The computer giant has beefed up its Windows Genuine Advantage (WGI) tool to detect users running counterfeit copies of Windows. WGI is automatically set to run when users access Windows Update, Microsoft Update for Windows and Microsoft Download Center.
If the tool detects fake Windows software, a popup informs the user they are running a pirated copy. Access to download Internet Explorer 7, Windows Defender and other updates would be denied.
Microsoft tested the WGI pilot program in a handful of countries starting in November 2005. The program has now expanded to include the U.S., the U.K., Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.
While the verification program remains optional during the U.S. phase, “[Microsoft] may require customers using Automatic Update and Windows Update to participate as it expands later in the year,” director of Genuine Windows David Lazar told TechNewsWorld.
According to a report conducted by the Software Business Alliance, 35 percent of all software installed in 2004 was bogus. The illegitimate programs are blamed for $33 billion in losses for software manufacturers, while $59 billion was spent on genuine software in 2004 said IDC, a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research and events company.
“A recent IDC/BSA study showed that if the piracy rate were to drop to 25 percent, it would create as many as 2.4 million new jobs, $400 billion in economic growth and $67 billion in tax revenues worldwide,” Neil MacBride, the Vice President of legal affairs at Business Software Alliance, told TechNewsWorld.
In the U.K., Microsoft has offered to replace pirated copies of Windows XP that came preloaded on newly purchased PCs with the authentic OS.
