The Redmond software giant Microsoft has commented that over one in five Windows installations are non-genuine.
The company got these staggering stats through the company’s WGA program according to which the users have to validate their OS before they can download any of the company’s offerings.
The WGA program was launched in July 2005 and since then more than 512 million users have attempted to validate their copy of the OS. According to Microsoft the pirated rate was 22.3% and more than 56,000 reports of counterfeit software have been made by the users.
These figures may be termed high but they are not as high if you compare it to some other stats. The Business Software Alliance reports that 35% of the world’s software is pirated and out of that 22% lies in North America. Another group has reported that 55% of organizations report instances of pirated software.
Taking some serious action Microsoft has started a new campaign called the ‘Genuine Fact Files’ aimed at educating the customers on the downfall and the risks associated with non-genuine software. Pirated software can contain several files which are missing or either corrupted and can lead to the crash and failure of many of the computers in which these software are installed.
This action by Microsoft can also be termed as a protection method adopted by the company for protecting the upcoming Vista and Office 2007 launch.
Via: betanews
