Warez

[Porthos]

Win Home COA'd box with Enterprise installed does not mean it's pirated.

It is when its activated with AutoKMS.

Based on my experience over the years those using pirated software on are also those that would balk at paying even $75 for a PC repair. So I'll never get far with them anyways.

How true.

 

[DataMedics]

Working in data recovery I see drives in for recovery which are full of pirated software, movies, music, etc. all the time. I know that by rights I could be reporting them all, but I don't think that would get me many good referrals on my business. So what I devised is a liability waiver that specifically says they are fully responsible for maintaining copyright permission for all software and files on their system and that we will not check or enforce copyright validity.

I'm not in the business of policing copyrights on other people's computers. I just worry about my own systems and so should they.

 

[glricht]

... Just because someone brings in a Win Home COA'd box with Enterprise installed does not mean it's pirated. ...

Agree in theory.

But in my case the customer was computer illiterate and 78 years old having been retired over 10 years. When I asked him about his Windows Enterprise, he replied that his son does most of his computer work "because he knows computers." The PC is about 5-6 years old, but some simple digging revealed Enterprise was installed just 14 months ago. And then, who legitimately would install 32-bit Enterprise on a Celeron with only 2GB of RAM?

I don't go out of my way to look for pirated software of any kind, but it was hard to ignore all the waving red flags.

 

[Porthos]

Client when you mention the movie /music piracy, But I paid for a program to download that stuff.

 

[GTP]

I don't generally bother to check if its legit or not. However there are some glaring issues at times. Such as a Vista COA, and Windows 7 is installed. Or the COA is for Home, and Pro installed. You may even see a Vista sticker on a touchpad area, and see 7 installed. Then my spidey sensors go into overdrive, and I do some detecting.

When I see 7 Ult, I check the code out; 99% of the time its pirated, and then I inform the client to go legal or find someone else.

+1 to this.
I only check when I get a new client as all my other clients have either been informed and made legal, or told I cannot/will not help them!

 

[GTP]

It was so slow it was almost running in reverse.

Haha! Love it, have to remember this!!

 

[GTP]

Now, when it comes to something that is outright pirated, like a OS that will not register, that is something totally different. I will not accept any hand written license key or copied CD. This goes for the OS as well as all apps.

I fully agree. I was caught once. Never again!

 

[Markverhyden]

Agree in theory.

But in my case the customer was computer illiterate and 78 years old having been retired over 10 years. When I asked him about his Windows Enterprise, he replied that his son does most of his computer work "because he knows computers." The PC is about 5-6 years old, but some simple digging revealed Enterprise was installed just 14 months ago. And then, who legitimately would install 32-bit Enterprise on a Celeron with only 2GB of RAM?

I don't go out of my way to look for pirated software of any kind, but it was hard to ignore all the waving red flags.

That's the problem with Enterprise VL. There is a Enterprise image and key and not much else, M$ relies entirely upon the honesty, etc of the VL holder. I have no doubt that in your example that was not a legit install. But I have run into others where they were. Had a few EU's years ago who brought in their PC's with a CD and Key. After discussion/investigation it turns out the university they worked for allowed some to install it on a personal PC at home because it was used for school business. I did what due diligence I was able to do. Had the IT person send me an email from their business email stating that the party in question was allowed to install their VL image on their personal PC. It's now their problem not mine.

I look at this as an EU education exercise. Especially for consumers. I've had many consumer machines where I was doing repairs which required a nuke and pave. After being told that they got the machine as is, no OS disk or product key. Told them they were in violation of copyright law. Most had no problem going legit.

 

[GTP]

That's the problem with Enterprise VL. There is a Enterprise image and key and not much else, M$ relies entirely upon the honesty, etc of the VL holder. I have no doubt that in your example that was not a legit install. But I have run into others where they were. Had a few EU's years ago who brought in their PC's with a CD and Key. After discussion/investigation it turns out the university they worked for allowed some to install it on a personal PC at home because it was used for school business. I did what due diligence I was able to do. Had the IT person send me an email from their business email stating that the party in question was allowed to install their VL image on their personal PC. It's now their problem not mine.

I look at this as an EU education exercise. Especially for consumers. I've had many consumer machines where I was doing repairs which required a nuke and pave. After being told that they got the machine as is, no OS disk or product key. Told them they were in violation of copyright law. Most had no problem going legit.

This happens quite a bit here with MS Office versions. Students/Teachers are able to install an "educational" version as long as they are a registered student/teacher - of that Educational Institution.
The problem arises when they install that version on "Uncle Franks," Aunt Marthas" and the rest of their families computers!

 

[jfm]

On my invoices and workorder I have a line that says "Client must provide original installation media and licence of all software".
Mostly applicable on reinstalls, so they don't come back on us.
Saved my ass so many times.

Working on a non legit Windows system, I could not care less as long as it's not causing any issue.

 

[GTP]

Working on a non legit Windows system, I could not care less as long as it's not causing any issue.

You will care when you get "that client" that insists everything was legit till you touched it! Now they want you to pay for legal software!

 

[jfm]

You will care when you get "that client" that insists everything was legit till you touched it! Now they want you to pay for legal software!

