WHAT IS IT?

Software piracy can be defined as "copying and using commercial software purchased by someone else". 

Example of software piracy:

An authorized Business Partner sells copies or distributes its demonstration copies of our software to end users (i.e. their customers).  This is not permitted and although it may look to benefit the customer, it actually puts them at risk as they do not have a license to use the software.

 

EFFECTS OF SOFTWARE  PIRACY

· When software is pirated, consumers, software developers, and resellers are harmed.

· Software piracy increases the risk of consumer's computers leading to corruption by defective software and infection with viruses.

CORRELATION BETWEEN

 PIRACY AND MALWARE

Globally, there is significant evidence to link software piracy with the frequency of malware attacks. While this correlation has not been measured with precision, the evidence from industry sources suggests that markets with high software piracy rates also have a tendency to experience high rates of malware infection (see diagram).

TYPES OF SOFTWARE PIRACY

 The various types of software privacy are:

· Soft lifting- The most common type of piracy, soft lifting, (also called soft loading), means sharing a program with someone who is not authorized by the license agreement to use it.

 

· Hard disk loading- often committed by hardware dealers, this form of piracy involves loading an unauthorized copy of software onto a computer being sold to the end user.

· Renting- Renting involves someone renting out a copy of software for temporary use, without the permission of the copyright holder.

· Online piracy- The fastest-growing form of piracy is Internet piracy. With the growing number of users online, and with the rapidly increasing connection speeds, the exchange of software on the Internet has attracted an extensive following.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN SOFTWARE PIRACY

 The copyright infringement of software, or software piracy, is illegal in many countries. Experts say that using pirated softwares is morally wrong including the loss of revenue to the creator of the software, without software being paid for creators will give up designing new software and there will be less software being created in the future.

According to G. Frederick: in “Software Piracy: Some Facts, Figures, and Issues,” 82 percent of PC software used in China is pirated. Advocates against piracy would ask how much revenue to software companies is lost every year in China alone.

WAYS TO MINIMIZE SOFTWARE PIRACY

Have a central location for software programs. Know which applications are being added, modified or deleted.

·  Secure master copies of software and associate documentation, while providing faculty access to those programs when needed.

·                     Never lend or give commercial software to unlicensed users.

·                     Permit only authorized users to install software.

CONCLUSION

Software piracy may be tempting to those who are not familiar with the risks. But far from being an innocent, victimless crime, software piracy exposes users to unacceptable levels of cyber-security risk, including the threat of costly identity theft. It also undermines the value of intellectual property, which is one of the key drivers of innovation and the way millions of people earn a living.