We have been spending a decent chunk of time in the TechRepublic Microsoft Windows Blog discussing issues surrounding software piracy. I raised the question Is stealing from Microsoft OK because they have lots of money? The results of that poll revealed that most, but not all, were of the opinion that, no, it is not OK.
Ed Bott, over on our sister site ZDNet, decided to see what all the piracy fuss was about and posted his findings in the blog post “Confessions of a Windows 7 Pirate.” It is a cautionary tale about the perils and pitfalls that one can be cursed with if you travel in shady circles on the Internet.
With all the potential problems that using pirated software can bring — malware, Trojan programs, disabled features, and legal and financial ramifications just to name a few – it makes me wonder why anyone would ever use pirated software downloaded off the Internet. I mean, really, is saving a couple of hundred dollars on a Windows upgrade really worth all the potential trouble?
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