… and hopes that my employees are too!

This week my colleague Greg and I both received a CDROM in the mail from Microsoft. Since my personal computers run OS X or Linux, I didn’t even open the envelope at the time. Clearing my desk before leaving my office this evening, I was about to add the envelope to the circular filing cabinet (aka waste bin) when I recalled that when I asked Greg what was on the CD he had replied rather cryptically that he didn’t know as he was “waiting for someone who didn’t run Windows to open it and tell him what it contained”.

So, rather than tossing it, I opened the envelope to find inside a pain white card which said…

We take any threat to your business personally. Microsoft

Inside was a plain white CDROM with the “Windows XP” appearing to have been written with a marker pen.

The terse message from Microsoft reads…

Software pirates are operating everywhere.

Something as small as this can be a big threat to your business.

Right now dishonest resellers are operating in your area – they’re selling illegal software at a fraction of the original price, making it virtually impossible for your business to compete.

Take the first step to protect your business.

Insert this CD.

As you might have gathered, the CD is now in the bin, and will not be going anywhere near any computer that I have anything to do with. The suggestion that it is in my interests to collude with a de facto monopoly supplier of software to maintain his near extortionate prices is so ludicrous that it barely warrants comment.

I trust that you did not put that CD in your computer (or more importantly that none of your employees put it into a computer you own). The only likely outcome is that Microsoft now knows what questionably licensed software is installed at your place.

Think about it!

Tags: illegal software, licensed software, microsoft, monopoly, software pirates