32% of Pirated Windows 7 and Win 7 Cracks Infected with Malware

Almost a third of the pirated copies of Windows 7 and the activation cracks for the operating system are infected with malicious code, and will cause users to infect their own machines, according to Microsoft. Joe Williams, general manager, Genuine Windows, cited data from a study performed by Media Surveillance, a German-based anti-piracy solutions company. At the end of 2009, Media Surveillance grabbed in excess of 500 pirated copies of Windows 7 and exploits designed to bypass the activation process of the OS. The company found that no less than 32% of all the items downloaded contained malicious code.

“These are very disturbing figures – especially when considering that resellers may be using these downloads to claim that the PCs they sell include genuine Windows. Buyers of new PCs should always check for the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) to verify that the PC they are purchasing contains only genuine Windows. A quick visit to our How to Tell website tells buyers what a genuine COA should look like,” Williams stated.

What’s even more disturbing is that statistics indicate that the trend is only growing. Attackers are increasingly leveraging pirated copies of Windows and activation-circumvention methods in order to spread malware. A study by IDC dating back to 2006 indicates that, at the time, only one in four websites attempted to infect users with malware.

“Searching for, downloading, or installing activation exploits or counterfeit software on the Internet is risky, because sites that advertise these pirated products often contain malware, viruses, and Trojans, which are found bundled with or directly built into the activation exploit or counterfeit software,” Williams added.

By the end of this month, Microsoft will tackle a large volume of illegal activation methods for Windows 7. The company revealed yesterday that it planned to release what it called the Windows Activation Technologies Update for Windows 7 starting with February 16th.

“In the coming days, we’ll be deploying a new update for Windows Activation Technologies, the set of built-in activation and validation components built into Windows 7. Called the Windows Activation Technologies Update for Windows 7, this refresh will detect more than 70 known and potentially dangerous activation exploits,” Williams added.