I can easily prove to them there was no legit key, they can't prove there was.
I hear you, but refusing to work on those would be losing alot of work, and most of the time it's not their fault some idiot tech did a botched work or planly stole their money, I can't blame them.
So If the need comes, I will strongly suggest a licence, else, I don't mind.

 

[GTP]

I can easily prove to them there was no legit key, they can't prove there was.
I hear you, but refusing to work on those would be losing alot of work, and most of the time it's not their fault some idiot tech did a botched work or planly stole their money, I can't blame them.
So If the need comes, I will strongly suggest a licence, else, I don't mind.

If and when I come across this situation, calmly explaining to the client that they have "illegal" software and that they will actually benefit from being legal, usually, (not always), causes them to get the necessary licenses.
If they dont want to, I simply refer them to my first rule - get legal or get out!
I haven't got time to argue, stress, check or otherwise. What will you do when a jealous competitor dobs you into Micro$oft for knowingly working on illegal OS's? Do you really want that audit?

 

[Porthos]

Working on a non legit Windows system, I could not care less as long as it's not causing any issue.

I hear you, but refusing to work on those would be losing alot of work

Not very professional. Only contributes to the piracy problem. If you don't have enough work to be able to do it right you have chosen the wrong line of work.
The local pizza shop is always hiring.

 

[sapphirescales]

When a client comes in with an improperly licensed copy of Windows, I demand that we do a N&P using the real COA license rather than the Windows 7 Ultimate black pirate edition that they currently have installed. If it has Vista, I'll let them know that the software is pirated and give them the option to either buy a legit copy from me and get everything upgraded, or I take their system in on trade and sell them a nice refurbished business class system.

Office is a little trickier. If they've got Outlook and everything set up and the system is pirated, they're screwed. We have to buy a new copy of Office as well as migrate everything over to the new Outlook. I've tried removing the crack and such and licensing the copy of Office they already have with a legit key, but it's always either some corporate version, or the most expensive version they don't need. I mean, really. If all you need is Word and Outlook, who's going to pay $400 for Office Professional?

Anything else pirated (Adobe, etc.) I tell the client that it's pirated and that I won't support the product in any way. If I work on it and then Adobe moans about needing their account info, they're on their own.

I've had PLENTY of clients ask if I would install pirated software for them. Some have even DEMANDED it! I let them know in no uncertain terms that I won't help them with that. If they want to pirate stuff, they can Google how to do it. Just make sure to keep my business card handy when that 30MB version of Photoshop off ThePirateBay comes and bites you in the butt...

 

[therealcrazy8]

Not very professional. Only contributes to the piracy problem. If you don't have enough work to be able to do it right you have chosen the wrong line of work.
The local pizza shop is always hiring.

I totally agree. Everyone is entitled to their own way of running their business, and I had a feeling this might have been one of those topics that would be all over the place, but I feel like if you do nothing about it (especially in your business), then by default you're supporting the problem whether you come out and say it or not. I like the idea of having something like "Client must provide original installation media and licence of all software" as JFM mentioned. This becomes a filter then to weed out some of that.

I understand that not every computer you lay hands on that has an illegal OS is going to be by the hands of the current owner, and those can be dealt with as they come, but I don't need to do business with the cases that are blatantly obvious and deliberate. If they refuse to buy legal software after my recommendation, then who's to say they will pay me or be "good business" for me? I feel with those types of practices keep yourself out of trouble IF anything were to come up.

 

[Porthos]

I stop everything I am doing when an OS is not licensed for that computer. In most cases the good ole Ultimate and the COA is different.

My only support is to get legal some how or get out.
I never call the client a pirate because 99% did not have a clue it is pirated.

 

[therealcrazy8]

I stop everything I am doing when an OS is not licensed for that computer. In most cases the good ole Ultimate and the COA is different.

My only support is to get legal some how or get out.
I never call the client a pirate because 99% did not have a clue it is pirated.

Very true. I personally feel this is the approach I'd have as well.

 

[fencepost]

Fortunately I don't end up dealing with this much due to our customer base (and the basically forced EMR migration of some years back that meant a lot of new systems went in), but it seems to me that for most systems I've ever seen they were already substandard or completely obsolete hardware that someone'd jammed this in on. For those, you don't even really have to be the bad guy - you just have to say "I can't really work on this since it's not a legitimate copy of Windows or Office, but frankly based on what I'm seeing it would cost you more to have me fix it than to replace the PC with a newer, faster system." Then you can steer them towards any of a variety of refurbed systems.

My biggest concern with the refurbs right now is that I'm positive there are a ton of refurbed Windows 7 boxes that at least in theory can't be activated to Windows 10 at no cost, and the same folks that ended up with pirated Windows 7 on boxes will eventually end up wtih pirated Windows 10 on refurbs purchased in the next 6 months to year.

 

[Porthos]

My biggest concern with the refurbs right now is that I'm positive there are a ton of refurbed Windows 7 boxes that at least in theory can't be activated to Windows 10 at no cost

You can but you need to use the Win7/8 key or use the genuine ticket method on a clean install. It was cut off for the consumer upgraders.