Cheap Software ~ Is It Real?
~~Mike Baynes, MikesWhatsNews
One of the most common questions we see on the
help groups is "Is this software real"? The accompanying email will
contain a page of low priced software.I have 2 problems with this
approach to selling software:
#1 Did you receive the offer by email? Was it from a
spammer?
We are all trying to find ways to stop the amount of junk E-mail/spam we
receive. If we were to purchase a product from a spammer we would contribute
to their business (and therefore support their spamming policies) and
possibly be added to more spammers lists.
#2 If it turns out that you purchased pirated software, a
couple of consequences may occur.
- Your software may not install correctly if at all or may not be able
to be updated.
- Your information you gave at the time of purchase may be
fraudulently used to purchase items using your personal
information.
If the software was pirated, the pirates may be involved in organized
crime, duplicating software on a grand scale. There have been arrests
here in BC Canada where pirated CD's were found along with credit card
duplication facilities.
Another problem with pirated or cracked software is the addition of code,
which could contain viruses, worms, trojans, adware, and/or spyware.
See my Spyware article:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/abc2/v18/mike18.htm
You may not notice it when you install the software and find out later
that you received the 'bonus' software. Just because you have the program CD
does not mean that you are safe. Scan the CD with your AV program to
make sure that it does not contain a virus.
Reference links:
Pirates of the Information Age
www.microsoft.com/issues/essays/2002/03-05piracy.asp
Issues in White Collar Crime Cybercrime
http://www.athabascau.ca/courses/crjs/425/issues.htm
Computer Viruses and Organized Crime: The Inside Story
www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/31679.html
Mike Baynes is the
editor of
MikesWhatsNews
. To subscribe, send a blank email to
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See Mike's Anti-Virus pages ~
http://virusinfo.hackfix.org.
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