A message just popped up at the bottom right side of the screen near the tray, saying, "You may be a victim of software counterfeiting. This copy of windows did not pass genuine Windows validation."
Is this for real????

   My guess is that if it does not let you continue using Windows, it is for real.  Otherwise it is not for real and is a phishing scam to get your authorization codes.
   I have gone through software validation for Microsoft Word but have not done so with Windows.
   If there is a link, do not use the link but instead try going to the Microsoft website directly by typing http://www.microsoft.com in the browser.