BUSTED2.0*

Edito

Et oui un et demi après la première version de Busted voici la deuxième ! ! !

Pourquoiun an de repos ?
Et bien pendant j'ai été privé de ma drogue ! Je parle évidemment de mon PC.
J'ai parcouru les routes à vendre des logiciels aux grandes surfaces pour l'un des plus grands éditeurs français.
Me revoici au chômage, je vais pouvoir me remettre à mes activités préférées.
Pour info : les magasins ont entre 25% et 45% de remise sur les softs que vous achetez. Ces % sont en fonction de l'éditeur et du magasin. Les ordinateurs sont margés de 0 à 5%. Les périphériques (imprimantes, modems) sontmargés entre 20 et 30 points.


Plusieurs types de protections vont arriver dans les linéaires. Les protections Softs ditent à la COMMANDOS vont se démocratiser. Mais des protections plus intelligentes sont à venir. On m'a parlé d'une protection qui changerait tous les X CDS. Ceci afin qu'un patch ne soit utilisable puisqu'on aura pas tous le même cd !
EIDOS, Virgin, Microsoft, GT interactive, Ubi soft, Guillemot, nous prépare des trucs sympas. Rien à craindre pour l'instant de société comme BYSEX (sybex), Micro Achier (micro application), Toute La Connerie (TLC-Edusoft). Ils ne vont pas protéger des cds daubés qui pourrissent les disques durs de leurs clients. Au fait, si vous voulez rire essayer d'appeler les SAV HOTLINE de toutes les sociétés et vous verrez qu'on se fout vraiment de votre gueule (répondeur, 08).

Ils savent qu'on les crackeras mais ils pensent ralentir la diffusion voire même la stopper pour beaucoup de Lamers. C'est clair ça va augmenter le coût de fabrication des CDS mais ils vont vite si retrouver. Un jeu acheté= plus de 20 copies en circulation.

Depuis que les graveurs se sont démocratisés et l'arrivée du net la scène a évolué de façon significative. Fini mes vieux BBS, mes CC, boxes C'était la bonne époque comme on aime à dire avec quelques anciens « elites  » .
Tout le monde peut graver facilement de l'audio, psx et cd-rom. On trouve des copies à 30 frs ! C'est tellement facile que ca n'a plus de prix. Les résaux d'échange sont morts. Les magasines interdisent les annonces d'échanges ou de vente. Qui se souvient des annonces du regrétté TILT ?
On trouvait des annonces du type : éch, vds news pc et amiga. Tout ca c'est fini et maintenant il nous reste que le net pour se contacter (channel IRC warez-france). Mais ca peut etre dangereux comme vous pourrez le constater dans les textes ci-dessous.
Les plus gros de la scène se sont fait coincer. D'autres ont repris et même certains se sont fait serrer de nouveau.

De toute façon, l'arrivée des protections va faire repartir la scène. Les réseaux vont se réorganiser car il y du business à la clé. Merci au SELL.

Ne croyez pas que c'est fini au contraire !

We will be back.

MACROBIO/PIRACY.FR MACROBIO@freemail.org.mk


P.S. : cette version a moins de faute d'orthographe, j'ai eu le temps de la passer à la moulinette. Merci à ceux qui ont essayé de me donner des cours d'orthographe.

DISCLAIMER

SOMMAIRE

1 - Comment la scène est-elle organisée ?
2 - De bonnes raisons de vendre des CDS ?
3 - Les protections
4 - Prix des CDS : Ne pas casser les prix
5 - Comment faire un CD ?
6 - Les inconvénients des WAREZ
7 - Comment Eviter le BUST ?
8 - Les Busts français
9 - Petit lexique
10 -Textes relatifs aux BUSTS


************************************
***Comment la scène est organisée ?***
************************************

ORGANIGRAMME CLASSIQUE :

UN GROUPE DE WAREZ : réalise un crack et le diffuse sur les sites. Le groupe peut vendre un accès sur son site ou BBS.
Un elite (souvent Courrier d'un groupe de warez) : récupère les 0 days et tout ce qui tombe pour faire des cds ou dat. Il vend des abos aux grossistes.
Un Grossiste : il achète à l'elite et revend à des clients détaillants
Le Petit vendeur : vend dans son entourage à des clients finaux.

Biensur il peut y avoir plusieurs Grossistes avant le petit vendeur.

Organisation d'un groupe de Warez :
Un supplier : il est chargé de fournir les nouveautés dès leur sortie en magasin voire même avant s'il arrive à toucher des INSIDES (fuites d'un editeur de logiciel)
Un cracker : il casse la protection du logiciel. Il est en général rémunéré.
Des courriers : ils diffusent le plus rapidement possible et sur le maximum de site possible.

