In excess of 300,000 people worldwide visited Microsoft’s antipiracy website to report counterfeit software in the past five years.
Victims of software piracy complained that the fake software got their machines infected with malware, that it failed to function properly under a range of scenarios including activation and validation, or that it had additional issues, not working as advertised.
David Finn, associate general counsel, Worldwide Anti-Counterfeiting, revealed that the problems reported by customers were a match to the issues found by Microsoft when investigating bootlegged software.
Finn warned that the Redmond company identified vulnerabilities in pirates products that were introduced through the code tampering, and that in some situations the software had been changed to allow attackers to steal sensitive data from end users.
Respondents to a study commissioned by the Redmond company revealed that they are indeed worried about ID theft, data loss and being unwilling and unaware participants into funding schemes for cybercrime.
“Consumers everywhere are coming to us with complaints about counterfeit software,” Finn said.
“They’re asking what they can do to protect themselves. They want facts. And they want industry and government to stand up and take action. Our commitment is to do everything we can to help them.”
73% of 38,000 people in 20 countries asked whether they would use pirated or genuine software answered that they would opt for the legitimate product.
Two out of every three respondents revealed that they believe genuine software to be more secure, more stable and easier to update than bootlegged products.
Obviously, education plays a critical role in getting consumers not to fall for the promise of saving money and using pirated software, while ending up paying much more in cases in which their sensitive data ends up in the wrong hands.
Microsoft together with additional members of the software industry, but also with governments worldwide need to do more in order to curb the piracy phenomenon, the vast majority of the survey participants believe.
“The good news is, more people are becoming aware of the danger, and by taking a few simple steps, it’s possible to protect yourself and steer clear of these phony products:
•Whenever you buy new software, activate it immediately to determine whether it is properly licensed and genuine. Activation and validation are key to making sure you have the right product.
•Make sure you purchase software from a trusted source, and always check the packaging, labels and discs carefully.
•Your computer’s first line of defense is its anti-virus software. Make sure it’s up to date before downloading any software from the Internet,” Finn stated.
And of course, in case that customers have any doubts about the legitimacy of the Microsoft software they bought, the How to Tell website is available for them, and will guide them through the process of verifying whether their product is genuine or not.
0 comments:
Post a Comment