Leaked copies of Windows 7 hit the Internet only hours after Microsoft Corp. handed out a preview build to developers last week, according to searches at several BitTorrent-tracking sites. The notorious Pirate Bay site, for example, first noted the 32-bit version of the upcoming operating system on Oct. 29, just one day after Microsoft unveiled Windows 7 to attendees at its Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles. A 64-bit edition was posted the following day.
As of midday Sunday, with several copies of Windows 7 available, downloading was brisk. One 32-bit torrent listed on Pirate Bay showed more than 1,400 "seeders," the term for a computer that has a complete copy of the torrent file, and close to 5,300 "leechers," or computers that have downloaded only part of the complete torrent. The 32-bit torrent installs a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate, according to users commenting on the site.