I'm definitely not a geek, and I may be going down the wrong road here.

A friend in Phuket recently bought a brand new laptop whose scan comes up with a virus called Hacktool.ChewWGA and a notification that the copy of Windows 7 is not genuine.

I assumed that all new laptops are pre-loaded with genuine Windows 7?

Or can a shop can buy a new laptop with no Windows loaded (I assume it will then be sold at minus the cost of a Windows7 licence) load it with a trial or pirated version, and block the Windows verification process (with Hacktool.ChewWGA?) to fool the client, thereby making a nice profit on the sale?

Grateful for any genuine Geek counsel on this- many thanks.

Most computers sold in Thailand these days have no OS on them, or have Linux on them.

If it comes with W7 it's most likely a pirate unless you've actually paid for a separate legal copy on top of the computer cost.

Most computers sold in Thailand these days have no OS on them, or have Linux on them.

If it comes with W7 it's most likely a pirate unless you've actually paid for a separate legal copy on top of the computer cost.

or DOS

Most computers sold in Thailand these days have no OS on them, or have Linux on them.

If it comes with W7 it's most likely a pirate unless you've actually paid for a separate legal copy on top of the computer cost.

or DOS

When it says DOS I assume that means no system?

Most computers sold in Thailand these days have no OS on them, or have Linux on them.

If it comes with W7 it's most likely a pirate unless you've actually paid for a separate legal copy on top of the computer cost.

or DOS

When it says DOS I assume that means no system?

no it means it has DOS as system......

Linux also means no system, because it isn't a nice installed Linux, it is just put in the CD and install something.....without the drivers etc etc, just to save the license costs.

S=system

Most computers sold in Thailand these days have no OS on them, or have Linux on them.

If it comes with W7 it's most likely a pirate unless you've actually paid for a separate legal copy on top of the computer cost.

or DOS

When it says DOS I assume that means no system?

no it means it has DOS as system......

Linux also means no system, because it isn't a nice installed Linux, it is just put in the CD and install something.....without the drivers etc etc, just to save the license costs.

Linux is an operating system. Also, with many variants of Linux, you don't need to install any driver. at least, with all the ones I've tried.

I've been running Ubuntu since Dapper Drake without installing any driver.

Most computers sold in Thailand these days have no OS on them, or have Linux on them.

If it comes with W7 it's most likely a pirate unless you've actually paid for a separate legal copy on top of the computer cost.

or DOS

When it says DOS I assume that means no system?

no it means it has DOS as system......

Linux also means no system, because it isn't a nice installed Linux, it is just put in the CD and install something.....without the drivers etc etc, just to save the license costs.

http://www.freedos.org/

It's not a gui, but it works the same as if you had opened a cmd window in windows.

At least you can do various things with the laptop. Linux is a good choice.

Or, you can buy an OEM copy of windows at a discounted price, which is legal and you get updates. Don't mess with the pirated version, I've found a keylogger in one version. Who knows what other malware lives in the clones, plus you can't get updates.

Linux is an operating system. Also, with many variants of Linux, you don't need to install any driver. at least, with all the ones I've tried.

I've been running Ubuntu since Dapper Drake without installing any driver.

These I have seen were not Ubuntu and even on Ubuntu you need to install a driver if you have a Geforce Graphic chip and want to use its power.

Yeah, you got a pirated copy. Poor pirating job therein too. A pirate should cover his tracks!

But, not to worry, they probably threw in the pirated copy free of charge.

Pirated doesn't automatically mean viruses; some pirated copies will update, too.

Not to condone pirating. Suggest you do give Linux a try. It's come far since the old days. It'll run quite a few Windows-specific software packages if you absolutely must have them, using an emulator called Wine.

Best thing to do is to run a full scan after a reformat or a purchace of a new computer. Then Run a full thorough scan with malawares & it will remove all the malicious codes & quarantine them & then you delete them. The typical viruses are stored in the cracks used off of yours truely Google. Mine always have 20 or so virus codes that need to be purged immediatly when I plug it in.You need to pay 5,000 to 8,000 baht extra for the OEM disc that isn't a pirated disc.Or just rinse your system when you get it. If you have folders that contain the key generators you can burn them to cd or DVD & use to reformat later. Again rinse thoroughly if you use it again.Do not store on a hard drive or usb button drive as it may corrupt the drive & reinfect your system.Realisticaly hardly anyone uses a OEM disc for booting up windws in Thailand & if you hang around you will see them dial in Google & get the crack codes or key gen's

The most important part is the Malawares Avast Avg Kaspersky & norton will miss the malicious codes.I haven't been hit with any benign virus attacks since 2000. Malawares is great! Most people believe your anti-virus will catch it not true at all.