Windows 10 › Configuration › Security and Privacy

How to Protect Your Windows 10 Product Key

4/12/2015

The product key is required to activate Windows 10. And although the product key is not used after the successful activation, it remains in Windows 10 system registry. For security purposes it may be removed from the registry shortly after completing the activation.

1. Log on to Windows 10 as an administrator.

2. Press the WINDOWS+R hotkey, type slui.exe and click OK to make sure the installed copy of Windows 10 is already activated. If it isn't, activate it now.

3. Run the Command Prompt as administrator.

4. Type the following command and press the ENTER key:

slmgr -cpky

5. When it's done, the notification message is appeared informing you that the product key has been deleted.

6. Click OK and close the Command Prompt window.

After completing these steps the activation state is kept, but the product key is no longer stored in Windows 10 system registry.

Note. If you activate Windows 10 in the future, you may need to type the product key again.