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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

How to Pirate Software

Disclaimer: I do not condone stealing software, this article is for informational purposes only. Stealing software is illegal, do not do it.



Illegal Software / Warez
Illegal software, also known as pirated software, or Warez is becoming increasingly easy for anyone to obtain, once someone tells them how. With the ever increasing use of torrents transfer speeds of Warez has never been faster, and with the numerous amount of torrent sharing sites, never before easier to find. One simply needs to use their favorite search engine to query “{Name of Program} + torrent”. Many people do not have the ability to download torrents, this is corrected by searching the internet for a 'torrent client', once you have chosen and installed a torrent client, you now have the ability to download from most torrents sites. Don't be fooled, if you ever come across a torrent site that is asking you to install something or to pay a fee, what's the points of stealing software if you have to pay, right? move on to the next site.

Here is a short list of search terms and what they yield.
  • “{Name of Program}" + Torrent
  • Links to sites with full version applications available for download.
  • “{Name of App}" + Warez
  • Most commonly used before torrents to find full version applications, usage is increasingly rare.
  • “{Name of App}" + Abandon Warez
  • This search term is generally used for the oldest of games. These games are generally portrayed as public domain and legal to download. They may or may not be legal.


Illegal Software / Installation
Illegal software more often than not requires a special install. It must be installed a particular way or it may not function properly. At times Warez will not come with install instructions, this is because of the communal nature of the scene, and some things you are expected to know. However, most downloads will come with install instructions, it can never be stressed enough to RTFM. For those of you who don’t know, Read The Freak'n Manual. 95% of the time the question you might have can be answered when you RTFM.

Illegal Software / Cautions
If one decides to venture into the realm of “Software Piracy” as some call it, an extreme amount of caution must be taken. One may first think the highest risk is getting caught downloading illegal software. This is not the case. Though that is one thing to worry about the primary concern should be this. Downloading illegal software comes with risks of infection from Spyware, Malware, Viruses, Trojan Horses, Rootkits, Keyloggers, and the list goes on. All of these are malicious software in one form or another that finds its way in to your computer and performs most likely a devious task. It’s a lot to keep up on. Many defenses are needed and not always effective. One of the best way to avoid such problem is to use a black site that you trust. I know, it may seem like a contradiction in terms, “A shady site that I can trust?” Well, there are some. You just have to know where to look. I won’t be giving out any names. The best way to find one is to look for a site that requires registration and has strict rules on upload and ratio, sites with the option to comment are preferred, such sites allow the downloaders & uploaders to operate as a community and quickly weed out bad software. Once you find a site that you think is safe enough to download the fact remains you can still be tracked. A widley spread claim is that a program known as Peer Guardian 2, can help dramatically reduce your chances of detection, I can neither confirm or deny this. It can be a lot of hassle to deal with Virus Scanner, Malware Cleaners, and the numerous amount of defensive programs that now seem required for anyone using a Windows operating system. I would recommend to anyone who is currently using a Windows operating system to switch to a Linux Variant. Linux does not have the same problems with viruses and malware experienced all to frequently by the Windows user.

Freeware
Applications licensed as ‘Freeware’ are programs that are available to be used by anyone free of charge. They never have limitations on the number of days you can use the app or features locked out. A wide variety of applications can be found as freeware and quite often have comparable features to commercial software. One such example is GIMP. GIMP is a freeware graphics editing tool that quite easily takes the place of other commercial image editors. Another example would be VLC. This media player is more powerful and intelligent that anything I have yet to come across, free or not. I highly recommend anyone who does not have VLC to begin using it. Just about any type of software you could need has a freeware alternative, it’s simply a matter of knowing it’s name; yep, even Windows has a freeware alternative, a great many as a matter of fact. I prefer Ubuntu Linux. One of my favorite features of Linux is the repository, a treasure chest of free programs, ready to download and install at the click of a button.