TRADING FILES MANUALLY

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Although most people trade files over the Internet because it’s fast and convenient, you can still find people trading files the old-fashioned way by passing around copies of files manually. Although trading pirated files this way can be slow, it has huge side benefits: it’s anonymous and more profitable.

At the simplest level, many people freely copy CDs or DVDs for their friends. While this is technically illegal, it’s highly unlikely that the police will bust you for owning a single illegal DVD copy of The Lord of the Rings. People often “share” programs by passing a program’s installation CD around an office so everyone can install the program on their computer.

CORPORATE PIRACY

On a somewhat larger scale, many businesses buy a single legal copy of a program and then install that program on multiple computers to save money. Such frugalness often backfires when a disgruntled employee notifies the authorities, and the company winds up getting fined for pirating software.

Want to punish your current employer? Try one of these:

Business Software Alliance (BSA)

888-NOPIRACY

Corel Corporation

888-761-6907

Macromedia

800-343-3325

Microsoft Anti-Piracy Hotline

800-R-U-LEGIT

SMALL-SCALE PIRACY

Of course, not everyone who uses pirated files may be aware of it. To entice people to buy a computer, many small computer dealers throw in free software worth hundreds of dollars, including the operating system (probably Microsoft Windows), antivirus programs, or office suites. Unfortunately, such copies may not be legitimate if they don’t come with manuals, the original CDs, or a license with a registration number on it.

The computer dealer’s only cost to copy and install these programs on a computer is the time it takes, unless they get caught. Customers buying computers with pirated software installed may believe that they’re getting a bargain on legitimate software.

PIRACY FOR PROFIT

While loading pirated software on a computer may increase sales, the real money in piracy comes from selling counterfeit CDs or DVDs. Sophisticated counterfeiters often duplicate the CD or DVD graphics from the original disc and box, and then shrink-wrap the whole thing to lend it the appearance of legitimacy. Then they sell their counterfeit goods at flea markets, swap meets, subway stations, and online auctions, or even to unsuspecting dealers. Many software pirates are even so bold as to advertise their counterfeit goods by mail order or through a website. If someone offers to sell you anything that’s priced way below the original retail price, be careful. Chances are good that what’s being offered is a counterfeit CD or DVD.

Beyond the cost of actually buying the software (maybe) and duplicating it, such counterfeiters spend very little money, so they can sell their bogus copies well below the software’s real retail price. Small-scale counterfeiting operations have snared thousands of dollars worth of illicit profits. Large-scale counterfeiting rings, often operating out of Asia, can earn millions in a single year.

As an alternative to selling pirated software, other people have jumped into the market selling registration key databases. (If you want to buy a CD full of registration keys for popular programs, visit http://www.hackerscatalog.com.)

Because registration key databases are just numbers and letters, the people who sell them aren’t technically selling pirated software; it’s up to you to pirate the software you want, look up the program name and version number in the registration key database, and then type the valid registration number into the program.



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Steal This File Sharing Book
Steal This File Sharing Book: What They Wont Tell You About File Sharing
ISBN: 159327050X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 98
Authors: Wallace Wang

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