Les sources d'approvisionnement :
- Les magasins : La Fnac (le plus facile), Auchan, Cora
-Sites FTP & BBS  : les câblés et les gros débits (écoles, entreprises, administration).
- Les abos DAT ou CDS (Je vous conseille des appros à l'étranger : Belgique, Hollande)

Après on peut jouer le Grossiste et vendre tout en Zip, Où comme beaucoup retravailler la matière brute pour
en faire un produit à destination du client final (les gros GAMERS LAMERS).
Cela évite de faire de la HOTLINE"Putain, i marche pas ton CD, y'a pas de menu!"
"Comment on fait avec ZIP ?"...

C'est à peu près la même organisation que pour les réseaux de drogue. Mais, là,il n'y a pas de
boutonneux à lunette. On ne plaisante pas avec ceux qui parlent. OMERTA : la loi du silence.
En Russie ou en Asie, les deux milieux sont reliés. La mafia contrôle la reproduction et la vente des cds.
J'ai même vu en Thaïlande des magasins avec des listes affichées aux murs. Tu choisis ta liste et on te grave dans le quart d'heure s'il n'est pas en stock. On trouve aussi des CDS PLANSTATION (ce n'est pas des playstations !) qui sont des cds pressés en NTSC of course !



****************************************
***De bonnes raisons de vendre des CDS ?***
****************************************

- Arrondir les fins de mois surtout pour les étudiants et chômeurs
- Egalité = on n'a pas tous les moyens d'acheter les originaux
- Cela permet d'essayer les jeux plus en profondeurs (ils se foutent de notre gueule
avec les versions DEMOS ou les revus qui sont graissées )
- Les cds coûtent 10 frs à fabriquer : on se fout de notre gueule !

Sybex, Micro application, Schuster (et même MicrosoftPress!!) sont pour le piratage.
"Ca fait vendre, dépêchez-vous de diffuser les versions 98, j'ai des primes sur les nouveautés"
me dit un représentant.



****************************************
***Les protections***
****************************************

(voir l'Edito)

Depuis 1996tous les jeux sont sur Cd. Beaucoup d'éditeur ne protègent pas leur jeux.
Il suffit de les ZIPPER et that's all. Mais de plus en plus, les jeux font des tests pour
voir si le CD est dans le lecteur ! Il faut donc faire sauter ce teste.
Certains jeux ont même des protections dignes du temps de l'Amiga avec des roues codées
ou encore questions à la con "3ème mot de la page 42".

La taille des vidéos de certains jeux poussent aussi les groupes à RIPPER (enlever) les vidéos
ceci afin de diminuer la taille des jeux.

Un jeux supérieur à 100 ZIP de 1.44 n'est pas bien vu par la scène.

Les jeux psx de cette fin d'année seront aussi protégés : le fête est fini.

N°3 : un grand article sur les SECUROM et LASERCHECK et autres


****************************************
***Prix des CDS : Ne pas casser les prix***
****************************************

De plus en plus de jeunes boutonneux viennent casser le business en vendant 100 Frs le CD !

Les risques étant importants :
250 frs une compile de jeux
150 frs un single
400 frs une compile d'utilitaire Windows
350 Frs compile à la carte (à partir de 3 CDS MAXI sinon c'est la mort ! )

****************************************
***Comment faire un CD ?***
****************************************

- Faire un Cd avec des .ZIP extractibles (la dernière version de WINZIP à encore simplifier la procédure)
- Le faire tester par 2 ou 3 personnes (faire remplir feuilles de test).
- Finaliser le Cd par un menu et un texte avec les éventuels problèmes rencontrés (on trouve plusieurs menus facilement reconfigurable : le nôtre par exemple)
- Taille installée des softs, dater + indexage + titre



****************************************
***Les inconvénients des WAREZ***
****************************************

- Pas de notice
- Les vidéos ont disparues
- Pas de sons ou pas les musiques
- Ca peut planter à un certain niveau = PAS DE GARANTIE


****************************************
***Comment Eviter le BUST ?***
****************************************

Pas connu, limiter les clients (je sais difficile quand on veut vendre)
Pas de graveur (difficile de résister)
Pas de stock chez soi
Eviter les sans-fils (tous les flics ont des scanners)
Préférer les GSM (plus dur à écouter : quoique !)
Crypté vos mails (pgp ou faites en un vous-même)
Listes de clients et contacts (au pire cryptées les avec un soft puissant)
Vendre sur IRC ou minitel (RTEL) : les V vous surveillent...
Rester des artisans sinon c'est le bust assuré
Eviter de faire le malin sur IRC 

Réfléchissez un peu...ca vaut le coup !!!


****************************************
***Les Busts français***
****************************************

Ou sont passé les Piratel, Mr Wil ? A priori ils sont à l'ombre. La récidive ca aide pas 
Ils vendaient un peu trops. Wil m'avait parlé de 600 clients !
Le problème est qu'ils se connaissaient tous entre eux. Et si un tombe tout le monde tombe.

