this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2026
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[–] chraebsli@programming.dev 126 points 1 day ago (7 children)

you can activate any windows or office by using vlmcsd (https://github.com/Wind4/vlmcsd). you can selfhost it, choose any windows version like 11 pro or enterprise or office product like office 24 enterprise. activate it using your kms server and you can enter the matching licence key every so often to activate it. doesn't cost a cent except hosting on 512mb/1cpu. i think there are public kms servers with vlmcsd too. obviously JUST FOR TESTING PURPOSES ;)

[–] blanketswithsmallpox@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)
[–] sawdustprophet@midwest.social 15 points 1 day ago

Does https://massgrave.dev/ not work anymore?

As of about two weeks ago, it still works.

[–] tordenflesk@lemmy.world 38 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Simpler to just use massgrave, no?

[–] chraebsli@programming.dev 15 points 1 day ago

didnt know about massgrave until now. looks promising too.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Massgrave doesn't work for Office I'm pretty sure.

[–] SalamenceFury@lemmy.world 21 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

It does now actually. Has been able to permanently activate Office for about two years or so? They did update the method from last year, however.

[–] notthebees@reddthat.com 31 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ah yes key management server server

[–] chraebsli@programming.dev 28 points 1 day ago (3 children)

haha yes sorry! my wireless wlan had some issues with my personal pc when i was etablishing a secure ssh connection. could also be an error with my dns system or with the http protocol.

[–] tetris11@feddit.uk 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

so this is what an aneurism feels like

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Don't worry, I can do it automatically at the ATM machine.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Now pronounce GIF. The RIGHT way....

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 5 points 1 day ago

Jraphics Interchange Format?

[–] Malfeasant@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Surely you mean a secure SSH shell...

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago

A secure secure shell shell

[–] upandatom@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Maculley Maculley Culkin Culkin.

[–] mech@feddit.org 27 points 1 day ago (3 children)

That's the part that mystifies me. On the one hand, in an enterprise setting, it can be frustratingly difficult to license and activate your MS products, to the point where you cry out "Why do you make it so hard to give you our money?"
And on the other hand, you can easily bypass the whole thing and get all their stuff for free.
And it's been that way for decades, so it doesn't seem to be a mistake on their part.

[–] funkajunk@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago

In an enterprise setting you'd use something like Active Directory-Based Activation.

You store your KMS key in Active Directory, then any machine that contacts the domain controller will be activated.

[–] chraebsli@programming.dev 10 points 1 day ago

not sure about the legal side because when you install windows you accept eula and much more shit so im sure there is a sentence 'only keys officially bought from and provided from microsoft shall be used.'

[–] Forester@pawb.social 4 points 1 day ago

They only expect governments to pay not citizens

[–] kandoh@reddthat.com 15 points 1 day ago

You can, I'm barely able to read

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 24 points 1 day ago (2 children)

kms server? massgrave? is this a dark joke i am not in on

[–] hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 19 hours ago

KMS is microsoft's method of product activation mostly for organizations, they can run an activation server inside an intranet for instance. Also widely used for pirating windows since it's easy to run one of those kms emulators

https://massgrave.dev/ is a fairly recent development, they have a tool called MAS that can activate windows/office/etc using many methods including KMS

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 29 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Kms is key management services.

Why massgrave is called that, I have no idea.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

i thought kms was kill my self

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I figured that's what you thought. To be fair, using Microsoft also makes me want to kms. Luckily I don't have to.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Because you're already dead on the inside?

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 day ago

That as well, but I just don't have a job requiring me to use windows.

[–] TachyonTele@piefed.social 2 points 1 day ago

I understood some of that!