14 DAY TRIAL // Technology pirates are the modern era's equivalent of the Grinch. And they can steal Christmas just as easy. "With its potential payload of viruses, worms, spyware and other hazards, counterfeit software can quickly turn a high-tech holiday stocking stuffer into a smoldering lump of coal," revealed Microsoft via a press release. Consequently, the Redmond Company has decided to take action and to deliver lumps of coal to software counterfeiters and to companies involved in hard-disk loading across 25 US cities.
"No one would want their newly purchased computer or software to be laden with problems caused by incomplete code, worms, viruses, spyware and other risks," said Mary Jo Schrade, senior attorney at Microsoft. "Aside from a fight to protect our intellectual property, we are working to protect our partners and customers who buy computer software in good faith, expecting to get genuine Microsoft Windows and end up being exploited and defrauded by software pirates."
Microsoft's legal actions target companies that were allegedly involved in the counterfeiting and distribution of pirated software and software components or that have installed unlicensed software on the systems they sold.
"No consumer has the ability to examine the code that a counterfeiter has offered for sale, so there's no way to tell how it's been altered until it's too late," said Laura Didio, Yankee Group analyst. "With so much reliance on the Internet and PCs for shopping and banking and communications today, the stakes are just too high to justify saving a few dollars buying counterfeit software."
"Today's announcement is part of an ongoing, programmatic effort by Microsoft to level the playing field for our partners," said John Ball, general manager for U.S. Local OEM Business at Microsoft. "Ultimately, our goal is straightforward: To make sure that fair business practices prevail and that consumers get what they pay for and what they deserve when they purchase Microsoft software."