A product key is a sequence of alphanumeric characters used to certify if the copy of a program or software is genuine. For example, Microsoft uses a 25-character alphanumeric key to identify the ...

Windows upgrade licenses are expensive. Do they have an expiration date? That's a question I get often from people who own older PCs/laptops running Windows 10 Pro. If you replace that PC or laptop ...

When Microsoft first launched the Windows operating system, installing it was only a matter of copying the program onto a disk. You didn't have to verify your copy of Windows. Starting with Windows XP ...

Windows 10 product usually works with Windows 11, but the problems occur if your Windows 10 license is an OEM license (tied to original device hardware and not transferable) rather than a Retail ...

Jake Peterson is Lifehacker’s Senior Technology Editor. He has a BFA in Film & TV from NYU, where he specialized in writing. Jake has been helping people with their technology professionally since ...