Millions of copies sold per hour

A survey carried out by software giant Microsoft revealed the best place to buy pirated copies of their Windows 7 operating system. It turns out that Moscow is the biggest Windows 7 pirate ever, and that more than 25 percent of the dealers in the city sold pirated copies of the software. Also, one in ten of the dealer come to your house and install it for you. Not much different from India then. Microsoft has surveyed 2500 computer and software retailers in 53 cities across the Russian Federation. The Far Eastern part of Russia shames China and India when it comes to software piracy, with places like Yekaterinburg recording 41 percent 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. Also, the numbers reported are still less than the actuals. Incidentally, Russia has the second-largest market for pirated products after China. As we reported earlier, China is doling out gratuitous amounts of copies of Windows 7 on USB drives. The pen drive is being sold for a paltry 98 yuan, or about $14 (Rs 670). What's more, the USB drive features Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's signature on the outside. Pirated copies in DVD format of the new operating system continue to be sold openly in many malls and markets in China. You can get a pirated copy of Windows 7 (non-beta presumably) for 20 yuan (which is about $3 bucks). Windows 7 is cheapest in China, and is available for a paltry $58, and inspite of that most folks prefer to opt for the pirated deal of $3. Although 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 it for $1.5. While Windows Vista was widely pirated as well, Windows XP remains the most illegally distributed Operating System of all time.

Source India.com

Microsoft said on Thursday that it plans to release a Windows Activation Technologies Update for Windows 7
that will detect 70 known activation exploits
 The update will be distributed on Microsoft's Genuine Windows site on February 16 and will be available from the Microsoft Downloads Center on February 17. Joe Williams, Manager of Microsoft's Genuine Windows team, confirmed the update will also be offered through Windows Update as an ‘Important’ update later this month

Williams stressed that the update is voluntary and will not jeopardize users privacy. "Although the update contacts Microsoft’s servers to check for new threats...these checks do not include any personally identifiable information" he added.

The update will check for 70 known activation exploits. If any activation exploits are found users will be notified their copy is not genuine and the desktop wallpaper will be switched to a plain black desktop. Periodic reminders and a persistent desktop watermark will also remind users that their copy is not genuine.

source: neowin.net