Education on perils of software piracy is essential

Damage to personal systems as a result of downloaded malware is a key concern

Software piracy is considerably more damaging than pirated music or film, because it is likely to come with a host of malware problems, said Michala Wardell, Microsoft's UK head of antipiracy, during a roundtable debate today.

Speaking at the roundtable - the Future of Piracy - which was hosted in London, Wardell gave some insight into the scale of the problem.

She explained that 14 per cent of new PCs shipped with Windows in the UK are actually running an illegal pirated copy of the operating system, and that the figure rises to 29 per cent for Microsoft Office. Wardell argued that consumer education was the best way to deal with the problem.

Julian Swan, EMEA marketing director at software industry champion the Business Software Alliance, said that $1bn (£622m) of revenue is lost to software vendors each year due to software piracy, and agreed that education is the best approach.

Priyen Patel, key spokesperson at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "People need to be made aware that piracy can lead to fines, or disrupt business."

Wardell emphasised that businesses selling pirated software are gaining an unfair advantage. "Businesses selling correctly licensed PCs and software are losing out to rogue traders who have lower costs since they're not buying licenses."

She added that Microsoft is taking action to close down rogue traders and their websites.

According to Wardell, many companies unwittingly purchase pirated software online, when they are simply seeking a good deal in harsh economic times. She recommended that businesses check the price of the product against prices of well-known software resellers online [such as Amazon or Dabs].

"If the price is even £10 cheaper, there's at least a chance the software is pirated," she said.

Swan referenced a recent study from research firm IDC, which purchased 115 copies of a well-known piece of software from auction site eBay. According to the study, 47 copies turned out to be counterfeit.

Wardell also warned that 69 per cent of Microsoft software downloaded from illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing sites contains some form of malware, according to the company's own research.