Microsoft Anti-Piracy Methods Agitate Consumers in China

The article, “Microsoft Tactic Raises Hackles in China,” that I found in the Wall Street Journal concerns Microsoft’s use of IT to combat the rampant spread of pirated software on a global scale. The “world-wide antipiracy initiative,” as it is known at the company, is aimed at individuals spanning the globe who are currently running the Windows XP software system on their personal computers. The people at Microsoft have sent out millions of software updates over the internet that actually turn the users screen and then background black if they are running pirated software on their system. Although the background blackout can be fixed once the user changes their wallpaper, the users information is stored in Microsoft’s company database, which means that the user in question receives further blackouts and notifications every 60 minutes.

After reading the effects of Microsoft’s new software initiative I felt that their use of the blackout program seemed a bit extreme, considering they essentially tricked consumers into opening viruses onto their computers. I would have assumed that Microsoft would send out friendly reminders, or newsletters warning their users about pirated software programs. Surely I believed that users across the world would find their antipiracy efforts somewhat over-aggressive, but interestingly enough China has been the only country to report major complaints.

Upon further reading about China’s computer and software demographics, the reason for this outcry became more apparent to me. Although I can agree with the anger felt by many Chinese consumers who were tricked into buying the illegitimate Window’s programs, there is an entirely different network that surely justifies Microsoft’s swift tactics. Reading about the computer markets that constitute China’s technological world allowed me to see why it was necessary to use a blackout update program. It is unjust that consumers knowingly buy and install pirated software for just under $2 maximum, and that sellers can easily pre-install pirated software so that they are able to sell their computers for less.

Although it will probably be hard to accomplish, I think that Microsoft should offer rebates for consumers who were scammed into uploading illegal programs, or purchasing computers with pre-installed, pirated software. I’m sure that many of these Windows XP users who were unaware that they were using pirated software were startled when their screens simply turned black. I have often heard of software companies doing everything in their power to develop programs that block and eliminate computer viruses. So it will be important to control consumers’ reactions to having a virus set on their computer by a software company that they believed they could trust, whether the purpose is justifiable or not. It will be important to regain the trust of these customers because China is one of the most important technological countries in the world. As most of the world’s companies are experiencing an economic downturn in concerns to their budgets, China is an industry that is constantly growing and expanding. In accordance with this idea, is that Microsoft reported a 56% increase in revenue in China, which is a huge increase over the 18% growth for the rest of the globe. In this sense, I believe that maintaining a strong relationship with customers in China will play an integral part to Microsoft’s ability to increase revenue and expand most aspects of their company.



Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122470069570359159.html