Users who are eager to try out the new Windows 8 but are not keen on buying it should be careful if searching for bootlegged copies or purported key generators online, Trend Micro warns.

The security company's researchers have already unearthed two distinct pieces of malicious software posing as Windows 8 key generator apps, offered on a single website to Russian-speaking users:


One shows a message urging users to click ‘OK’ to download Windows 8, while the other, claiming to be a "Windows 8 activator," prompts users to send out an SMS to a certain number in order to get the activation code and connects to two sites in order to perform click fraud.

"The people behind these malware are hoping to ride on Windows 8′s popularity and some user’s eagerness to try out the software," say the researchers.

"Users can never be too careful about what to download and from what sites. These samples may not be the only malicious key generators tools available on the Internet," they point out and advise users to avoid downloading software from untrusted sources.