Microsoft declares 'consumer action day' to help fight piracy
Friday, December 4, 2009
Software giant Microsoft declared yesterday to be a consumer action day, and took part in a global effort to clamp down on software piracy.
The company says that it has received more than 150,000 complaints from customers about pirated versions of its products over the past two years. Pirated copies of many common applications, including Windows, are known to contain large amounts of malware, and can even slave unsuspecting computers into a botnet, which can be sold to further enhance the profit margins of cyber criminals.
Channel Insider reports that Microsoft filed 18 lawsuits in U.S. courts this week, alleging that the companies named in the complaint have been selling PCs preloaded with illegal copies of Microsoft's products. The company also filed two lawsuits in Canada.
Microsoft also took part in a myriad of other activities this week, including education and enforcement efforts in many countries around the world. The company held an intellectual property rights seminar in Chinese schools, an appropriate choice because of the large proportion of pirated Microsoft products that come from that country.
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