Been doing some research into this and it turns out it is illegal!
I have quoted the statement from microsoft below the key part is the last paragraph.
I reported the post but as of yet its still not been removed.
Anyway thought i'd make a topic as posting such content isn't allowed on the forums and basically is a backdoor/ workaround.
Quote"Free 1 Year Microsoft TechNet Plus Subscription (Consumer Services Professional Pilot)
Microsoft TechNet PlusTechNet Plus is a paid subscription service from Microsoft that allows IT professional subscribers to access premium resources to evaluate Microsoft technologies, plan deployments and support user’s IT environment. The main benefit of a TechNet Plus subscription is subscribers can download full-version software with no time limit or feature limit, including applying for free genuine and legit product keys.
TechNet Plus subscription normally costs USD $349 for new subscription and $249 for renewal without discount or promotion deal. Microsoft apparently is going to launch a new web-based professional support service offering. In order to gather feedback for the new offering, Microsoft develops a exclusive pilot program named TechNet Plus Consumer Services Professional Pilot. As a token of appreciation, participants will receive free one-year subscription to the TechNet Plus Direct worth GBP £237 or USD $349. Also included is free Microsoft support call worth British Pound £171. Survey takers also can win one of eleven Zune 4, one of six xBox Arcades, or one of five Flip Video Mino HD Camcorders in regular raffles throughout the course of the pilot program.
It’s highly unlikely that anybody can join the survey program right now, which is meant for IT professionals who service small businesses, home offices or individuals, and can last accessed via the URL below:
http://surveys.rddfs.com/IntWeb.dll/online/WEB4/090668/&urlimport=1&questlist=T;T2;G;&T=1&T2=2&G=1
Once you complete the screening survey, instructions will be given on how to sign up for free TechNet Plus Direct full online subscription with 1 year validity via a registration URL. The registration URL in fact has been abused by many as the loophole for anybody and everybody to grab a valid 1-year subscription of TechNet Plus Direct (named as TechNet Plus Consumer Service Professional Pilot Full when sign up, but it’s still a full online subscription).
US: https://om2.one.microsoft.com/offer/technet_na.aspx
UK: https://om2.one.microsoft.com/offer/technet_emea.aspx
Once there, click on “Buy†button (make sure it’s zero 0 cost), login or sign up Windows Live ID, and follow online instruction to order TechNet Plus Consumer Services Professional Pilot (Part # TRI1X000NTNONE). After ordering is done, a Subscriber Benefit Access Number (BAN) number will be given, which can be used to activate TechNet Plus subscription. Once you have completed the registration, you will be able to access your online benefits, including Subscriber Downloads from the TechNet Subscriptions Management page. The products that will be available for free including Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008, Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Office 2010 and many more, probably except Visual Studio which more meaningful for developers at MSDN subscription.
Those who order the free TechNet Plus subscription also manage to get Hyper-V Changes Server Virtualization Options whitepaper from Directions on Microsoft and Implementing Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 e-learning course 6536 from Microsoft Learning.
WARNING: Using the trick above to subscribe to TechNet Plus without participating in the research activities is in fact illegal, and the subscription may be revoked and made inactive anytime (proof from 1/1/1900 expiration date)."
GM, I got your mail last night, but didn't have time to do anything until now.
When reading your mail, it seemed unclear to me which illegality you were pointing out, as it still was, until I read your post. See mail below.
GhostMjr ( mailto:xxxxxxxxx ) has reported this post:
Free Technet
http://www.deadmen.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=278109#post278109
This is part of this thread:
Free Technet
http://www.deadmen.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=27732
This is the reason that the user gave:
FYI (The last bit i assume means this should be removed from the forum asap):
TechNet Plus subscription normally costs USD $349 for new subscription and $249 for renewal without discount or promotion deal. Microsoft apparently is going to launch a new web-based professional support service offering. In order to gather feedback for the new offering, Microsoft develops a exclusive pilot program named TechNet Plus Consumer Services Professional Pilot. As a token of appreciation, participants will receive free one-year subscription to the TechNet Plus Direct worth GBP £237 or USD $349. Also included is free Microsoft support call worth British Pound £171. Survey takers also can win one of eleven Zune 4, one of six xBox Arcades, or one of five Flip Video Mino HD Camcorders in regular raffles throughout the course of the pilot program.
