This is why you have to suffer with Windows Genuine Advantage on your computer: So Microsoft can track down people to sue. The company has now filed 74 cases in 23 countries against counterfeiting rings selling illegal copies of Windows.

Fifteen of the lawsuits target a Chinese group that Microsoft calls the "largest-ever commercial counterfeit syndicate." This group alone, says Microsoft, was manufacturing software, which, if real, would have been worth nearly half a billion dollars.

The real news is how Microsoft tracked these criminals down: Using the reviled WGA software that is now a mandatory part of XP and Vista. When systems fail their WGA validation checks, that sends a flag to Microsoft to investigate further. Presumably, repeated failures with the same or similar license keys can lead Microsoft down a path to discover the identity of the counterfeiter.

I find this news difficult to parse and digest. Yes, counterfeiting is bad, and Microsoft should use every means at its disposal to track it down and stop it. But why does that have to include me? Though I've never used anything but legitimate copies of Windows, WGA has been nothing but a headache, and in some cases, it's caused severe problems that have stopped people from being able to use their computers. I can't help but think that Microsoft should have plenty of other means to track down counterfeiters without inconveniencing, and even outright harming, its users.

LINK: Failed WGA checks lead to a barrage of antipiracy lawsuits