Media piracy is on the rise. Music companies are struggling to keep their albums and music off of the internet for free and movie companies are in the same battle. Computer software is not exception. Various licensing techniques have been used in the past to ensure that the software you register is legal and cannot be installed on someone else's computer. Unfortunately, one of the most misused software packages is the operating system itself. Enter the Windows COA.
           COA stands for Certificate of Authenticity. Basically, the COA is proof that the software that is installed on your computer is authentic and has not been pirated. A COA is a small sticker that comes with every install of Windows XP or Windows Vista. An example can be seen to the left. When a computer is assembled and the operating system is installed, this stick is affixed to the side of the computer case or can be found on the bottom of a laptop computer. The codes on this sticker were entered into the operating system when it was installed. The numbers are unique and identifty the copy of Windows that was purchased and installed.
           So why is a COA so important? The COA was designed to assure you that the installed software is legal and not a "pirated" copy. Here is what Microsoft has to say about these software pirates. "Pirates often dupe consumers into buying unlicensed or non-genuine software through hard-disk loading, which is the practice of installing unlicensed software onto a PC and then selling the computer to unsuspecting consumers. In many cases customers who have been sold unlicensed hard-disk loaded computer systems do not receive manuals or the original media, although the resellers often charge them the full price. Many customers do not realize that the software pre-installed on the computer systems they purchased is not legitimate until they perform a check through the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) or Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) online validation tools, which are provided by Microsoft to assist consumers in verifying the legitimacy of their software." (Microsoft Helps Protect Consumers by Addressing Repeat Offender Software Pirates) This is why it is important to demand your COA.
           New computer systems sold at the "big box" stores such as Best Buy, CompUSA and others will have the COA sticker attached to the computer and will almost always have recovery disks included that have the operating system install files on them. The issues of software piracy usually do not come from these type of stores, they usually come from smaller stores and even individual "system builders", your local computer builders. In order to provide the lowest price on new computers, many system builders simply install the same copy of Windows on every machine they build. The average consumer does not care or does not ask about the disks or the COA and purchases these machines because of their low price. They do not realize that sooner or later, the price they might have to pay could be quite higher. The consumer may find themselves with an unusable computer if the install of Windows is not genuine. At that point, they will have no choice but to purchase a valid copy of Windows and in some cases, may have to pay a technician to install it for them. All this could have been avoided. In reality, it is not the consumer who is to blame in this case, it is the system builder.
           As of July 2008, a valid copy of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) Windows XP will cost the system builder between $89 and $129. This cost must be added to the equipment cost when the builder assembles the computer he is going to sell. To be competative, some system builders and small stores do not want to add this cost to their systems. They will simply build multiple computer systems and install Windows on them using the SAME install disks and the SAME license code. This practice is highly illegal and can carry stiff penalties, but to them, it is worth the risk to provide low cost computers to their customers. However, once the computer leaves the store, they figure it is now the customer's problem, not theirs. They couldn't be any more wrong.
           So, how do you protect yourself? Demand your COA. If you purchase an assembled, or even a used computer, from a person or a store, make sure it has a Windows COA attached to it and, if possible, check the install of the operating system to be sure the installed code is the same code that is on the sticker. A reliable computer sales person will have no problem showing you how to do this. Above all, do not purchase a computer with Windows installed if you do not see a COA, no matter how reasonable the price may be. It simply isn't worth the trouble.