Activate Windows without paying: Microsoft has just removed the trick that has been popular for 15 years

Microsoft has quietly closed a major backdoor in Windows. The company has removed one of the most used schemes to activate for free Windows 11 And Windows 10without even mentioning it in its official communications. This technique, called KMS38, allowed anyone to use Windows without paying a single cent for an official license.

The system was extremely effective. The KMS38 method, proposed by a project called MASSGRAVE, hijacked a Windows system file to make the computer believe that it was legally activated until 2038. Normally, Windows checks its license every six months, but this trick allowed this check to be bypassed completely. The big advantage? No need for internet, everything happened directly on the machine.

The author of MASSGRAVE confirmed that this technique no longer works since updates KB5068861 (for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2) and KB5067112 (for Windows 11 version 23H2) deployed in November 2025. “KMS38 has been completely removed from version 3.8 of the MAS script”he specifies, recommending those concerned to switch to the HWID or TSforge methods, which are still operational for the moment.

Microsoft had been planning this move for a while. As of January 2024, Microsoft had eliminated gatherosstate.exe from Windows installation media starting with build 26040. Major updates then reset the grace period to zero, compromising the effectiveness of the hack. The optional October update (KB5067036), which notably brought the new Start menucompleted this dismantling by completely deprecating the GatherOSstate functionality.

This victory, however, remains relative for Microsoft since other illegal activation techniques continue to circulate, perpetuating this technological standoff as old as consumer computing. An endless game of hide and seek between software publishers and Sunday tinkerers.