Microsoft: 'No patches for pirates'
Published: 26 Jan 2005 09:00 GMT
Piracy is a major problem for Microsoft and others in the software industry. One software industry study estimated that more than a third of software is pirated, costing the industry $29bn a year. Microsoft won't put an exact figure on its losses, but said it is certainly in the billions over the past 10 years.
The validation effort is just part of Microsoft's threefold program, which focuses on educating users, engineering products in ways that minimise piracy, and enforcement through the legal system.
As for the added security risk, Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry said that people are putting too much of the blame on the software maker.
Cherry said it is not necessarily Microsoft's responsibility to protect people who aren't paying the company for its products. He likened the situation to buying a fake Rolex and then expecting warranty service if the product breaks.
The problem with that analogy, Cherry acknowledged, is that a broken Rolex doesn't put other watch owners at risk, whereas vulnerable computers connected to the Internet threaten all PC users. However, Cherry said that many of the computers that are at risk are using genuine, but older versions of Windows.
"There's a growing chance that the people whose machines are being taken over are running older systems which aren't really securable," he said.
Cherry said he thinks the company is acting appropriately, noting that making sure people are running genuine Windows is important for all customers.
"I think they are entitled to do this, and I think it is in customers' best interest to know that they have a genuine version of the software," he said. Counterfeit copies could contain their own bugs or viruses, and there is no way to guarantee that security patches will work, even if the user can download them, he said.
While Microsoft is the obvious beneficiary if piracy rates go down, Cherry said programs like Genuine Advantage also help level the playing field for smaller computer builders who play by the rules and find themselves undercut by dealers offering PCs with bogus copies of Windows.
"Those are the people I hope the program is helping," Cherry said.
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8 comments
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at last the kick i needed to make the move linux :... Anonymous -
Pirates won't pay up for a proper copy of Windows,... NJ
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Consumers should start a "no pay for buggy, insecu... Tom Wootton
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In my profession if you can't prove it works... Anonymous -
Microsoft should be going after the dist... Anonymous -
"people whose copies are found not to be legitimat... Anonymous
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i realize windows is categorically an inferior pro... Anonymous
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It's interesting that Microsoft say that they have... Bart Chellors
