illegal downloads...

[inbrino]

Hi,

I have a legit copy of xp home and this guy at college laughed at me and told me haw he simply downloaded a copy of xp professional and is using it now.

Could someone please tell me, isnt it just a matter of time before he gets caught? He keeps telling me that there is no way he could possibly ever get caught. Is this true? Are there anythings that he could do whilst using it to get caught? Like registering it or something?

I would really appreciate some in depth info on this subject! I keep trying to argue with him and say that he can get caught! But I dont actually have any facts to back my argument up.

Any help much appreciated! Thank you very much!

 

[Ð88]

Downloading it would not be the difficult part(to an extent). Acquiring a valid cd key is wherein lies the difficulty. There no saying that it can't be done though. I don't think he'll get caught.

 

[Tommy Boy]

yeah, and it's like a $5,000 fine when he does get caught.

 

[dude_se]

of couse you can get caught! its a fact. ip's can monitor what you are downloading and even track your ip address for a start. theres no safe way to download but theres safer ways. bit torrent is meant to be safer than p2p from what ive heard. what i think is the best way to download if you really want to is to not download very frequently and to be careful when registering downloads. chances of getting caught are very slim unless you download and share a ton of files per day then you might be buggered. tell him to be careful. i would also be careful with that xp he has as they are cracking down on piracy (microsoft)

 

[setishock]

No one is to post any hacks, cracks, or any thing illegal in this thread.
A debate on the issue is all that is required to answer the questions posted here.
Pirates will get burned sooner or later. Like you turning him in...

Dang you guys type fast. By the time I got this typed up several of you had already responded. LOL

 

[Cx]

Well I don't think Microsoft takes legal action against pirated software. They do have it so after so many days if you don't activate or 2 different computers are using the same cd key it doesn't allow you to update anymore. It is illegal yes, and I'm sure vendors can easily distinguish legit vs illegal copies. From what I hear Microsoft doesn't really care if it's purchased or not, as long as you're using Microsoft.

Although I think the music and film industry is a little bit more anal over this. I've never heard of someone locked up or fined for pirated version of Windows but I hear about it over .mp3s and movies.

 

[Ð88]

heh yeah, lol if he does in fact get caught, fines can actually be up to $250 000 USD or 5 years in jail depending on how serious the offence of piracy is (in this case it wont be the maximum but still would be quite a hefty fine).

 

[inbrino]

Ok thanks!
I was wondering if there was anything he could do to get caught while actually using the program. He said there is no way you can get caught actually using the program, or any program! Except for registering the program or something...

So does this mean he can keep laughing at me?
Or is there somewhere he could slip up whilst using any illegal program he has downloaded?

 

[setishock]

Well now the genuine advantage program where you download MS software will not let him. It checks the hash numbers to see if the hash is legit.

 

[Ð88]

I would report him for pirating XP professional if I were you (like call up microsoft). That'll shut that silly bitch up.