Are you using pirated software on Windows 10?

MUMBAI, INDIA: Microsoft has decided to come down heavy on pirates!

The software major can now remotely disable pirated games or software, if you are running them on Windows 10.

Microsoft has added the latest caveat to its End User Licence Agreement (EULA) terms of conditions.

What the EULA states:

In the EULA, Microsoft, said, "Sometimes you will need software updates to keep using the services. We may automatically check your version of the software and download software updates or configuration changes, including those that prevent you from accessing the services, playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices."

Recently, Microsoft added a clause in its Release 10240 EULA that said, “By accepting this agreement, you agree to receive these types of automatic updates without any additional notice.”

According to the clause, you will no longer get options such as choose when to reboot, choose when to download and install and never check for updates, which you were familiar with in Windows 8.1. Windows 10 updates will be downloaded and installed automatically. As an end user, you will only get the option to choose when to reboot the machine once the updates have downloaded and installed.

The impact:

While Microsoft has started raiding reseller selling pirated software, this is possibly the first time the company is targeting the Torrent downloaders and pirated game players.

While the impact will be felt globally, India and China form the largest market for software piracy for Microsoft software and hardware.

Piracy boom:

According to a BSA global software survey, 60 percent of the software installed on personal computers in India in 2013 was not properly licensed, a 3 percentage point decrease from 2011. The commercial value of that unlicensed software totaled over Rs.179 billion ($2.9 billion).

Moreover, the global rate at which PC software was installed without proper licensing rose from 42 percent in 2011 to 43 percent in 2013, as emerging economies where unlicensed software use is most prevalent continued to account for a growing majority of all PCs in service.

The commercial value of unlicensed PC software installations totaled $62.7 billion globally in 2013.

The region with the highest overall rate of unlicensed PC software installations in 2013 was Asia-Pacific at 62 percent. This represented a 2 percentage-point increase from 2011, with the commercial value of unlicensed installations reaching $21 billion.

Central and Eastern Europe had the next-highest rate of unlicensed software installations at 61 percent, followed by Latin America at 59 percent and the Middle East and Africa, also at 59 percent. North America continues to have the lowest regional rate of unlicensed software installations at 19 percent, although this constitutes a significant commercial value of nearly $10.9 billion. In Western Europe, the rate dropped three points to 29 percent in 2013 with a commercial value of $12.8 billion. In the European Union, the rate dropped two points to 31 percent in 2013, with a commercial value of $13.5 billion.

"We have often seen cases where enterprises may not even be aware that they are using unlicensed software. With software licensing becoming increasingly complex, compounded by fast-paced cloud adoption and proliferation of devices through BYOD, organizations require a fresh approach in the way they manage licenses," said Vipin Aggarwal, Chair, BSA India Committee.