The Malaysian government on Wednesday consulted with personal computer manufacturers and information technology associations on strategies to curb software piracy.

The meeting was attended by the ministry's senior enforcement division officials and representatives from PC manufacturers including Acer, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Toshiba, Fujitsu and IT associations.

Iskandar Halim Sulaiman, Deputy Director of the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry enforcement division told reporters that software piracy was especially rampant with the sale of "empty" PCs, which includes both desktops and laptops that were sold without pre-loaded operating systems (OSs) or PCs loaded with free but unsecured OSs.

He said they have been pursuing a dialogue with PC manufacturers and IT associations for a while now, after consumer complaints that some branded PCs they purchased were found installed with illegal software, citing significantly diminished performances and even crashes, as well as security vulnerabilities due to malware infections.

"By selling PCs without pre-loaded OS or with pre-loaded free but unsecured OS, PC dealers are tempted to load illegal copies of the required software onto these PCs for sale; or where consumers are left to their own devices, are practically encouraged to purchase illegal DVD software," Iskandar said.

Saying the meeting was a "fruitful beginning", Iskandar said the ministry's enforcement division welcomed this dialogue with PC manufacturers and IT associations, through which they can collectively help reduce piracy risk and malware infections arising from illegal software, which puts consumers at risk.

Besides seeking PC manufacturers' cooperation, the ministry said that it would continue to step up enforcement raids on retailers and PC makers.

The ministry's enforcement officials recently conducted a raid in some cities and seized hardware and software worth about RM266, 000 (about 80,000 US dollars). Endi

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