A third of Brits think using pirated software either at home or work is acceptable, says Microsoft.
The tech giant's 'Attitudes to Piracy' survey revealed 12 percent of employees use pirated software at work. Furthermore 57 percent of these said they boss wouldn't have a problem with this.
Microsoft said the research was conducted to coincide with the Digital Economy Bill, which includes measures to tackle internet piracy.
Two thirds of Brits admitted they were more aware of the dangers related to illegally downloading music and movies then they were of those connected to illegally downloading software.
Furthermore, 62 percent of those that use pirated software said obtaining the program had lead to their PC being infected by a virus, while nearly a third (31 percent) said the software has caused a loss in personal data.
A further 38 percent said they had experience a computer crash after using illegally downloaded software.
"As people continue to spend more and more time online, we think it's important to ensure people understand the dangers associated with this type of activity so they can better protect themselves," said Microsoft's head of anti-piracy, Michala Wardell.
"Computers are now central to the way in which we interact, work and consume media, and we need to make sure our awareness and understanding of the dangers of downloading pirated products improves too."
Comments
Skidz said: If OSs and software were available for realistic prices and not for the they cost the general publc i dont think piracy would be as bad as it is now Its hard to fathom whos worse the pirates or the greedy companies that peddle their overpriced software
Cyteck said: As a computer IT person with some years experience of working with software I know that using pirated software is just fools gold it sounds great YES looks like something for nothing but there IS always a down side always a catch some where No1 pirated software means you never know if the software is 100 complete No2 you never know if the program is going to function in the way a genuine package would No3 There is no help or support to fix a problem when it happens No4 You have no idea where or how the pirated software was created No5 You have no idea if this program has hidden back doors or contains Trojan Horse infections which can compromise your systems security ie high risk of ID theft or data theft Freeware is a different matter as is shareware but for the most important software on your machine paid licensed software is always advisable
hoppy said: Ive lost count the amount of pcs i have repaired from people downloading trojan infested cracks and keygensOne golden rule is always pay for your anti virus or use a free one with other programs and run a few good utility programs but people seem to think that norton 2010 with key generator included downloaded from the pirate bay is a better optionI also have no sympathy for them as they are not prepared to do a little work on how to set up a pc or maintain itMost have no idea what Freeware is or by using your system tools and making some basic tweaks you can achieve a much higher level of security than any bloatware like norton or crapafee can provide
hoppy said: Ive lost count the amount of pcs i have repaired from people downloading trojan infested cracks and keygensOne golden rule is always pay for your anti virus or use a free one with other programs and run a few good utility programs but people seem to think that norton 2010 with key generator included downloaded from the pirate bay is a better optionI also have no sympathy for them as they are not prepared to do a little work on how to set up a pc or maintain itMost have no idea what Freeware is or by using your system tools and making some basic tweaks you can achieve a much higher level of security than any bloatware like norton or crapafee can provide
tpb said: Yeah 38 experienced a computer crash oh well boo-hoo should always back up your dataDangers of piracy - HA just use an antivirus or even better buy a Mac - they are pricey but youll never look back unless you are a hardcore gamer