It's highly unlikely that anybody can join the survey program right now, which is meant for IT professionals who service small businesses, home offices or individuals, and can last accessed via the URL below:
http://surveys.rddfs.com/IntWeb.dll/...;&T=1&T2=2&G=1
Only residents in US, UK or Canada with a valid address, postal code and telephone number is eligible. Once you complete the screening survey, instructions will be given on how to sign up for free TechNet Plus Direct full online subscription with 1 year validity via a registration URL. The registration URL in fact has been abused by many as the loophole for anybody and everybody to grab a valid 1-year subscription of TechNet Plus Direct (named as TechNet Plus Consumer Service Professional Pilot Full when sign up, but it's still a full online subscription).
US: https://om2.one.microsoft.com/offer/technet_na.aspx
UK: https://om2.one.microsoft.com/offer/technet_emea.aspx
CA: https://om2.one.microsoft.com/offer/technet_can.aspx
Free 1 Year TechNet Plus Subscription
Once there, click on "Buy" button (make sure it's zero 0 cost), login or sign up Windows Live
ID, and follow online instruction to order TechNet Plus Consumer Services Professional Pilot (Part # TRI1X000NTNONE). After ordering is done, a Subscriber Benefit Access Number (BAN) number will be given, which can be used to activate TechNet Plus subscription. Once you have completed the registration, you will be able to access your online benefits, including Subscriber Downloads from the TechNet Subscriptions Management page. The products that will be available for free including Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008, Microsoft Office
2007, Microsoft Office 2010 and many more, probably except Visual Studio which more meaningful for developers at MSDN subscription.
Those who order the free TechNet Plus subscription also manage to get Hyper-V Changes Server Virtualization Options whitepaper from Directions on Microsoft and Implementing Hyper-V in Windows Server2008 e-learning course 6536 from Microsoft Learning.
WARNING: Using the trick above to subscribe to TechNet Plus without participating in the research activities is in fact illegal, and the subscription may be revoked and made inactive anytime (proof from1/1/1900 expiration date).
This message has been sent to all moderators of this forum, or all administrators if there are no moderators.
Please respond to this post as applicable.
This may have been a genuine error on Microsoft's part, I have no idea. See link below to the very respected Neowin.net
http://www.neowin.net/news/software/09/06/03/microsoft-offering-free-one-year-technet-plus-subscription
Confused ........ :blink:
Quote from: Jabbs;278202Confused ........ :blink:
Et moi, mon ami...
Microsoft made an error. Microsoft had intended it to go to a select few rather than this to be a public offering of free software. The process should have been: go complete the survey, then go to the download page and enjoy freebies. Unfortunately they made the 'enjoy the freebies' web page a directly linkable page for all to enjoy. Imo it's kind of like GM trying to buy a £1,000 digital camera which has been popped up onto the web for £100 by accident. MS simply got their coding horribly wrong (no surprise there) and allowed people to order the £1000 digital camera for £100, orders for which have now been withdrawn.
So, as far as I can tell, there's absolutely nothing illegal going on, nothing to be removed or moderated, just a Microsoft error which has now been corrected. The effect is the same, the emphasis of the story is different. MS published a live link that allowed people to order free software because of their own error and have now withdrawn the error. Not sure any law has been broken, nobody has been misrepresented, nothing has been stolen. The "it's illegal" warning at the bottom probably has just about as much legal weight attached to it as a maggot as you did not go through the first part of the sign up/survey process during which you would have been given all the legalese, so the "it's illegal" warning is probably just MS trying to do up their flies long after the worm has slithered away.
Imo the thread can stand as further evidence of Micosoft's incompetence.
TL.