You may be the victim of a software counterfeit

The message “You can be a victim of counterfeit software” it is a Windows Server authentication error that occurs if a Windows license is marked as non-genuine. In Windows 7, this can also occur due to a missing registry key or lack of permissions related to the network service account.

If you are struggling with this particular problem, the first thing to do is make sure your Windows installation is not fake. If you bought a used computer with a version of Windows already activated, inspect it to find the activation key. If it's a laptop, you will likely find the product key stuck somewhere at the bottom. On desktop computers, usually placed somewhere on the chassis.

Even if you have a valid license key, make sure it is not used on more than one computer. Unless you have purchased a Windows Family Pack license (which enables 3 simultaneous installations), you can only use a single license key on one computer. If the Windows activation server handles two identifications that a license key is installed on more computers than it should, will mark the latest install as non-original.

How to reactivate your Windows license 7

If you are sure you have a legitimate Windows license, you can try re-entering the product key or even try other means to reactivate your Windows. Let's start by going to the Windows activation screen. To do this, open a run window (tecla de Windows + R), type »slui.exe» and press Enter.

Once you are in the Windows activation menu, click on “Scribe / Retype your product key” and re-enter it. If that doesn't solve the problem, go back to the Windows Activation screen and click Activate Windows online now. Later, follow the onscreen instructions and see if you can reactivate your license.

If the online activation method fails, click See other ways to activate and follow the onscreen instructions to contact a Microsoft Answer technician. Whenever your product key is verified, will surely solve your problem, either by activating your Windows with the current product key or providing you with another.

Important: if you are unable to access the Windows activation screen and perform the steps listed above, your computer may be missing some registry key permissions preventing yours from accessing the activation screen. There are two possible solutions that will solve this problem and allow you to reactivate Windows with your product key. But before doing them, follow the verification steps listed below to find out if they apply to your situation.

There is a way to determine if the following two solutions will be effective. To do this, open a run window (tecla de Windows + R), type »slui.exe» and press Enter. If you can access the Windows activation menu, it makes no sense to try the solutions below, since they will not be effective. Nevertheless, if you get the error “0x80070005 Access Denied”, we recommend that you try the two solutions below, as the problem is most likely due to a missing registry key or permissions problem.

Method 1: disable Plug and Play group policy

This Windows activation error is usually caused by a registry key named HKUS-1-5-20. For the validation process to occur, the network service account must have full control and read permissions on the key specified above.

As pointed out by some users who run into this particular problem, this problem is usually the result of applying the Group Policy Object (GPO) Plug and Play on a Windows machine. Because the licensing service uses Plug and Play to obtain information about the hardware, this setting can confuse the activation service into believing that an activated service is out of tolerance.

Follow the guide to disable the Plug and Play Policy and see if you are responsible for the error “You may be the victim of a software counterfeit”:

1. Press the Windows key + R to open a run window. Type »rsop.msc» and press Enter to open the resulting policy set.

   

2. In the resulting policy set window, navigate to the following location: Equipment setup> Policies> Windows Settings> Security settings> System services.

   

3. Later, scroll down the left panel and find Plug and Play. If the Start and Permission values ​​associated with Plug and Play are other than Undefined, continue with the next steps.

   Note: In case you see both values ​​listed as Undefined, go directly to the Method 2.

4. Right click Plug and Play, choose Properties, then change the Group Policy for Home and Permission to Undefined.

5. Close the resulting policy set window and restart your computer. Once the system reboots, check if you can activate your windows.

If you still get the same “0x80070005 Access Denied”, scroll down to Method 2.

Method 2: edit permissions for network service

If the Plug and Play service was not responsible for your problem, let's investigate if the problem is due to a missing registry key permission. This could be what is causing your computer to be out of tolerance.

Follow the step-by-step guide below to add the necessary network service permissions via Registry Editor:

1. Press the Windows key + R to open a run window. Type »regedit» and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.

   

2. In Registry Editor, navigate to HKey_Users, right click on S-1-5-10 and choose Permissions.

   

3. On the Permissions screen for S-1-5-20, see if the Network Service is present in the Group or user names column.

   Note: If you can see a Network Service entry, go to step 5.

4. Click the Add button and wait for the Select Users or Groups window to appear. Next, type »Network Service» in Enter the names of the objects to select and click the Check Names button. Finally, click the OK button to create the permission.

   

5. Once I can identify (or create) Network Service permission, click on it once to select it. Next, check the Allow boxes for Full Control and Read. Finally, click Apply to save changes.

   

6. Once the necessary permissions have been granted, restart your computer and try to activate Windows again. This time you should be able to make it.