Software Piracy

Piracy is a growing concern throughout the software industry, and many people don't know when they are violating the software license agreement or that they have installed pirated versions of software.

Software piracy can take the following forms:

·        Installing and using software on the machine of an individual who is not the licensed user:

• ·        Over-installing software for use beyond the licensed quantity
• ·        Using the software on more “designated computers” than you are licensed for
• ·        Installing the software on a local-area network for use by individuals who are not licensed users
• ·        Using the software in unauthorized geographical regions
• ·        Acquiring academic or student software for commercial use

Internet Piracy

Internet piracy occurs when users download software from the Internet. The same purchasing rules apply to online software purchase as to those bought in traditional ways. Examples:

• ·        Pirate Web sites that make software available for free download, or that post cracked passcodes
• ·        Internet auction sites that offer counterfeit, out-of-channel, or copyright-infringing software
• ·        Peer-to-peer networks that enable unauthorized transfer of copyrighted programs

Why is preventing piracy important?

Developing software is a team effort that involves the creative ideas and talents of development engineers, writers, and designers. Computer software, just like other creative works, is protected by copyright laws. Our goal is to accelerate the pace of discovery, innovation, development, and learning in engineering and science through the software we create. To this end, we make substantial and continuing research and development efforts, which are funded through the sales of our software products.

Software piracy hurts everyone because it:

• ·        Reduces the funding for ongoing development efforts
• ·        Reduces job opportunities
• ·        Allows for unauthorized copies of our software that may contain bugs and viruses to be used in the field
• ·        Prevents users from getting high-quality technical support and product updates
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• Piracy is not only a problem of Microsoft Company. It is an industry and worldwide issue.

Software Piracy is stealing. If you or your company were caught pirating software, you could be held liable under both civil and criminal law. If a copyright owner brings a civil action against you.

How can I help to keep my software licenses compliant?

There are several good ways to keep track of your licenses and users:

·        Use available software asset management systems, audit tools, and other resources to help you ensure software compliance

• ·        Educate your staff on the licensing requirements of your software purchases
• ·        Conduct a self-audit of your software licenses
• ·        Acquire any licenses needed for full compliance

What is software companies doing to prevent piracy?

Software companies have formed a License Compliance Team to help educate customers on the legal use of software licenses and to coordinate anti-piracy efforts. The team's activities include:

• ·        Developing customer communications on the legal use of our software licenses
• ·        Working with individual customers to resolve licensing concerns
• ·        Participating in the Business Software Alliance (BSA), an organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world
• ·        License Compliance Audits - Like many software companies, they uses a license compliance audit process, assisted by an independent third-party auditing firm. Selected customers are notified in advance to discuss audit timing and procedures - this is done in a manner to minimize the impact to daily operations during the process.

The only secure method of protecting software is not giving it to the user. You'll notice you can't "pirate" Google Docs, for example. Ultimately, if you're trying to secure something, you have to assume they have full knowledge of anything you give them. You can't trust the client. This applies to preventing piracy just as much as it does to protecting a system against being compromised.

Since the existing software distribution models are based around giving the client the whole package and then attempting to protect it on hardware the potential attacker controls, the distribution model is incompatible with any concept of "unpirateable" software.

Therefore, a combination of approaches- new laws, technical solutions, and privacy policies-is required to balance the scales. Reasonable limits must be set on government and business access to personal information; new information and communication technologies must be designed to protect rather than diminish privacy; and appropriate corporate policies must be developed to set baseline standards for people’s privacy. Education and communication are essential as well.

Online Shopping

Online shopping will become a necessity for most of the people in the world. You can easily compare price, features, function, and get the latest updates of any products just by your mouse. Where else can you do shopping, even at midnight? You don’t have to wait in a line or wait till the shop assistant helps you with your purchases. You can do your shopping in minutes even if you are busy, apart from saving time and avoiding crowds. Online shops give us the opportunity to shop 24/7 and also reward us with “no pollution” shopping. Online shopping makes it easy to compare sellers before buying. You can get more detail before making a decision to buy or not. With online shopping, as consumer, we all benefit greatly from the endless competition between online retailers. Another excellent way to save money by buying online is deals offered by retailers, great discounts and savings only for those who purchase specific products online. It is so much easier to sit at home, find your size, color, and style and then it’s delivered to your front door. One can shop online from a worldwide selection of a specific product. Everything was just one click away from you- and online comparison of prices helps you to buy cheapest product within a specific quality range.

