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Bad Things Happen to Unlicensed Windows Users

pcworld.com — Companies that rely on unlicensed copies of Windows are more likely to experience system failures and lose customer data, Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday, citing a company-sponsored report. According to the research, which was conducted by the Harrison Group Inc. but paid for by Microsoft, mid-sized firms -- those with more than 24 PCs and fewer than

Who dugg this? Made popular Oct 4, 2008

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  • skabyss, on 10/03/2008, -8/+140I call *****
  • Paktu, on 10/03/2008, -2/+130That's a nice copy of Windows you got there. It'd be a shame if something bad were to happen to it...
  • inactive, on 10/04/2008, -5/+96"Microsoft Corp. said"

    lol
  • pidey, on 10/04/2008, -1/+85Here is how I see it, a company that has the money to pay for legit copies of Windows likely also has the money to pay for a competent IT guy.
  • dollars5, on 10/03/2008, -8/+70Don't bad things on Windows happen on licensed copies at all?
  • barius, on 10/04/2008, -0/+47What Microsoft fails to take into account is that companies using significant amounts of unlicensed software are probably doing so because they are already on a shoestring budget. Having an underfunded IT department is the far more likely cause for the IT problems these companies are reporting.
  • Gavagai80, on 10/04/2008, -0/+41A recent Microsoft-sponsored study demonstrates that nothing bad has ever happened to a licensed Windows user. In fact, when a pirate decides to go legit and purchase, they typically come into fabulous wealth and live to an average age of 130.
  • clockwork23, on 10/04/2008, -3/+36So that's why my girlfriend broke up with me ..
  • nyw7070, on 10/04/2008, -0/+33Maybe... the companies that can't even afford to buy licenses for their systems... couldn't afford IT guys that knew what they were doing either?
  • FreeTalkLIve, on 10/04/2008, -1/+31Bull ***** *****.

  • StatiK69, on 10/03/2008, -3/+30I dunno if I agree or not. We have about 5 blue screens happen a day because of hardware failure in the Dell Optiplex 755. Licensing is expensive but I think hardware failure can be worse than an unregistered version of XP.
  • hollywoodphony, on 10/04/2008, -5/+30This is why I run Windows Me.
  • muller, on 10/04/2008, -2/+25Not me. Any business that uses unlicensed software likely:

    1. Is not following most other forms of best practices, and/or
    2. Is financially frugal to the point of making bad IT decisions.

    Either one of those goes hand-in-hand with a higher rate of failure. Makes sense to me. It doesn't mean that pirated versions of Windows are going to crash and burn - it's probably simply indicative of other IT issues with the business. Correlation, not causation.
  • inactive, on 10/04/2008, -0/+21No - That's "Minesweeper Consultant and Solitaire Expert"!
  • JustinNoland, on 10/04/2008, -1/+19Nerd fight!
  • inactive, on 10/04/2008, -1/+18Yes. The moral is - Never Try
  • barc0001, on 10/04/2008, -1/+18Then why do these places keep hiring MCSEs? Every one I've ever run into certainly Must Consult Someone Experienced whenever a problem arose...
  • TheLichKing, on 10/04/2008, -0/+15Yeah, they heard it from The Internets.
  • handheldchimp, on 10/04/2008, -2/+17Yeah, my computer has been fine for years now. Been running the same copy I got from the Pirate Bay...nothing has happened so far.
  • Tubal22, on 10/04/2008, -0/+15Chances are if you can't afford 100% licensed software, you are also skimping on your IT department (if you have one at all).

    So of course you'll have more failures. Especially if you have 24 or more computers, which this study was done for.

    It's not a matter of the licenses, it's a matter of the money.
  • flair1, on 10/04/2008, -1/+15Real companies aren't going to risk their business on illegal activities like not paying for software. If you are too cheap to pay for Microsoft, use open source. Is it really that difficult to figure out?
  • t3rmv3locity, on 10/04/2008, -4/+18Funny how Microsoft paid for this study and is using it as a propagandized talking point. I'm not saying it's not true, it just looks very suspicious.
  • linagee, on 10/04/2008, -5/+19It's true though! Better switch to Linux instead!
  • inactive, on 10/04/2008, -0/+14I remember I had Me back like 8 years ago, what a piece of crap. I'm digging you up for admitting such a sad story.
  • wrongbanana, on 10/04/2008, -0/+14If you read the actual report, the “magic trick” is revealed on page 8:

    QUOTE:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
    Findings here are based on the results of 1,580 interviews completed among both Business Decision Makers and IT Professionals in mid-market companies defined as having 25-499 PC’s in the US, UK, China, and Brazil. Both IT Professionals and Business Decision Makers were required to indicate that they were extremely or very knowledgeable about how software was used and acquired for their company in order to participate.

    Within this population we identified 690 who were defined as companies that use genuine fully licensed software, while the remaining 890 were recognized as using unlicensed Microsoft Windows. To qualify as a fully licensed user in the US and UK, all or nearly all of the PCs and Microsoft Windows software needed to be acquired through genuine means. Those below that threshold were recognized as using unlicensed software. In China and Brazil, at least three-fourths of the PCs and Microsoft Windows software needed to be acquired through genuine means in order to be classified as fully licensed. Those indicating half or less of their PCs and operating systems were acquired in a fully licensed genuine manner were recognized as using unlicensed software.
    :::::::::::::::::::::::::END QUOTE

    Glaringly absent from the report are the actual raw numbers broken out by geographic region (a simple table which would have taken up all of one inch of space). How many of the data loss and system failure companies were companies in China and Brazil? How many of the companies that were at lower risk were U.S. and UK companies? There is absolutely no attempt to even pretend to factor in hardware, or even environmental factors. I mean, really . .. “system failures??” Just what does that include? What does that not include? This “white paper” might serve better functionality if it were on a roll, and in the bathroom.
  • Junior612, on 10/04/2008, -3/+16I've never had a problem in the last 8 years with pirated xp or vista.
  • ironiridis, on 10/03/2008, -5/+18I'm sorry, I'm going to have to bury you here.

