Need Some Help With Strange Message, Please

I have been using Win-8 for about a year now without any major problems - maybe a small glitsch here and there that my son can usually sort out (he is an IT boffin) but suddenly the following message appeared on my screen: "ACTIVATE WINDOWS - go to PC settings to activate Windows" and Mark (my son) has tried every which way to resolve this puzzle, but nothing doing thus far and the message just stays up all the time. He is totally baffled by it, and yet my machine - for all intents and purposes - is working well. Any suggestions?? my question is - if Windows isn't activated, why am I able to work normally in every aspect - mails, websites, games, whatever...
Would appreciate any advice on this puzzle....
Thanks in anticipation.
®KIM

 

This is indeed strange because you won't be able to use a non-activated Windows 8 for a year.
Ask your son to have a look at these instructions.
http://www.wikihow.com/Turn-Off-Windows-Activation-Messages-in-Windows-8

 

Many thanks, Eldon, the problem has now been resolved - the puzzling message is no more and everything is working 100%. You people rock!!! I must also admit that this is the first time in a
VERY long time that I had to log in for help, chat, whatever, and the layout of the site is now very different to what it used to be since my last visit - heck - I can't even remember. Took me a while to "navigate" my way through it, and at first I battled to log in, thinking that perhaps you had written me off as I seldom log in here, but once again, thank you one and all!