Microsoft fights back against Windows 11 leak

Just a few days ago -- before it has even been officially announced -- Windows 11 leaked online and remains available to download from numerous sites. The Windows 11 ISO torrent spread like wildfire, and now Microsoft is fighting back.

The company has issued a slew of DMCA takedown notices to various sites it says are distributing "a leaked copy of the unreleased Windows 11". Unsurprisingly, an article entitled "How to Download and Install Windows 11 Right Now" caught the eyes of Microsoft lawyers.

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The company was surprisingly slow in its response to the leak, and has still said nothing public about it. There had been speculation that it was not genuine, but Microsoft belated action shows that it is indeed real. Numerous copyright complaints have now been issued by the software maker.

Included in Microsoft DMCA carpet-bombing is the Japanese site Beebom.com. A takedown complaint to Google finds Microsoft asking the search giant to remove listings for the page:

Beebom.com's article is distributing Windows 11 ISO (copyrighted to Microsoft). Please remove their article from the search. It is a leaked copy of the unreleased Windows 11.

But the sheer number of sites that now either host or link to the Windows 11 ISO is growing by the minute. This, coupled with the very nature of BitTorrent, means that Microsoft is now engaged in an ultimately pointless game of whack-a-mole as it scrambles to close the stable door after the horse has bolted.

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