Thaindian News

Lucknow, April 6 (IANS) Emphasising upon the use of original software and products, Microsoft Corporation Wednesday carried out a road show in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow to educate customers about the benefits of its Windows 7 programme.

In an interview to IANS, Microsoft director (Windows Client) Pankaj Ukey sought to urge Microsoft customers not to be penny wise and pound foolish by using pirated software.

“Our idea is to remove a common myth that original Microsoft products are very expensive,” said Ukey.

“Firstly, basic Microsoft Windows costs as low as Rs.2,000, and its purchase entitles you to free anti-virus and a comprehensive PC security with Microsoft Security Essentials,” he said.

“When you go in for a pirated version of Microsoft Windows, you are compelled to incur a recurring cost towards anti-virus programmes, which need to be necessarily upgraded every year,” he added.

“Original Microsoft Windows is a life long security guarantee through Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) that has been built to respond to the growing and changing security threats on the web, besides protecting consumers from viruses, spyware and other malicious threats,” he said.

Stressing that the original software promises “hassle-free security that consumers can trust”, Ukey said: “MSE has benefited over 50 million Microsoft users in 74 different countries where it detected nearly 400 million threats over the past one year since it was launched.”

Ukey also sought to draw the consumers’ attention to the lurking threat of malware in most pirated versions, that could penetrate even into bank accounts of users.

“Original software alone can guard against security threats like malware and spyware attacks,” he said.