Reports of counterfeit software, much of it tainted with computer viruses, have doubled during the past two years, Microsoft said.
The US technology giant, which built its fortune selling programs for personal computers, held a Consumer Action Day on Wednesday to highlight risks posed by pirated software and resources for people vexed by bogus applications.
“It is all too common for software pirates to tamper with genuine code,” Microsoft head of global anti-piracy enforcement David Finn said in an interview posted at the firm’s Web site.
IDENTITY THEFT
“Why wouldn’t a criminal syndicate that manufactures counterfeit software merely add a few lines of malicious code in order to compromise the security of your computer and victimize you a second time by stealing your identity or personal information?” he asked.
Criminals often go as far as to duplicate the packaging of legitimate Microsoft software, making it difficult for people to tell whether they are buying authorized versions, Finn said.
“We know a lot of people still think of software counterfeiting as a victimless crime,” Finn said. “Yet, I think we’ve hit a tipping point. The sheer increase in the rate of counterfeit software reports is remarkable.”
Finn leads a team of lawyers, paralegals, investigators and forensic specialists working with governments, businesses, partners and customers to thwart software pirates.
DOUBLING
Consumer reports of counterfeit software doubled to more than 150,000 in the past two years, with people voluntarily alerting Microsoft online at Web sites such as microsoft.com/howtotell.
“We’re not talking about some average Joe copying his install disk here,” Finn said.
“Software piracy has become much more sophisticated. More and more, there are serious criminals engaged in this,” he said.
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