<p>According to a report by Business Software Alliance (BSA) in partnership with IDC and Ipsos Public Affairs, over half of the world’s PC users - 57 per cent to be precise, admit to pirating software.<br /><br /></p>.<p> Further, according to the ninth annual global software piracy study, 31 per cent say they do it ‘all of the time’, ‘most of the time’ or ‘occasionally’ and 26 per cent admit to having stolen software but ‘rarely’. <br /><br />Available rather easily at a probably one-third or even less than the price of the original, pirated software is an easy buy. But are people aware of the risks of running pirated software? <br /><br />There are quite a few risks when it comes to using pirated software. For one, it is illegal to own it. Then there is the issue of spending money to buy a product which is of rather low quality.<br /><br />Ayush Tiwari, a B.Tech third-year student admits to using pirated software, “I of course use pirated software as they are rather cheap. Pirated software can be an issue in the office but personally I am quite alright with using it.” <br /><br />He adds, “There is absolutely no harm in using pirated versions. I personally use pirated versions of Picassa, Adobe and I copied a version of Photoshop from a friend’s CD.” <br />The most commonly pirated software includes XP, Vista, Microsoft Word, OS Windows, Winzip and MS Office and songs and movies downloaded from the internet. <br /><br />Another software user Abhishek Tiwari also a copywriter and quality tester said, “I used to use pirated software but not anymore. I have started using original ones. People use pirated ones as they are cheap not realising the ill effects of it. <br /><br />“People use pirated versions of anti-virus software but they have their loopholes as well. They only detect the virus but cannot fully remove them. Also the pirated versions do not get regular updates from the companies and personal security is at risk as well.”<br /><br />According to the report, users who say they pirate the most software are disproportionately young and male -- and they install more software of all types on their computers than other users do. The commercial value of this shadow market of pirated software climbed from USD 58.8 billion in 2010 to USD 63.4 billion in 2011, a new record, propelled by PC shipments to emerging economies where piracy rates are highest.<br /><br />Maheep Saraf, a software engineer and analyst in finance company has a different take on the issue. “The pirated software does not harm the computer as such if downloaded from a correct portal or site. But if you download the software with any kind of virus then it can harm the computer. Plus, the price is also definitely an issue in India.” <br /><br />What is disturbing is that only personal users use pirated software as it is not possible for a corporate firm to use pirated ones due to their data security reasons. <br /></p>
<p>According to a report by Business Software Alliance (BSA) in partnership with IDC and Ipsos Public Affairs, over half of the world’s PC users - 57 per cent to be precise, admit to pirating software.<br /><br /></p>.<p> Further, according to the ninth annual global software piracy study, 31 per cent say they do it ‘all of the time’, ‘most of the time’ or ‘occasionally’ and 26 per cent admit to having stolen software but ‘rarely’. <br /><br />Available rather easily at a probably one-third or even less than the price of the original, pirated software is an easy buy. But are people aware of the risks of running pirated software? <br /><br />There are quite a few risks when it comes to using pirated software. For one, it is illegal to own it. Then there is the issue of spending money to buy a product which is of rather low quality.<br /><br />Ayush Tiwari, a B.Tech third-year student admits to using pirated software, “I of course use pirated software as they are rather cheap. Pirated software can be an issue in the office but personally I am quite alright with using it.” <br /><br />He adds, “There is absolutely no harm in using pirated versions. I personally use pirated versions of Picassa, Adobe and I copied a version of Photoshop from a friend’s CD.” <br />The most commonly pirated software includes XP, Vista, Microsoft Word, OS Windows, Winzip and MS Office and songs and movies downloaded from the internet. <br /><br />Another software user Abhishek Tiwari also a copywriter and quality tester said, “I used to use pirated software but not anymore. I have started using original ones. People use pirated ones as they are cheap not realising the ill effects of it. <br /><br />“People use pirated versions of anti-virus software but they have their loopholes as well. They only detect the virus but cannot fully remove them. Also the pirated versions do not get regular updates from the companies and personal security is at risk as well.”<br /><br />According to the report, users who say they pirate the most software are disproportionately young and male -- and they install more software of all types on their computers than other users do. The commercial value of this shadow market of pirated software climbed from USD 58.8 billion in 2010 to USD 63.4 billion in 2011, a new record, propelled by PC shipments to emerging economies where piracy rates are highest.<br /><br />Maheep Saraf, a software engineer and analyst in finance company has a different take on the issue. “The pirated software does not harm the computer as such if downloaded from a correct portal or site. But if you download the software with any kind of virus then it can harm the computer. Plus, the price is also definitely an issue in India.” <br /><br />What is disturbing is that only personal users use pirated software as it is not possible for a corporate firm to use pirated ones due to their data security reasons. <br /></p>
