it.😅 The main point of this comment is to make the VM go faster
Yo, I might be able to help here! I recently set up a win10 vm on my linux installation and it kinda fast (not sure how fast you want it to go). Please check the “Qemu” part of this guide I have made https://codeberg.org/BlastboomStrice/LinuxPlan/src/branch/main/LinuxPlan.md
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Microsoft support has used MAS to activate Windows when they didn’t know how else to do it.
https://hothardware.com/news/microsoft-support-cracks-windows
I’ve tested it in several different operating scenarios and have not seen any adverse function.
I remember reading about this, the IT couldn’t fix activate licence, so they used MAS.
The source code is even hosted on GitHub which is owned by Microsoft.
Interesting. I wonder why they don’t take it down immediately when they absolutely can
It’s probably just not worth it. MS makes the vast, vast majority of thier money on Windows licenses from the corporate sector and OEMs. Any revenue “lost” to MAS is a rounding error on thier toilet paper budget for thier offices.
Both those posts on reddit are people being paranoid (especially the pchelp post, that user is self-admittedly ignorant), perhaps not wrongly, but it is open source and used frequently enough I’d imagine someone would have said something if there were issues.
Personally, I’ve used it probably 3-4x without any issues. Take that for what you will.
EDIT: Manual instructions are here if you wanna be really, really sure.
Ensuring everyone runs Windows maintains their monopoly and also keeps the user data siphon net as wide as possible. They don’t give a shit as long as you are feeding them personal data and are using Windows.
Because they don’t make Jack shit on consumer licenses.
I’ve had no issues with it so far. Its been my go to for awhile. But I don’t use windows for anything important. Malware bytes scans don’t find anything.
I’ve always just used the KMS activation method from ms guides dot com. Avoids running anything local (that’s not already baked into Windows). I haven’t had to use it for a year or so but my machines are still working so I am pretty sure it is still current.
The KMS method can be batch scripted too so it’s a single run for your family member.
I looked at the source code, and there was a bunch of binary encoded payloads, that loaded other binary encoded payloads, that called out to external resources. It might be fine, it might not. But I noped out of it.
I’m okay with the activate Windows watermark, at least I know I only have to worry about Microsoft
Microsoft considers it safe to use.
Can you please tell me which binary payload you found considering?
I checked the code briefly a while back and I didn’t find anything considering.
well that’s concerning. They can be doing something shady under the hood…
mass grave of botnets maybe?
