In the months leading up to the launch of Windows 8, the site that was perhaps the biggest source of leaked information and early screenshots from the operating system was WinUnleaked. Originally located at WinUnleaked.tk and later WinUnleaked.info, the site and its mysterious founder "Canouna" posted up images of Windows 8 pre-release builds and information on the build numbers of the OS before it launched on a regular basis.
Now it looks like WinUnleaked and its founder have faded away. A quick check of the WinUnleaked.info URL sends the web surfer over to the main page of Microsoft.com. All other WinUnleaked.info pages are taken to an error page on Microsoft.com.
It"s possible that Microsoft wanted to close as many development holes in its future Windows plans as possible and forced the URL to shut down. However, it"s also possible that "Canouna" decided to simply retire the site on his own accord and Microsoft came in afterwards to claim the domain name. Indeed, "Canouna"s" own personal Twitter account has also shut down.
We have emailed Microsoft to find out how they acquired WinUnleaked.info.
Update: A check on WinUnleaked.info WHOIS info shows that Microsoft has not acquired the domain. It"s looking more likely that "Canouna" has simply decided to retire the site.