Pirated Windows software boosting malware infection, says Microsoft

Microsoft says that Pirates who avoid upgrading and installing security patches are more likely to become infected with malware. Brazil is an example of this theory.
11/4/2009 7:00:00 AM By: Gregg Keizer

Microsoft today said computers in countries with high rates of software piracy are more likely to be infected by malicious code because users are leery of applying security patches.

"There is a direct correlation between piracy and the malware infection rate," said Jeff Williams, the principal group program manager for the Microsoft Malware Protection Center. Williams was touting the newest edition of his company's biannual security intelligence report.

According to Williams, the link between PC infection rates -- the percentage of computers that have been cleaned by the updated monthly Malicious Software Removal Tool, or MSRT -- and piracy is due to the hesitancy of users in countries where counterfeit copies abound to use Windows Update, the service that pushes patches to PCs.

China's piracy rate is more than four times that of the U.S., according to Microsoft's report, published today, but the use of Windows Update in China is significantly below that in the U.S.

Brazil and France also have a higher piracy rate, and lower Windows Update usage, than the U.S., Microsoft maintained.

But the company's own data doesn't always support William's contention that piracy, and the hesitancy to use Windows Update, leads to more infected PCs. China, for example, boasted a malware infection rate -- as defined by the number of computers cleaned for each 1,000 executions of the MSRT -- of just 6.7, significantly lower than the global average of 8.7 or the U.S.'s rate of 8.2 per thousand.

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