Software Piracy

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Software Piracy Software piracy is the illegal reproduction and distribution of software applications, whether it is for personal use or business. In society today, Internet users are obtaining millions of dollars in software illegally. Piracy includes the illegal copying of programs, counterfeiting and distributing software, and even sharing a program with a friend. Software has become such an important productivity tool, the illegal copying and distribution of software piracy persists globally. In fact, in the United States is one in four software programs that is unlicensed. According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), more than 800,000 web sites illegally sell or distribute software (Microsoft.com). There are many types of software piracy such as uploading and downloading, softlifting, counterfeiting, OEM bundling, hard disk loading and renting. By having familiarity with them can protect you from any connection. Softlifting is purchasing a licensed copy of software and uploading it on several computers against the license terms. Some examples of softlifting are sharing software with friends, co-workers and others. Uploading and downloading is another form of piracy, such as when making unauthorized copies of copyrighted software available to end users connected by a modem to online service providers and or the Internet. Another one is software counterfeiting which is illegal duplicating and selling copyrighted software and a form designed to make it appear legitimate. OEM bundling is selling stand alone software that was intended to be bundled with specific accompanying hardware. Hard disk loading is installing unauthorized copies of software onto the hard disks of personal computers, often as an incentive for th... ... middle of paper ... ...t the economic implications of software piracy and software copyrights. Other analysts feel that copyright enforcement should be increased by implementing more efforts to prosecute pirates ( Parsons 165). Survey about Software Piracy Survey questions on Software Piracy YES NO 1. Do you know what software piracy actually is? 15 10 2. Do you know the negative effects of software piracy? 8 12 3. Do you even care about software piracy? 16 9 4. Do you feel that the media discusses the issue of software piracy? 7 13 Works Cited www.microsoft.com www.aladdin.com Computer Concepts. New Perspectives. June Parsons. Course Technology. 5 Feb 2003.

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