Microsoft links malware rates to pirated Windows

By Gregg Keizer

November 2, 2009 02:54 PM ET

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Although Microsoft wants users to patch vulnerabilities with Windows Update, people running counterfeit copies of Windows have traditionally been less-than-eager to apply fixes, believing that Windows Update will recognize their software as illegal and mark it as such with nagging on-screen messages.

Microsoft's anti-piracy efforts, particularly the technology it pushes to users that sniffs out unlicensed copies of Windows, have met with resistance. Last year, for example, Chinese users raised a ruckus when Microsoft updated its Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) anticounterfeit validation and notification technology.

American users have complained about the technology, too. In June 2006, Microsoft infuriated users by pushing a version of WGA to XP users via Windows Update, tagging it as a "high-priority" update that was automatically downloaded and installed to most machines. A year later, a day-long server outage riled thousands of users who were mistakenly fingered for running counterfeit copies of Windows.

The 2006 incident sparked a lawsuit that accused Microsoft of misleading customers when it used Windows Update to serve up WGA. Last month, Microsoft filed a motion opposing a move by the plaintiffs to turn the case into a class-action lawsuit.

Microsoft's security intelligence report can be downloaded from its Web site in PDF or XPS document formats.

Read more about software in Computerworld's Software Knowledge Center.

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