Windows 10 can automatically disable pirated software

Agreeing to Windows 10’s End User Licence Agreement gives the software the right to automatically disable pirated games from a user’s computer or phone.

GameSpot picked up on an Alphr report that noticed the following amendment to section 7b of the Windows 10 EULA:

[Microsoft] may automatically check your version of the software and download software update or configuration changes, including those that prevent you from accessing the Services, playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorised hardware peripheral devices.”

The implication is that using a Windows 10 PC or Windows phone grants Microsoft the right to scan systems for pirated games or dodgy hardware and disable them without notice.

How counterfeit games” or unauthorised hardware” are determined is unclear. Could this stretch as far as unlicensed game controllers? Could it also have implications for copied versions of non-games software such as Adobe or Office products?

Also of importance is the method through which a game is identified as being unofficial.