Some believe this is not a real attempt but rather one to give the impression that the obscene amount of profit being made by software pirating is no longer acceptable in Malaysia. Others would like to believe that Malaysia is serious about stopping illegal pirating. Either way? It would be a very bad time to be dealing in illegal copies of Microsoft Corporation software, especially Vista. Let's hope this doesn't turn out like the recent situation in Russia where smaller users are targeted while the larger ones remain free to continue to profit. Unfortunately it appears this first arrest of a man with three computers is probably not one of the huge software pirates...
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysian authorities have begun raiding computer retail outlets offering pirated software amid concerns that illegal copies of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)'s newest operating system, Windows Vista, are already on sale.
The strategy marks a shift from crackdowns over the past year that mainly targeted companies using unlicensed software, Ahmad Dahuri Mahmud, the Domestic Trade Ministry's deputy director general of enforcement, said Friday.
"Computer dealers often sweeten computer purchases by offering consumers free (pirated) software pre-loaded onto their personal computers," Ahmad Dahuri told a news conference.
The current clampdown started Thursday with the arrest of a store owner in a Kuala Lumpur suburban shopping mall. Officials seized three computers with pirated versions of Windows XP from a 28-year-old suspect's premises, Ahmad Dahuri said.
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