Windows 7 is more popular on torrent sites than Windows 8. We counted how many people were seeding Windows versions and their variants on the Piratebay and added them together. Given the fact that pirates have access to a free Windows 8 copy, it's surprising to see that the majority of the illegal downloaders still prefers Windows 7.
Also Windows XP still sees a fair bit of sharing and downloading on the Piratebay. Microsoft's previous, most notorious OS failure, Windows Vista isn't shared at all. Windows 7 with torrents called Windows 7 Ultimate, Ultimate SP1, Ultimate SP1 32 bit is currently seeded 4916 times. Windows 8, of which most torrents are Windows 8.1 Pro variants, is seeded 3865 times while Windows XP is still seeded 2127 times.
Windows 8 was released in October 2012, Windows 7 three years earlier in October 2009, and XP, of which Microsoft ends support in April, was released to the public in October 2001. It's incredible to see that XP, now more than 12 years old is still so popular on torrent sites.
Since it's release Windows 8 received lots of criticism, also recent sales numbers from Microsoft indicate that the OS never gained the same popularity as Windows 7. In the same timeframe, Windows 7 sales were considerably higher.
