Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac:11748 comp.misc:1789
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!oddjob!gargoyle!ddsw1!karl
From: karl@ddsw1.UUCP (Karl Denninger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.misc
Subject: Re: Copy protection and the consumer
Message-ID: <503@ddsw1.UUCP>
Date: 27 Jan 88 15:38:16 GMT
References: <4663@watdragon.waterloo.edu> <3823@husc6.harvard.edu> <4745@watdragon.waterloo.edu> <1388@puff.cs.wisc.edu>
Reply-To: karl@ddsw1.UUCP (Karl Denninger)
Organization: Macro Computer Solutions, Inc., Mundelein, IL
Lines: 46
Summary: 'professionals' rip off software too...

In article <1388@puff.cs.wisc.edu> ttang@puff.cs.wisc.edu (Theodore Tang @ Univ of Wisconsin-Madison) writes:
>In article <4745@watdragon.waterloo.edu>, palarson@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Paul Larson) writes:
>> You have a point there, but you should also consider the fact that not all 
>> software pirates are professionals.  
>
>I'm sorry Johan but the average person who does this kind of thing is about 19
>years of age.  I should know because (1) I know some of the people who do this
>sort of thing, (2) I did it myself once just so I could make a backup, and (3)
>I have talked with many more people over the US who do this.  Copy protection
>is easy to break if you have the time and most hobbiests do.  And this is
>especially true when the same scheme is used for various products, once you
>have removed copy protection from one, the others are very similar and done
>even faster.
>
>And then I haven't heard of any one "professional" that even does this.  It's
>your average kid, ages 13 to 19.

I don't know about that.

We are out in the field all the time, and run into pirated software
(ESPECIALLY things like 123) constantly.  Much of the time it really is
the 'professionals'; office users, bankers, options traders, etc.

In most of these places, if you ask for the 'original disks' to reinstall
their software after a hardware repair, you get hand-labeled disks with no
copy-protection.  Hardly 'original disks' (they can't find the non-existant 
manual either :-)

Of course, for us to refuse service at that point (or to turn in the
offender to one or more of the publishers) is effectively biting off your
nose to spite your face....

Somehow I doubt that the person who stripped the protection and distributed
that wonderful program to 50 or so machines was in the age bracket of 13 - 19.

Now, if you're speaking of someone who does this for a living, I would have
to say that I haven't seen that..... or have I?  How many of these people
who *have* ripped off software on a massive scale (one office comes to
particular mind) would have been fired/laid off/disciplined if they spent
the company's money on 50 copies of Lotus?  No way to know where the piracy
idea came from, who hatched it, or who's responsible....

-- 
Karl Denninger		       |  Data: +1 312 566-8912
Macro Computer Solutions, Inc. | Voice: +1 312 566-8910
...ihnp4!ddsw1!karl	       | "Quality solutions for work or play"