New Check: Microsoft Windows OS Not Licensed

We are excited to announce another new check and companion Inventory section for Windows, called Microsoft Windows OS Not Licensed. 

This check looks for all any unlicensed versions of Microsoft Windows, from devices that have no product key entered, to devices that are failing Microsoft’s Genuine advantage program.

While it’s always a good idea to ensure your devices are running a licensed version of Windows, we didn’t write this Check solely for compliance. Based on studies by experts, devices not running a genuine version of Windows are much more likely to be running other non-genuine or even pirated software, which drastically increases the likelihood the device may have a latent malware infection. In addition, non-licensed versions of Windows may have other issues, like an intentionally disabled Windows Update service.

For the reasons above, we highly recommend taking a look at this Check and ensuring your PCs are running a genuine version of Windows.

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Additional Inventory - Microsoft Software Licenses

In addition to the Check above, we’ve shipped a companion Inventory section called Microsoft Software Licenses   which enumerates the software license status for all in-scope Microsoft products on the system. In practice, this is usually just Microsoft Windows itself and Microsoft Office. 

Under the hood, this Inventory and related check uses Windows’ SoftwareLicensing WMI class. We’ve taken extra care to translate the opaque error and status codes to english text, so you can easily understand why a license may not be fully activated or genuine. 

Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions about this new check and Inventory section. Your feedback is always appreciated!