Software Piracy

3 Pages 871 Words

Software piracy is the unauthorized duplication of computer software. “According to the BSA (Business Software Alliance) Seventh Annual Global Software Piracy Study, revenue losses due to piracy for the business software application market reached $10.9 billion in the year 2001.” There are three types of software piracy that I discussed in my presentation end-user copying, hard-disk loading, and counterfeiting. End-user copying is when you copy, for example, Microsoft office on to a CD and give it to your friend and you don’t own a license for copying the software. Hard disk loading is when your friend who got the unlicensed copied CD loads it on to their computer and installs the software. Counterfeiting is when an organized crime ring duplicate the software and its packages and try to pass it off as the original, but sell it of course for a lot cheaper than the real product.
When consumers purchase products that have been pirated, they have to be aware of the dangers and consequences. If you buy pirated software there is a chance that you may contract a virus. If you contract a virus you have basically destroyed your computer. Had the consumer not bought the cheaper pirated software and bought the original product they could have never contracted a virus and destroyed an expensive piece of machinery. By spending an extra couple of dollars the consumer could save themselves the trouble of ever contracting a virus from their software. Also if the consumer buys pirated software they are going to be ineligible for technical support for that particular product. Some day that consumer might need the support of the company who made the product, but will not be able to receive it because they cannot prove that they bought the original product.
There are some awareness’s for the consumer so that they don’t get gypped into buying illegal software. First the consumer should have the common sense to realize if the offer is �...