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Microsoft recently carried out their very own survey which revealed the best places to buy pirated copies of Windows 7. Lets just say that if I were Microsoft I wouldn’t be too happy with the results. It turns out that the Russians are the biggest pirates of Windows 7 around.

According to the survey, Moscow is the biggest culprit for pirated copies of Windows 7. More than 25 percent of the dealers in the city sold pirated copies of the software. Also, one in ten of the dealers had the audacity to come to your house and install the illegal software for you.

Microsoft has surveyed 2500 computer and software retailers in   53 cities across the Russian Federation. The Far Eastern parts of Russia but the likes of China and India to shame when it comes to software piracy. Places likes Yekaterinburg recorded a massive 41 percent of pirated sales, Chelyabinsk 30 percent and Moscow 27 percent. However Moscow wins the pirate game due to the sheer volume of the Win 7 DVDs sold. And according to Yuri Zlobin, the head of the anti-piracy association, “The Russian Shield”, it was a lot worse than that in Moscow and reckons the figure is higher than that.

China are also getting in on the pirate scene. Russia has the second largest market for pirated products after China. Quite an alarming amount of pirated versions of Windows 7 are being sold openly in stores and markets throughout China. What’s more, they aren’t been sold on DVD’s, but instead on 8GB USB Drives. Quite ironic when you consider that Microsoft were debating on whether or not to sell Windows 7 via USB keys. And how much do these pirated copies of Windows 7 cost? Well, 98 yuan, or about $14! You would be lucky to even get an 8GB USB key here for that price!

But what’s even worse is the fact that you can buy a legal edition of Windows 7 in China for a mere $58, yet people still opt for the illegal pirated copies. Obviously China isn’t the only nation pirating Windows 7, India has followed suit and the pirates are selling the OS for as little as Rs 500 ($10) and those in Philippines are selling Microsoft’s latest operating system for a pitiful $1.5!

I think it’s disgraceful the amount pirated copies of Windows 7 being sold, and those who are buying them are even bigger fools than the ones who are distributing them. Lots of software now a days will not install unless it can certify that you have a genuine copy of Windows and they are constantly releasing updates and patches which will deactivate your illegal copy of Windows.

Source:

by Robert Boland

India.com and www.windows7news.com