But Wilcox openly questions antipiracy tactics that, according to him, are crossing the line. The latest antipiracy tactic to attract attention? Microsoft 's Office Genuine Advantage program.

Office Genuine Advantage, a cousin of Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage, has been in beta testing for several months. As of last Friday, Office users who download templates or add-ons through Microsoft's Web site will undergo a check to validate their copy of Office.

Starting in January of 2007, Office users who update their software using the Office Update service will face a similar validation check. If their software fails the test, it will be shut out of all updates except those labeled "critical."

Where's the Advantage?

Customers who legally bought Office but fail the piracy check will be able to use their software, providing they prove their case to Microsoft with a proof of purchase, the fake CDs they bought, and other documents.

"Microsoft isn't just trying to fight piracy with a stick," said Wilcox. "It's also trying to do it with a carrot -- to convince people they should have genuine software because it has benefits."

But Wilcox said he is not convinced the new antipiracy efforts for Office will work to Microsoft's advantage.

"A benefit is something you add, and not something you take away and call a benefit after the fact," said Wilcox. The Office Genuine Advantage program is "taking stuff they gave away for free and now putting it behind a wall."

More Harm than Good?

According to the Business Software Alliance, which counts Microsoft, Adobe, and Apple among its members, piracy cost the software industry $1.6 billion in 2005. Piracy rates in certain parts of the world, such as Latin America and Central Europe, approached a staggering 70 percent last year. Software makers are quick to note that fake software, in addition to robbing the developers of their dues, often includes altered code that can harm a user's machine.

However, despite the clear need for additional global antipiracy initiatives, Wilcox said he believes that Redmond could harm itself in this latest attempt to fight piracy. Why? Because people who use Microsoft software illegally are still using Microsoft software, not switching to alternative programs -- some of them free -- from competing vendors or from the open-source community.

"What if Office were impenetrable to pirates, and you couldn't pirate it, and therefore everybody in emerging markets had to pay for it?" asked Wilcox. They can't afford it, he said, and could bolt from Microsoft as a result. "The flip side is they could be using OpenOffice or something else."

And that leaves Wilcox in the mainstream of industry watchers who question Microsoft's new gambit. "Where's the genuine advantage?" he asked.