Microsoft Arabia launches promotion to encourage the use of genuine Windows

As part of Microsoft Arabia's new promotion, every consumer who buys a locally assembled PC with genuine Windows will receive instant gifts to the value of SR450 and more. Consumers who buy Windows XP Home Edition will get a free McAfee anti-virus CD and subscription, 'Windows Made Easy' course voucher from New Horizons and 50% off selected courses at New Horizons, whereas those who buy Windows XP Professional will receive the same gifts plus a free 128MB USB memory stick. Details of the promotion can be seen on www.microsoft.com/saudi/buylocal

Commenting on the launch of this new promotion, Mostafa Younes, Marketing Manager, Microsoft Arabia, said, 'The instant prizes in this promotion are not the only added value that customers get from using genuine Windows. Existing users of genuine Windows already benefit from the ongoing Windows Genuine Advantage initiative.'

'Research indicates that the majority of Saudi consumers, who use counterfeit software today, do so unknowingly. They don't know how to tell whether they are getting a genuine or counterfeit operating system with the PCs they buy, and they are not always aware of the benefits of genuine software and the risks of pirated software. With non-genuine software, consumers are unable to receive valuable product updates or technical support. In addition, they are putting themselves at risk for faulty code, spyware, worms or viruses. Windows Genuine Advantage addresses all of these concerns and we are certain that our customers in Saudi Arabia can derive tremendous value from this ongoing initiative', he explained.

Windows Genuine Advantage is part of Microsoft's worldwide ongoing initiative to encourage the use of genuine software. Recent studies have pointed out that the usage of pirated software has far reaching effects on the national economy, in terms of loss in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), lower foreign investment, higher unemployment and a negative impact on local software companies and developers.

With this initiative in place, users of Windows attempting to download new updates such as drivers and other applications from the MS download centre, will be asked for permission to validate their software online by verifying the unique product key found on the certificate of authenticity that comes with every piece of genuine software. Once validated, the user would get access to genuine Windows downloads more quickly in the future.

Some of the offers that are already available to users of genuine Windows software are Microsoft Defender Beta 2 (a program that helps protect computers against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software), Microsoft Match-up (a game application), Photo Story 3 (a photo editor program), and Windows Media Player, all of which can be downloaded from www.microsoft.com/genuine