Microsoft today said computers in countries with high rates of software piracy are more likely to be infected by malicious code because users are leery of applying security patches.

"There is a direct correlation between piracy and the malware infection rate," said Jeff Williams, the principal group program manager for the Microsoft Malware Protection Center. Williams was touting the newest edition of his company's biannual security intelligence report .

According to Williams, the link between PC infection rates -- the percentage of computers that have been cleaned by the updated monthly Malicious Software Removal Tool, or MSRT -- and piracy is due to the hesitancy of users in countries where counterfeit copies abound to use Windows Update, the service that pushes patches to PCs.

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