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Thread: social acceptability of pirating and hacking

  1. #11
    Ninja Code Monkey
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    It really depends on the work environment. Sometimes you work with people and it's fine, other times it isn't. I have been permanantly banned from ever stepping foot on the premises of my old workplace due to their fears that I'd do something bad to them.

    I never did anything while I was there and don't really care to....they're just scared of it. One of my old bosses here said he'd be reluctant to hire me back here if they ever got rid of me due to my skillset for pretty much the same reason.

    When it comes to pirating and warez most respectable companies will can your ass nowadays. They don't want the legal liability. Many companies treat unauthorized auditing of their systems and applications the same way.
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  2. #12
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    Talking

    Our office uses Linux all the way up the chain. We have VERY few MS based pc's in use so software piracy isn't much of a concern. The only time I can think of an issue with software piracy was when my supervisor asked a co-worker for a copy of Office XP. My co-worker directed my supervisor to OpenOffice.org instead. The End.
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  3. #13
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    Hmm...so, I guess it just kinda depends on the situation. I've wondered for quite some time what kinds of answers I would get to this question.
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions folks.
    Faqt


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  4. #14
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Faqt,

    I am with hypronix, Juridian and the rest. Using cracked or pirated software is a definite NoNo at work, because of the legal implications for the employer. In the UK this is something that does get policed, as we take piracy very seriously because it is a crime.

    The other angle, that I did not see mentioned, is the security one..............hacked and cracked stuff might have a lot more than what you think in it So most employers strictly forbid the installation of any unapproved software, legitimate or otherwise.

    It has been my experience that corporate and institutional customers have no difficulty in obtaining fully functional trial software for as long as they like, after all, they are the kind of business that the suppliers really want.

    just my thoughts

  5. #15
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    Regarding piracy at work, what I have seen happen is that firms have a few licenses for software which will be installed on far more machines then they should be, this is especially the case with operating systems (i.e. Windows). Some comapnies now undertake software audits to ensure that they are in compliance now and that this is not the case, but this is often the result of receiving a fine, or getting a negative audit.

    Also, people who work for very large corps may use pirate software due to the huge amount of work they need to do to get a license key for certain specialist tools (due to internal bureaucracy), so someone will get a key and then do what they can to make sure it keeps on working.
    Quis custodiet ipsos custodes

  6. #16
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    Originally posted here by nihil

    The other angle, that I did not see mentioned, is the security one..............hacked and cracked stuff might have a lot more than what you think in it So most employers strictly forbid the installation of any unapproved software, legitimate or otherwise.

    I understand that more or less any administrator is going to say no when it comes to installing the pirated softwork on a production network..... but how many of those stern 'no's 'turn into hell yes's when their work day is over and they're sitting in front of their personal computer.
    Faqt


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  7. #17
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    you cant imagine how many companies (large ones) have "warez" on production network... its amazing. I cant post their names here (obviously) but i had joined some "auditing" on that companies and... lol.
    Ranking:
    1. "over" licensed software. A lot buy , lets say, 1,000 copies and install 2,000. Its pretty common. Winner is: Microsoft client access license
    2. Office "+1". a lot of companies has , for example office 2000 licenses, but is using a "lot" of office xp licenses. They "need" the new version, but they dont want to "pay for" it
    3. Windows XP licenses. (on medium to small companies). They are "migrating" to Windows XP from win98, but "for free"
    4. Backup/recovery tools and server side a/v - admins love to install on servers "demo" versions of those tools - but with some tuning (like never-expire crack) - pretty common at server side

    when we arrive at those companies and caught them, they say (company owner) "i know nothing about that - its administrator' fault"

    its really funny.....
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  8. #18
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    Piracy is part of our lives now. Pfft, you think I'm going to pay $300 for Windows XP, which is little more than a GUI upgrade from Windows NT, which was you had to pay with your limbs to get in the first place. I think piracy is just the consumer's way of telling [insert industry here] to lower their prices and stop treating consumers like slaves. Of course, that's the way it's always been...and always will be....a con, but the pro is; We don't pay for what we use. It's pretty bad when the software to make software (i.e. Visual Studio apps) is pirated, and the software that was made with the pirated app, is pirated itself...I wonder how far the legalities go on that one.
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  9. #19
    Senior Member gore's Avatar
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    Just to keep this going with a new twist:

    What about software that you really can't buy anymore?


    What if you take a copy of Windows NT home from work to use it on a box? Is it REALLY wrong? It's not likeMicrosoft would sell you another copy, they don't support it anymore.

    That's of course an example, but really, ould that even be wrong when it's not longer sold by them, not supported, and they would make no money anyway?

    I've looked for a copy from Microsoft and they don't have any, and wouldn't make money anyway.

    Now for me personally...Well, I have about $15,000.00 worth of software sitting around me, not including the copies of Linux I owe SCO for

    I've paid for all of it unless it was Open Source / Free. And even then, I've got about 20 copies of Linux and BSD that I've paid for.

    I've legally given a copy of Windows away. If you actually look over the EULA, it says if you give away the only copy you have and the license, than it's OK. But they have to get the license too. I gave my best friend Windows 3.11, and I don't have it backed up anywhere, as it was on the original floppies it came on.

    You can get software free from work if you talk your Admin into it.

  10. #20
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    Yeap, Gore, sounds great.
    Just for fun, it wont work here, since if you GIVE something to other ppl (as a donation) you must pay tax for it. (10% of original value i think)
    Of course you can sell for $.01 and pay equivalent taxes for it...
    Some companies make this kind of agreement. they buy an "enterprise license" and all user can use software on their home computers too. Its pretty common on A/V software.
    However, i never saw that kind of agreement with Microsoft.
    Meu sítio

    FORMAT C: Yes ...Yes??? ...Nooooo!!! ^C ^C ^C ^C ^C
    If I die before I sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to encrypt.
    If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to brake.

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