From XP SP3 to Vista RTM/SP1 - All Pirated, Yet Microsoft Claims Anti-Piracy Progress

Microsoft is drawing the line on the past two years of its Genuine Software Initiative, and the Redmond company is indicating signs of progress on the anti-piracy front. There are little exceptions to the general rule that Microsoft's software products, from Windows XP and earlier to SP2 and SP3, to Windows Vista RTM and SP1, to the Office 2007 System are among the main targets for bootleggers. But both the company's flagship products, Windows and Office along with additional solutions, are not only available as counterfeit products, but also free of charge via torrent tracker and warez websites. Even Windows 7, the next iteration of the Windows client has found its way outside of a closed circle formed by Microsoft and its close partners, although the leaked operating system was never confirmed as being actually available for download and not just a scam.

"Investments that we have made in protection efforts that benefit customers and partners are paying off. In the past year, we designed new packaging and developed new distribution models that make it harder for software pirates to counterfeit Microsoft products. Additionally, enhanced technologies built into many new Microsoft products like Windows Vista have made it considerably harder to pirate and profit from counterfeit copies of Windows Vista," stated Cori Hartje, director of the Microsoft Genuine Software Initiative.

Hartje reminded of a major Microsoft victory over pirates, with the taking down of a Chinese counterfeiting ring that was believed to have pirated in excess of 2$ billion worth of software, from Office 2003 to Windows Vista. The Redmond company cooperated with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and China's Public Security Bureau in order to provide the necessary proofs of the wrong doing. Microsoft stated at the time that the data collected by the Windows Genuine Advantage anti-piracy mechanism from pirated copies of Windows was handed over to the authorities.

A "positive trend we are beginning to see is an increased interest from governments around the world in combating piracy and counterfeiting because of the negative impact this problem has on their local and national economies. Two of the primary reasons that governments are interested in protecting IP are the need to support their own software or IP based industries and to generate stability to increase their foreign direct investment in business ventures. Along with these benefits the country's economy grows from the financial return that comes from increasing legitimate technology businesses and then brings an increased tax base to support government programs like education and other infrastructure goals," Microsoft stated.