Is a Certificate of Authenticity label included?
A Certificate of Authenticity is a label that helps you identify genuine Microsoft software. Retail Microsoft software ships with a COA affixed to the outside of the packaging. If a COA is not present on the packaging, then it is not genuine software and is not properly licensed. A COA should never be purchased without the software it authenticates. Is a Hologram CD or Recovery Media included? Many Microsoft products ship on Hologram CDs in order to protect against counterfeiting. A Hologram CD features a holographic image over the entire surface of the CD. This holographic image is part of the CD itself; it is not a sticker. Are the product packaging and documentation high quality? From our example, you saw that some counterfeiters can provide packaging and documentation almost indistinguishable from the genuine article. Often, that is not the case. One of the clearest indications that you are purchasing genuine Microsoft software is professionally produced packaging and documentation
