A recent announcement from the software giant Microsoft sets out to dispel what they believe is a common myth, that software piracy is a victimless crime.
They point to a survey which was published at the end of 2009 by the Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) and which showed that most people think that: a) the counterfeit software business to be harmless; and b) as no-one gets hurt, it can’t be viewed as being unethical.
Microsoft believe that these commonly held views are wrong and in an attempt to try and right the impressions out there, and to help people know what to look for when buying legitimate software and thereby avoiding counterfeit versions, they have created five myths of software piracy.
Myth One. What’s the problem, afterall, software piracy isn’t a serious crime, is it?
Yes it is. Microsoft highlight the fact that police throughout the world have apprehended criminals setting up their own plants to first create illegal copies of the software and then distribute it via sophisticated criminal networks, mostly in poorer countries with few intellectual property laws. In other words, it’s big business.
And the huge profits involved go straight back to organised crime gangs and syndicates. Microsoft give an example of co-operation between themselves and the Chinese authorities in 2007 which saw a Chinese-based gang in the dock after they had been caught running a counterfeiting operation which was estimated to have distributed some $2 billion worth of counterfeit software to 36 countries across five continents. Eleven members of the gang were put behind bars for an average of six years.
Myth Two. This sort of software piracy doesn’t hurt anyone, does it? Well, yes it does, mainly because counterfeit software pedalled by criminals not only leaves computer users vulnerable to external virus attack, but the counterfeit software can actually contain malicious code already in-built. And these malicious code implants are creating large-scale botnets which together are used to distribute, unknowingly to the user, vast quantities of email spam.
Microsoft point to information from a German anti-piracy solutions company which discovered that following downloading a huge number of pirated copies of Windows software, over 30% of them were found to contain malicious code.
Myth Three. It’s all a matter of cost. You can get pirated software far cheaper than the genuine article. Wrong. It’s an ironic fact that counterfeit software is often sold at the market price, in other words, the same as the genuine article and in some cases, more than the genuine software.
Even if it can be bought at a lower price point, people don’t really think about the cost of recovering from a virus. Some estimates suggest that for a home user, the cost of suffering a virus attack can quickly add up to over a thousand dollars, even discounting the fact that some cybercriminal may have used malicious code to syphon a persons’ bank account dry. And if you extrapolate that cost across a company, the cost of using pirated software could run into the tens of thousands.
Myth Four. That most people who buy counterfeit software are fully aware that the product is a fake and what they are most looking for, is a good deal. Not so say Microsoft.
The sad truth is that most people buying counterfeit software have no idea that they are being conned. And they are in effect the subject of a fraud. And it’s not so easy these days to spot a fake, so Microsoft have put together some buying tips for consumers.
First and foremost is the question, are you buying from a reputable outlet, be it online, or offline? A traditional shop can be a little easier to scope out (main high-street retailers would be in serious trouble if they were selling counterfeit goods), but when it comes to online resellers, it’s a little harder. So ask around, see who can be trusted and who might sound too good to be true. And when you’re buying from a reseller, Microsoft provides some handy pointers.
Ask yourself if your reseller can confirm that their software would pass a Windows Genuine Advantage online validation test. Furthermore, is a Certificate of Authenticity included. And, along the same lines as the previous point, is a hologram CD, or DVD included. Indeed, is recovery media included. A dead give away of course, say Microsoft, is the state of the packaging. Does it look of a high quality and is the supporting documentation of high quality as well. Finally, have a look to see if an End-User License Agreement is included.
Final myth, number five, is that obviously software piracy is so rampant, that nothing can be done and consumers can’t really do anything to stop it. Wrong. Microsoft, the same as many other software developers, rely on the goodwill and co-operation of many of its customers to help spot fraudulent copies of its various applications. In fact, there have been thousands of enforcement actions actually based on tip-offs from customer and other bodies. The point being that anyone who has been tricked into buying fake software, is a very unhappy person indeed and are more than happy to make the feelings felt.
So there you are – keep in mind those five myths and remember, be careful out there.
Guest Article by Neil Camp