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Tips on How to Get and Activate CD keys

Tips on How to Get and Activate CD keys

Rael Carey1209 08-Jan-2020

When you purchase a game or software, you need to activate it before making use of it. For example, to play a PC game, you purchase/download the game, install it on your computer, and then play it. But first, before you will be able to run this game, you need to prove that you actually paid for it and not just downloaded it illegally. This is where CD keys come in. Take Steam for example. Although the Steam service is primarily online, you can also purchase cheap steam keys at SmartCDKeys. These keys come with the activation codes to redeem games, in-game purchases, and other content. Alternatively, you can purchase these cheap CD keys and send them to a friend or loved one to activate it and receive the funds. Not yet sure how it works? Don’t worry, we will show you how to activate your CD keys, but first, let me show you how to send these CD keys to.


Where to get cheap CD keys legally?


Obtaining cheap CD keys is tricky business, because if care is not taken, you may end up with one that does not work, or worse, land in some trouble. For this post, we will group CD keys under two categories – physical and digital. The physical CD keys, as said earlier, can be obtained from stores where you purchase gift cards and the key is under a sticker, most time.


For the digital keys, loads of third-party retailers online offer them at different rates. In the past, eye brows have been raised on popular third-party retailers and the legitimacy of their offerings. However, despite the controversy, there are legal places to purchase software and games CD keys that are not stolen or fraudulent. Admittedly, most other online stores, especially those that deal on all software keys are illegal; thus, you must proceed with caution.


For starters, reading laws and the Terms and Conditions of most software, you will quickly find out that there is a very thin line between the legality and illegality of the mere act of reselling or buying software keys from third-party retailers. When you decide on the specific retailer from which you want to obtain the cheap CD keys, then all you need to do is register with them, verify yourself, and purchase it.

How to activate CD keys

First of all, there are several types of CD keys, depending on where you get it from and where you need to use them – PC keys, Xbox, Nintendo, PSN Top-up Cards, etc., as a matter of fact, this blog is not sufficient to do justice to all the various types of CD keys. So, in this section, we will focus on how redeem and activate the Steam keys. Here is how to do it:
Step 1:    To begin the activation, you need to have the Steam client running on your machine. So, proceed to download the client to your computer. Get it at the following link: http://store.steampowered.com/about/.
Step 2:    The next step is to log into your Steam account. You will find two buttons – “Create new account” and “Login to an existing account.” Use the latter option to enter your dashboard, or if you have no Steam account, hit the “Create new account” option.
Step 3:    Whether or not you had a Steam account, after logging in, click “Add a Game” and then click “Activate a Product on Steam.”
Step 4:    Next, on clicking the Activate a Product on Steam tab, you will see the Steam Subscriber Agreement. You have to read it and confirm by clicking on “I Agree” at the bottom of the screen.
Step 5:    Finally, enter the smart CD key to conclude the process. Your game will be found in the “Software” library under the “Games” folder.


If you follow the above guide, then you will activate your game successfully and be able to play it instantly. If you have an account with Steam, you can also view the CD key. You should note that many Steam games do not come with CD keys when you purchase them. The Steam client lets you play the games directly from the client. But for the ones with keys, here is how to view them.


Step 1:    On the Steam client, right-click on the particular game you want to check.
Step 2:    Next, hit the “View CD Key” button from the dropdown. This will reveal the keys for the specific game.


You can also see these keys when a game is launched, on the Steam Overlay. If you do not want to see that again, then simply close it.


Recap...


A CD Key consists of characters (letters and numbers) with which software and games are activated. You get them together with the purchased application. This prevents illegal use and piracy. You can get them from different outlets, and from the right place, you are completely safe to use them. This post also went through the steps to activating CD keys and how to obtain them.
                                                                                                                                                                



Updated 09-Jan-2020
Internet addict, blogger and loves traveling with my two furry friends

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