Counterfeit software is risky - whether you find it on the street, on the Internet, or at a low-price retail outlet that seems legitimate. Here's proof:

• In an IDC study, 25% of web sites studied that offered counterfeit or pirated software also attempted to install spyware or Trojans that can compromise your systems. The estimated cost of recovering a single infected machine can be over $1,000. Read the full IDC Risks of Counterfeit report.
  
  
• A Yankee Group study revealed, "When problems arise with counterfeit software, IT administrators typically require 20% to 30% more time and labor to identify and resolve the problems - at a monetary premium to the business." Read the full Yankee Group report.
  
  
• In studies conducted on counterfeit versions of Microsoft® software, one in three disks could not be installed on a computer. More than 40% of the remaining counterfeit disks installed contained additional programs or binaries with known vulnerabilities.