downloading Illegal software

[George Hallam]

ive seen a few post on here about people saying they dont use torrents limewire bearshare etc for downloading free/pirate software who does it here truthfully! at school all my mates do and so do i. but if i really like the game/album i will buy it like i bought C&C 3.

p.s i dont no how to post a pole so it mite not turn out right lol :confused:

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Hehe, depending on where one is, shouting that too loudly may lead to the feeling of cold steel around one's wrists!

[George Hallam]

i just want to see what you guys think becauze school and pcguide members have different view

[123456]

Hehe, depending on where one is, shouting that too loudly may lead to the feeling of cold steel around one's wrists!

Hahahah...perfectly put.

[Budfred]

You left out the option of "I do not download illegal software and I have no respect for people who do and then make excuses about why it is ok to do so"....

[Fred_Flintstone]

Even if you put the legality to one side...:eek:

Take a look at some of the malware removal sites like SWI or MWR..
Most people who get infected do so by downloading "free" or "cracked" software. just not worth it IMHO..:rolleyes:

[George Hallam]

ye thanks i agree with all of you forgot about that column im not trying to annoy anyone just seeing different view. y do u think it is so bad downloading movie or simpsons or family (it rocks:D )

[Fred_Flintstone]

ye thanks i agree with all of you forgot about that column im not trying to annoy anyone just seeing different view. y do u think it is so bad downloading movie or simpsons or family (it rocks:D )
Because the more people who STEAL it.. the less people PAY for it (obviously)..therefore, eventually it will become unviable for the film makers / Programmers to carry on producing the films / Programs / Software..

Then, you wouldn't be able to watch it whether it "rocks" or not.. even if you were by then prepared to pay etc...

They do it as a business to make money.. no money for them = no product made!!

[Budfred]

ye thanks i agree with all of you forgot about that column im not trying to annoy anyone just seeing different view. y do u think it is so bad downloading movie or simpsons or family (it rocks:D )

I am really not sure what most of this means... I don't do chatspeak...

However, one of the things to keep in mind beyond the simple fact that you are stealing when you take things that don't belong to you, is that the more you take things, the more the people who make them try to keep you from doing it... This means that honest people who want to use those things and pay for them in the store have to jump through all sorts of hoops to use them... If people didn't steal Windows so freely, we wouldn't have to deal with all this activation garbage and the RIAA stuff built into Vista to try to prevent it... As the thieves improve their tools for stealing, the industry improves their tools for protecting their products and the honest user is caught in the middle of the war... I greatly resent having to jump through all of those hoops because a bunch of dishonest, dishonorable and unethical people want to watch a movie off of the internet rather than waiting for it to show up on cable TV or (gasp) actually pay for it... If movies were essential for life, I might change my mind, but I am pretty sure that is not the case... :mad:

[SufferWell1396]

Budfred made a VERY good point. There are so many cheap corrupt people out on the Internet... What George Hallam is saying is sort of a "Try it Then Buy It" sort of system, except trying it, is still using it illegally, and is still money out of a companys pocket when it should be there, it doesnt matter if you try it then buy it, your still doing illegal activities and stealing from someone...

[Budfred]

It you "Try" watching the latest film on the internet, what are the chances that you will "Buy it" even if you thought it was great... That is just another excuse for stealing... Shareware is "Try it and Buy it", not commercial software or media...

[bassman]

and now my 2 cents

When you steal a product, the manufacturer has to make up the lost income by charging me more. End of discussion for me!

[H4.9]

I never bought a software...! Internet has everything..! I do download everything free and Illegal from the Net.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Go back under your bridge,, Troll!!! :mad:

[George Hallam]

i see what you mean about it puts prices up and have now canceled all download and removes limewire and azureus. sorry if i offended anyone:(

[classicsoftware]

George:

You have not offended anyone. You helped us illuminate a point by participating in an adult discussion w/o name calling or finger pointing. I'm glad you have turned away from the Dark Side of the Force.....:D :D :D

[Suchy]

Speaking of illegal softwere, how do I report warez sites?

I went to my local police station, and they laughed at me saying that they have beter thing to do.

[Budfred]

What country are you in?? Different countries have different rules and efforts to enforce... If it is the US, I believe the Dept. of Commerce takes complaints about illegal software... However, enforcement tends to be minimal, partly because the rules legislatures have not really dealt with the problem... The media companies have pushed for more law and enforcement, but the reason they resort to suing everyone is that they are not backed by laws to put the major criminals in jail... Same situation with malware of course...

[Whyzman]

I went to my local police station, and they laughed at me saying that they have beter thing to do.I was busy typing while Budfred replied regarding local authorities.

I would say that the majority of true warez sites are located in eastern European countries where copyright laws aren't worth the paper they're written on. The sites allowing the downloading of warez have an entirely different agenda than merely distributing "free" software.

