Make KMS4k the recommended option for Office activation for Office 2013 or later instead of Ohook [Green highlight].

[pingu-the-penguin]

Benefits of KMS4k compared to Ohook:

• Does not trigger Smart App Control
• Code Integrity Guard exploit mitigation becomes compatible with the Office apps.
• Does not leave any files in the system to maintain activation status that can be potentially flagged as false positives by various antivirus vendors.

Downsides of KMS4k compared to Ohook:

• Does not persist between Windows 10 / 11 feature upgrades so would require users to re-run the script annually. Repeated running of scripts raises concern due to typo-squatting attacks which makes Ohook a better set-and-forget method.

Just a suggestion! Downsides seem to be much less impactful than the possible benefits to security-conscious users, users who have had Smart App Control automatically enabled by Windows through the evaluation mode or users with third-party antivirus installed.

[abbodi1406]

• Not all Office SKUs support KMS, and those the ones with most features (Microsoft 365 SKUs)
• KMS4k uses static KMS info (i.e. easily detectable as emulator)
• KMS4k activation has no protection, it can be overriden with any successful KMS activation attempt

[pingu-the-penguin]

Not all Office SKUs support KMS, and those the ones with most features (Microsoft 365 SKUs)

Looking at the activation chart in the docs, it looks like the only difference is that KMS4k does not support Office 2010. Could you elaborate more on this point

KMS4k uses static KMS info (i.e. easily detectable as emulator)

I assume all the office activation methods are easy to detect by Microsoft if they wanted to block them as all the source is open and the features are documented. I don't think KMS4k is easier to detect than a custom injected DLL file on the licensing path, but I could be wrong. Open to more discussion on this.

KMS4k activation has no protection, it can be overriden with any successful KMS activation attempt

I don't see how this could be a problem as if you are running a successful KMS attempt you don't need to use Massgrave to activate anything.

Let me know if i missed anything obvious or I am misunderstanding something.

[abbodi1406]

Office 365 SKUs does not support KMS, you will get Office 2016 Mondo SKU instead

[AKAKSHATKHANDELWAL]

can someone tell me what is SKU and KMS

[abbodi1406]

SKU = Stock Keeping Unit = Office product ids
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/troubleshoot/microsoft-365/microsoft-365-apps/office-suite-problems/product-ids-supported-office-deployment-click-to-run

KMS = Key Management Service
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/volume-license-activation/plan-volume-activation-of-office