    I have never, EVER had an issue with OS X locking me out, or refusing to function, as a result of my legitimate use of the software. I pay for every copy I use. It's cheaper than Windows, and I have yet to be punished, frustrated or even delayed by OS X.

    I don't have to type a 25 character license key, I don't have to have my operating system "phone home", I don't have to constantly reassure my computer that it is "genuine" via disingenuous "software updates" that only serve to revalidate my copy.

    I support Linux, absolutely, 100%. But you're wrong when you say that money is wasted on OS X. It's a functional, advanced operating system worth paying for.

    (But don't get me wrong. I'll never run an OS X server; Gentoo is my distro.)
  • djgargamel, on 10/04/2008, -4/+17That could be the most confusing sentence ever. I hate you.
  • DeusNova, on 10/04/2008, -8/+21Here's my philosophy. If you're a business(besides non profrit), you should buy your software. If you're a typical home user not making any money off of the software...software ought to be free.
  • quomen, on 10/04/2008, -3/+16Ever heard of FUD?
  • inactive, on 10/04/2008, -3/+15Isn't the reason obvious? If you can't pay for Windows, how the hell can you afford adequate tech support?
  • Abomonog, on 10/04/2008, -1/+12I agree. There are so many excellently streamlined copies of XP out there that that come with cracked WGA it is insane. Even though I have a legit license I never use a legit copy to do my installs.
    I use an unattended install and then change the key in it later. No bloat in it like Windows messenger, Outlook Express, and the tons of other crap you never use. It slices Windows footprint in half and still manages to install itself and SP2 in about the same time it takes to install a good sized game. Plus it is the most stable copy of XP I have ever possessed.

    AND IT'S A ***** PIRATED COPY!

    WGA has been cracked for 2 years now. Pirated copies of Windows skirt right by it like it was nothing. Microsoft insists it wants kill XP and yet they still protect it like it was released last week. What's next? WGA for Windows 95?
  • seltaeb4, on 10/04/2008, -4/+15Title: "Bad Things Happen to Unlicensed Windows Users"

    Bad Things Happen to Licensed Windows Users, too.

    Basically, Bad Things Happen to Windows Users. It's just not worth the risk.
  • seltaeb4, on 10/04/2008, -0/+11He's from Barcelona.
  • PedoRcketSrgeon, on 10/04/2008, -2/+12There may be a simple reason for this. Pirate copies, can't access Windows update. No update = more crashes. Average joe probably doesn't know how to subvert this, and lets his pc run with out any sp's. Unless the report took this into account. This isn't a hard stretch. And yeah I know there are ways around this.... But we're talking LARGE numbers of PC on AVERAGE. sp3 = wwaaay different than when XP came out.
  • mixomatosys, on 10/04/2008, -1/+9dugg up because the statement is mostly true. pirated or not, you're gonna run into the same problems.
  • unhg, on 10/04/2008, -4/+12Well if you can't win against corporate pirates, use fear tactics!
  • floodmixed, on 10/04/2008, -0/+8Doesn't this sound a lot like BS anti-drug commercials convincing you someone put heroin in your bag of weed:
    "If you're using non-genuine [Windows], there's a high likelihood that whoever put it on the media slipped other things into the code Actually, I would be surprised if there wasn't something slipped in."

  • DriveMyKarma, on 10/04/2008, -8/+16"Bad Things Happen To Windows Users"

    There. Fixed.
  • inactive, on 10/04/2008, -5/+13No.
    There are free alternatives if you want to use free software.
  • thedude42, on 10/04/2008, -0/+8Microsoft realizes this, they are planning on small business owners who have zero IT skills not understanding what this 'study' actually implies. As long as that is the case, businesses will continue to hand over cash to people who give M$ money, whether they be certified system builders, MCSE, authorized resellers, whatever.... the money makes it back to M$.

    That would be the intent.
  • aeiou, on 10/04/2008, -7/+15Dugg down because obeying the law and compensating people for their work is NEVER stupid.
  • zwaldowski, on 10/04/2008, -4/+11Remove "/System/Library/Extensions/Dont Steal Mac OS X.kext" and then come back to me. No, really, don't, because that would be bad. Except for that whole "probing-the-video-hardware-every-CPU-cycle" thing, OS X has almost identical (at least, in effect) DRM implementations to those in Windows Vista. They are, as with any Apple product, nicely subtle.
  • honeybrass, on 10/04/2008, -1/+8Licensing windows makes your ***** smell like roses and you pee apple juice.
  • inactive, on 10/04/2008, -0/+7It shows how desperate MS are these days.
  • Abomonog, on 10/04/2008, -2/+9Err. Ever talk to Microsoft's Tech support? You pay for windows and you STILL don't get adequate tech support.
  • CrushThemTorg, on 10/04/2008, -0/+7Clearly, correlation is an indicator causality in all cases. Bravo, Microsoft. Now let's get to work funding another big press release about how rotting meat spawns maggots.
  • alexkreuz, on 10/04/2008, -0/+7dugg down because the bailout bill should prove once and for all that there is no such thing as "obeying the law"
  • inactive, on 10/04/2008, -2/+9Of course hardware failure is bad, but it's not better or worse. There is absolutely no difference between a licensed or unlicensed version of Windows if genuine advantage is cracked, which is often the case. You would have access to every single update available in either situation. So how would the system's operation be any different?
  • elementdan, on 10/04/2008, -2/+9Que?
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