Consequence for software piracy

The second way to be involved in software piracy is to be on the receiving end. These individuals can be anyone. All they need is a computer and access to a computer.

In this an individual willingly breaks copyright law and retrieves by whatever means copyrighted software. In effect this individual steals the software for their use.

Again in this case the offenders are usually minors. Keep in mind that is it not only minors that are committing acts of software piracy, many adults and especially companies and corporations still pirate software but they do so at a very little profile.

There are many ways that an individual can commit software piracy. Six different methods are of the most evident ways to pirate software. The first and most common method of software piracy is called 'End User Copying' or 'softlifting. An example of this is an individual just bought a brand new computer game from the store. They liked it so much that they made a copy and gave it to a friend. The second form of piracy is what is referred to as hard disk loading. This is where a computer dealer or company copy and load unauthorized copies of software onto the hard disks or the main storage facility on the computer they will sell.

This is a more commercial aspect of software piracy and many of these companies use this as an incentive to sell their machines by making more software for the machine available to the customer.

The third method is becoming more popular as many more people are getting connected to the internet. This type of piracy is usually at no charge to the end user and is usually open to many people. The fourth type of software piracy is known as counterfeiting. This can be a very complex and sophisticated way of piracy. This can include a relatively significant effort to duplicate the original packaging, logos and other anti-counterfeiting techniques such as holograms.

This type of piracy can also be very unsophisticated by the copying of the software and placing different of different labels on the copied media and then just blatantly selling it to whomever they choose. This is not just the distributing of pirated software this is the selling of the software with a motive for undue profit.

The fifth method of software piracy is over computer networks. A network is a series of computers physically linked to one or more main computers called servers. Each server stores the software for all the computers it serves.

Each time a computer accesses the server for a program it copies the program on to the local computer for use. This in itself is legal but the owner of the network must have licenses for each copy of a program that is being used otherwise this is copyright infringement. The sixth and final type of software piracy is known as 'Software Rental.

This method of piracy is not as common as the rest due the nature of the distribution but it does exist. The Software Publishers Association S. This type of piracy does exists but it is usually halted soon after it starts. These are the many ways that software piracy can be and is committed. Even though there are many more methods of piracy, these six are the of the most evident and can be dealt with.

If software piracy is a crime why do people do it? Well there are many reasons why individuals commit software piracy. On the whole many otherwise good citizens are not aware of the crime that they are committing. Weather it is just careless ignorance or the lack of awareness to the law these people are committing a crime and may not be aware of it.

As the quote suggests many believe that major software moguls such as Bill Gates the owner and founder of Microsoft already have more money than they need so it is alright to steal from them as 'they do not need the money' or they believe that their single actions can not hurt.

For this many 'software pirates' do not believe that what they are doing is wrong. Another reason is for shear greed. Either they do not have the ability to pay for the software they use or they do not feel that they should. As was stated earlier minors are the most likely to commit software piracy. Many do so to the challenge the law and for rebellion as glorified with the rumours and stories of 'hackers. All one needs is a computer and some type of removable means of storage such as diskettes or CD-ROM's.

It takes seconds to transfer data which takes care of the time problem. Also unlike the copying of audio of video cassettes there is not quality loss in the copied product. When an individual copies a piece of software they copy an exact duplicate of the software all the features that the copied software contains with absolutely no quality loss therefore making it an attractive means of both acquiring and distributing illegal software.

There are to consequences to software piracy. Piracy not only hurts business but it hurts the legal owners of software. By stealing software the creators of the software cannot recover their losses nor can they make their program better. Software publishers spend years developing software for the public to use. A portion of every dollar spent in purchasing the original software funnelled back into research and development so that better, more advanced software products can be produced. When you purchase pirated software your money goes directly into the pockets of the pirates instead.

This excerpt accurately displays the truth. Not only is the offender hurt by pirating but every that has legally purchased the product is being affected as well. By pirating software you do not get the support that would normally come with a program. Nor do you get the manuals that explain the proper use of the program. But the consequences can be also legally severe.

You begin making a modest amount of money. However, you discover that your album has been copied and distributed for free over the internet. Now you begin losing money. You cannot afford to write a second album, due to this financial loss. Additionally, you discover someone selling your album for a reduced price. As a result, not only are you losing money, but someone else is profiting from your work. Without copyright laws, you would have no legal recourse.

Aside from legal trouble, digital piracy can also have implications on cybersecurity. As stated above, hackers can use pirated content to spread malware, trojans, and viruses. Companies who use pirated software open themselves up to copyright violation and infringement.

They also expose their networks to potential malware or virus infection. Hackers then use these infected systems to launch an attack or to mine cryptocurrency. Torrent downloading comes with its own risk. Because those who download are also distributing as well. IP addresses are public and can be easily tracked. Because pirated software cannot be updated, this opens the system to attack through the use of vulnerabilities. Security patches are not installed because the software cannot be validated by the update server.

Pirated operating systems can have critical services disabled. Firewalls and updates can be disabled, resulting in open vulnerabilities and less security. It can be tempting to pirate digital content.

But the risks often outweigh the benefits. You can get into serious legal trouble if caught, resulting in jail time and serious fines. But legal trouble is not the only threat from digital piracy. Malware and vulnerabilities can put systems at serious risk of attack. While it may seem harmless, piracy costs billions every year in damages and loss.

As a result, that cost impacts consumers through increased prices. The only way to protect yourself from piracy is to not download illegally.

Only use trusted software from trusted sites. Do not accept copies from friends or from unfamiliar sources. If you cannot afford it, look into trial versions or free software. Open source software is a great free alternative to piracy.

Use streaming services to listen to music and watch movies. Subscriptions are becoming more affordable as time passes. These steps can spare you a lot of trouble in the end. The consequences of digital piracy are very real.

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