Shopping online can be less convenient for the following reasons: Firstly, you can’t try things on. If you’re buying a clothing item, you don’t have the ability to feel the material, try it on and see how it’s made. Unless you know your measurements and are familiar with the brand of clothing offered, this could end up being a bad experience. Secondly, you can’t talk to someone immediately. If you have question about what you’re looking at, you probably will have to wait at least 24 hours to get the question answered. Thirdly, privacy and security. Privacy and security are legitimate concerns for any online shopper, but there are precautions you can take to make sure your transaction is a safe one. Lastly, deceptive pictures. Many of you faced a situation where you have been delivered something, which is far different from what you were expecting it to be. This happens because pictures of items on online shopping portal are often deceptive in nature.

The three products/items that I would not hesitate to buy online are:

1.)  Smartphones which are usually cheaper online, you can easily compare the specifications and prices of any smartphones you want to buy. You can also check smartphones model reviews online, review the specifications, compare prices form different stores and you can choose the reputed and reliable brands.

2.) Books which are usually priced more cheaply online than in big bookstore.

3.)  Shoes tend to be cheaper online and now most of the online shoe retailers offer free shipping.



The three products that I would hesitate buying over the Internet are:

1.)  Expensive Electronic Gadgets, buying online gadgets may have some warranty issue. There is no guarantee for a warranty in some online shops.

2.)  Cosmetics, the main disadvantage of buying cosmetics online is that the shopper is unable to try on the cosmetics or to inspect them and their packaging before making a purchase. Also, the heightened chance of ordering a product that is incompatible with one’s skin or complexion.

3.)  Medicines, buying medicines over the internet may have possible dangers. Some websites sell prescription that may not be safe to use and could put people’s health at risk. These sites may sell unapproved drugs, drugs that contain the wrong active ingredient, drugs that may contain too much or too little of the active ingredient, or drugs that may contain dangerous ingredient.



The three products that I would never consider buying over the Internet are:

1.)  Really Heavy Things such as washing machines & refrigerators. Even when an online retailer wins out on price, the cost to ship it to your home might erase the price advantage, which is especially true of heavy items.

2.)  Everyday Groceries. Groceries are cheaper in stores because of the prevalence of coupons, sales and weekly markdowns.

3.)  Pets, the biggest disadvantage of buying online is that you don’t get to meet the pet you want to buy face-to-face and shipping charges often add to the price.

Outsourcing IT Security

     An organization should outsource IT security to minimize cost or expenses. Some of the issues involved when you turnover IT security to an outside organization are: (1.)Total dependence/exit barriers wherein the complete reliance of an organization has on an outsourcing firm and the problems arise when the outsourcing relationship ends; (2.) Physical information system security concerns the organization’s loss of control over physical security, since security is now the responsibility of the outsourcing firm. By outsourcing, the organization gives up control over physical access to its system, location of the system, and the frequency and location of the system backups; (3.) Legal consequences involve the lack of fiduciary relationship between the organization and the outsourcing firm and the increase in liability that may arise during the creation of an outsourcing relationship; (4.) Logical information security/confidentiality/privacy risks take into account the loss of confidentiality and privacy organization experiences when it hires an outsourcing firm; (5.) human resource issues result from the change in employee skill sets that an organization experiences when it chooses to outsource and the possible negative consequences caused by this shift in employee skill sets.

    When outsourcing, some of the stipulations include in a service level agreement with an IT security outsourcer to ensure that it did not exploit the openness of company’s systems and steal the strategic and sensitive information are: 1.) Data security program which maintain a comprehensive program with appropriate safeguards, procedures and controls for the protection of customer data. 2.) Legal/Regulatory compliance which comply with all existing and future data privacy and security laws applicable to the services. 3.) Customer policies  - To comply with the customer’s written policies and procedures relating to the data privacy and security, as they may evolve and change over time. 4.) Industry standards – To comply with the standards and practices as they evolve and change over time. 5.) Location of customer data which process, store and transmit customer data only in jurisdiction authorized by the customer. Lastly, 6.) Access/ Use of customer data – To use customer data solely to provide the services under the agreement and limit access to customer data to supplier personnel and subcontractors on a “need to know” basis.