It didn't take very long before organized crime realized the monetary potential in identity theft. We've moved well beyond bored kids writing scripts to delete files and open and close someone's CD-ROM drive.

The ease with which warez, once downloaded, are spread into the community of the unsuspecting is the really scary part. The individual who downloaded a piece of warez loaded with a keylogger may not do internet banking, or credit card purchases. However, the friends they pass on copies of the warez to may take it home where it's loaded onto a parent's computer laden with passwords, credit card numbers, and other vitally private data.

[deddard]

It's too full of malware for anyone to do so safely, regardless of the moral arguments.
Built and configured a PC to lend to someone recently, but warned them that if they downloaded or ran anything illegal on there and it took out any part of the system, they'd have to fix it themselves.

Guess what?:rolleyes:

[Ajmukon]

McAfee Site Adivsor- a free tool from Mcafee- is a bot computer that enters its name on all forms, logs the number of SPAM from site, test ALL the downloads, for malware, etc.
it gives a Green "Okay" (meaining that the site has passed) to a Red "BAD" (meaning something is wrong)- takes the gues work out of download "Free fast fixes" (joke- get it?)

[Budfred]

McAfee Site Adivsor- a free tool from Mcafee- is a bot computer that enters its name on all forms, logs the number of SPAM from site, test ALL the downloads, for malware, etc.
it gives a Green "Okay" (meaining that the site has passed) to a Red "BAD" (meaning something is wrong)- takes the gues work out of download "Free fast fixes" (joke- get it?)

No, I don't... And I don't understand what it has to do with this discussion... If you are advocating using it to use pirate/warez sites, it is not reliable enough for that purpose...

[Ajmukon]

All I meant was that people were saying that downloading can be dangerous when getting "pirated" software- Mcafee site Advisor checks the website and makes sure it is "Okay"-

-I apologize for my lack of explination

[PrntRhd]

Actually my take on the McAfee Site Advisor is it checks on whether the site is a legit site (phishing), & whether site is known to have spyware/adware. Offering pirated software is not taken into account by the McAfee automated scoring. Pirated software may be supplied on phishing sites but the two are not necessarily connected. That is why it has nothing to do with this discussion.
McAfee's description: http://www.siteadvisor.com/download/ie.html?noff=true
A Helpful Guide for Internet Safety.
Adds safety ratings to sites and search results to help protect you from adware, spam, and online scams

There was a report that 80% of pirated Vista had trojans and other malware included in the files.

[Whyzman]

I was wondering if the Site Advisor was similar to SpywareBlaster's list of sites with "questionable" history...

Keyloggers, rootkits, or other unwanted stealth visitors would pass right on through a pirated software download...

[Rick]

Shareware and demo versions are still out there

Shareware for years ( decades in fact ) was a try it before you buy it.
Many people gave it a try and did buy it.
Even when the program continued to run after months without paying for it

Today You would be hard pressed to find any that doesn't have a disabled feature or limit use program encoded in it

From the programmer who is just starting out and has an idea he/she thinks others would like to have and would be willing to pay for it.
Down or up to the major software companies depending on your point of view
Everyone is having to deal with piracy

It costs all of us $ and hassle

I for one hate having to call MS when I do a reinstall of XP
despite the fact that I have 6 or is 8 registered copies of XP and only 4 systems with it installed on them

People Not will to pay a few cents for the use of my program is the main reason I quit writing code.
In fact a few of these same people demanded additional features be added without ever offering to buy the program

[Ajmukon]

Actually my take on the McAfee Site Advisor is it checks on whether the site is a legit site (phishing), & whether site is known to have spyware/adware. Offering pirated software is not taken into account by the McAfee automated scoring. Pirated software may be supplied on phishing sites but the two are not necessarily connected. That is why it has nothing to do with this discussion.
McAfee's description:


There was a report that 80% of pirated Vista had trojans and other malware included in the files.
Actually, if you check the report page, it gives you a list off ALL the downloads
(check http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/download.com if you don't believe me)

Back to topic, i will only download Demos and "abandonware" that is over 10 years old, i try to avoid newer stuff

[Budfred]

Actually, if you check the report page, it gives you a list off ALL the downloads
(check http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/download.com if you don't believe me)

Back to topic, i will only download Demos and "abandonware" that is over 10 years old, i try to avoid newer stuff

That link is for a report on the site Download.com which is considered to be a legit download site, not a warez or pirate site at all... Again, the main point is that SiteAdvisor is just not a reliable way to know for sure if the site is dangerous or not... It is worthwhile to use it, but I would not rely on it...

[johnny_quest]

have now canceled all download and removes limewire and azureus. (

yeah i bet ;)