Microsoft: Don't Download Windows 7 Interim Builds from Torrent Trackers
Leaked builds of Windows 7 available for download via torrent trackers have been accompanying the development of the next iteration of Windows since the operating system was in Milestone 1 stage. As Windows 7 evolved to M2, M3, Beta and pre-Release Candidate, a steady flow of leaked development milestones have made it into the wild and are up for grabs for any user with a BitTorrent client. However, Microsoft indicated that all such releases put end users at risk because there's no telling how the source of the leaked builds tampered with the bits.
“If there's a thing that we absolutely do not recommend to end users, it's that they should download interim builds of Windows 7 from torrent trackers,” revealed Tudor Galos, Windows Business Group Lead at Microsoft Romania, exclusively to Softpedia. “Galos indicated that Microsoft’s official channels should be considered as the sole source of Windows 7 development milestones. “Why? Because many leaked releases can be affected by hackers.”
Galos underlined that Windows 7 interim images could be reversed engineered, with the resulting image being made available on BitTorrent websites. He warned that leaked interim builds of Windows 7 could very well contain malicious software that could put end users' machines and sensitive data at risk.
