Apr 26, 2011 07:14 GMT  ·  By

Less than two weeks after Windows 8 Milestone 1 (M1) Build 7850 made its way into the wild, a new, more advanced Build of Windows vNext was also leaked. Windows 8 Milestone 2 (M2) Build 6.2.7955.0 is now available for download from various illegal third-party sources including some of the world’s most popular torrent trackers.

Just as it was the case with Windows 8 M1 Build 7850, any user with a BitTorrent client that is willing to disregard the inherent risks associated with leaked copies of the upcoming platform can grab Windows 8 M2 Build 6.2.7955.0 and start testing it.

According to information from the source of the leak, BetaArchive, the full Build string of the latest leaked Windows 8 development milestone is 6.2.7955.0.110228-1930.

The data indicates that this particular Build of Windows 8 was compiled on February 28th, 2011, a date at which unofficial reports revealed that Microsoft had started the coding work on the Milestone 3 release of Windows vNext.

There is some confusion about which stage of the Windows 8 development process Build 6.2.7955.0 belongs to.

It appears that the release is a transition Build between the signed-off M2 release and the first M3 bits. But don’t expect Microsoft to offer any clarification on the matter at hand.

The software giant used the same strategy for M2 as it did for M1 and hid a range of new features in Windows 8 Build 6.2.7955.

In addition to such new components as Webcam, Logon UI, TaskUI, PDF Reader and the immersive IE, Windows 8 M2 Build 6.2.7955 also sports the Ribbon UI, Application Folder and full DWM. There are additional goodies packed into this release, including touchscreen gesture effects, but make sure to keep your eyes on Softpedia and I’ll provide additional insight throughout the day.

While Windows 8 M1 Build 7850 was leaked extremely late after release, so late in fact that it had already expired, the same is not the case with the new Windows 8 M2 Build 6.2.7955.0 leak.

Windows 8 M2 Build 6.2.7955.0, also time-bombed, will only expire on July 1, 2011, which means that testers get to use it for quite a while.

It’s worth noting that the leaked Windows 8 M2 Build 6.2.7955.0 release is not identical to the Build that official testers get. The ISO available in the wild has been cooked with components from Windows 7 in order to get it to install.

As such, there’s really no telling what else might be packed into the unofficial release, so it might be a good idea for users to avoid leaks altogether.