A few years ago remove AutoKMS It was a much more complete task than at present, since we required a paid antivirus to be able to eliminate all traces of our computer. However, nowadays, you don't need to have any antivurus or use any specific software.
But, the first thing we should know about AutoKMS is what is it really, what it does on our computer, how it could get there and if it is really malicious or is it simply a file with a single and specific purpose. If you want to know what AutoKMS is and how to eliminate it, I invite you to continue reading.
What is AutoKMS
There are many users who, mainly due to the high cost of some applications, choose to install pirated software, that is, software downloaded from the internet whose protections have been removed so that no one other than the rightful owner can install it on their computer.
Another method is use the same serial number bundled with the program, a method that eventually stops working when servers detect that there are a large number of copies of the same application being used under the same license.
In addition to these two methods to make use of pirated applications, we also find applications that generate serial number randomly following the same patterns that the developer uses. This is where AutoKMS is located.
AutoKMS is primarily used to generate valid licenses for the different versions of Office and Windows that Microsoft has released. This small application cannot be considered a virus, Trojan horse, malware, or spyware, it is a simple application that all it does is create serial number to bypass Microsoft's restrictions.
What is AutoKMS for?
As I mentioned above, AutoKMS is used to create serial numbers, so we could call it a tool to hack software. This application requires that we deactivate all the antivirus and protections that we may have installed on our computer, since it needs to use internal processes of the computer, such as the Windows kernel, to be able to carry out its work.
AutoKMS is not a virus any type of malware, but the process of deactivating all the protections of our equipment, implies that the own version of Office that we have downloaded from the internet in a pirated way, may include, this if, some type of malware, be it viruses, spyware, ransomware ...
Once we have used the AutoKMS application, we can remove it from our team without any problem, since all it does is provide us with an Office license, registering the application on the Office servers, so it will receive each and every one of the updates as long as it continues to work.
Over time, Microsoft servers detect that it is not a valid license and proceed to deactivate the application, forcing us to use AutoKMS again or buy a license or pay the monthly subscription to Microsoft 365, previously called Office 365.
How to remove AutoKMS
Many articles circulate on the internet in which it is stated that the only way to eliminate AutoKMS is through specific antivirus. Nothing could be further from the truth. Windows includes Windows Defender, one of the most powerful antivirus on the market and that it has absolutely nothing to envy to what we can find in third-party applications.
As is logical, being AutoKMS an application that encourages piracy, especially against Microsoft software, Windows Defender is ready to detect it on your computer and proceed to quarantine it on the computer, since the risk it has is considered Low, as it is not a malware, but a hacking tool.
AutoKMS is a file that is included together with the pirated copies of Office that we download, so it is not installed on our computerWe only have to run it once to activate the copy of the Microsoft office suite or the corresponding Windows version. To get rid of AutoKMS we just have to delete the file. It is also advisable to delete the version of the copy of Office that we have downloaded.
If the application has been installed, something unlikely but possible for certain versions of Office, to remove it, we just have to access the Windows configuration options, click on Applications, search for AutoKMS, click on the application and select the Uninstall button.
If for any reason, this application reaches our team, Windows Defender will detect it automatically as soon as it is copied to our computer or if it detects it in a unit that we have connected, so, unless we proceed to disable Windows Defender, we do not need to go through any process to get rid of it.
Is it worth paying for Office?
Office is the best tool currently available on the market to create any type of document. If you really take full advantage of it, which is a lot, it is likely that it will compensate you to pay the 69 euros per year that a cheaper license costs, a license that allows you to use Office on PC, Mac and any other mobile device.
Also, you have 1 TB of OneDrive storage, Microsoft's cloud storage service. If your use of Office is sporadic, it does not compensate for the risk of downloading pirated software from the Internet, so a solution is to make use of LibreOffice, a set of totally free open source applications with which we can create any type of document.
The only thing that we find with LibreOffice, we find it is that no version available for mobile devicesTherefore, if we want to continue our work on a tablet or smartphone, we will find ourselves with an important limitation.
Another interesting option to consider is the possibility of use Microsoft Office 365 for free, without having to pay a single euro and in a totally legal wayThe only requirement being that we have a Microsoft account, be it Outlook, Hotmail or MSN.
The last option we have at our disposal to enjoy Office applications completely free of charge It is through the Office application for mobile devices, an application that includes basic versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, but more than enough to cover the basic needs of most users.