Ca me rappelle le cas d'un gros qui vivait dans le nord. Il fournissait en DAT les plus gros francais.
Je me fournissais chez un de ceux-ci. Il est tombé et a entrainé une vingtaine de personnes avec lui.

C'est pourquoi un abo à l'étranger vous protège un peu plus.

De nombreux Busts ont été effectués dans le Milieu des CD-dealers. Je vous conseille de
connaître le moins de personnes possibles et d'être très discret : ceci pour votre survie.
Une balance : c'est vite arrivée...

Ca balance partout et la BSA est à l'affût des dealers de CD.
J'ai reçu une liste de busts dernièrement volée à la BSA. Ils recherchent
surtout les gros dealers et s'attaquent en premier aux BBS, et à ceux qui
fournissent la Warez.
L'opération "CYBERSTRIKE" restera à toujours le + gros bust de l'histoire où
les gros bonnets sont tombés : le FBI a coordonné une opération dans les
Etats des States : Down Of Eternity, RAZOR1911 WHQ, Towers of Sorcery....all
down. Et ce n'est que le début...

Ceux qui ont été bustés, ont quitté la scène ou la regarde de très loin. D'autres plus inconscient,
ont repris l'activité avec leurs mois sursis au cul !
Ils sont très discrets.
Les enjeux financiers sont tellement importants qu'ils sont vite remplacés. Couper une tête,
trois bras repoussent. C'est une guerre sans fin.
La seule solution : c'est une baisse de prix important. C'est la seule façon de tuer le piratage.
Quel étudiant peut se payer l'Office à 890 frs ?

A partir d'un certain niveau vous pouvez commencer la parano : retournez-vous, ils sont derrières vous !


****************************************
***Comment passer dans la légalité ?***
****************************************

-Testeur de jeux ou Hotliners : les sociétés sont basées à Paris, Lyon et Bordeaux (Kalisto)
-Service de gravage de disque dur
-Faire du négoce de cd-vierge (Traxdata rules !)
-Devenir éditeur de soft : on a tous des idées ! Non ?
- Commerciale GMS : faire de la voiture et compter des boites ca vous dit ?
- Monter un magasin en Thaïlande 



************************************
***Petit lexique***
************************************

La Warez est un terme générique qui désigne les logiciels piratés.
Gamez : les jeux piratés
Bust : une arrestation


****************************************************************************************

Numéro 3  pour la fin d'année si je suis pas en prison 

(totalement nouveau).

(prévus : la scène N64 et PSX par KbL, Le BSA de A-Z, les protections CDR, cours de crack Final fantaisie 7 et commandos, crypto mini + des interviews)

Nous recrutons toute personne susceptible de nous aider : cracker, coder, gfx, text, webmasters, IRC op, courriers

D'avance merci pour vos collaborations.

MACROBIO / PIRACY.FR'98

Cybersphère fait le point sur les hackers, crackers, et autres pirates de l'informatique.

Introduction. Par Cyril Fiévet.
Historique du hackisme. Par Cyril Fiévet.
La lutte contre le piratage logiciel : BSA et SPA. Par Jean-Christophe Thomas
Les enquêtes de la PJ : interview du Commissaire Daniel Padoin (SEFTI). Par Cyril Fiévet.
L'activisme - la liberté électronique. Par Jean-Christophe Thomas.



************

BSA Announces Internet Presence

Cyberstrike

Software Piracy

by: Jason Brochu



Software piracy is the illegal copying of computer software. It is also the computer industry's worst problem. An example of pirating is copying one's office software to bring home in order to finish up work. Most license agreements do not allow one to bring home a copy of their office software while some software companies allow their buyers to do so. Another example of illegal copying of software would include copying software for another person to use.

The different ways of pirating can be broken down into five basic ways of pirating. These include counterfeiting, softlifting, hard-disk loading, bulletin-board piracy, and software rental. Counterfeiting is duplicating and selling unauthorized copies of software in such a manner as to try to pass off the illegal copy as if it were a legitimate copy produced by or authorized by the publisher. Softlifting is the purchasing of a single licensed copy of software and loading it on several machines, contrary to the terms of the license agreement. This includes sharing software with friends and co-workers. Hard-disk loading is selling computers pre-loaded with illegal software. Bulletin-board piracy is putting software on a bulletin-board service for anyone to copy or copying software from a bulletin-board service which is not shareware or freeware. Software rental is the renting of software for
temporary use. These are the five main ways in which people pirate software.

An overview of software protection techniques is needed to understand the term "software law". Software law is actually a combination of several well-established fields of law, all of which affect the software industry. There are four main ways in which a company can protect their software. These four different methods include using trade secrets, copyright protection, patents, and trademarks.

Trade secrets are used mainly for unpublished works and source code. This nondisclosure agreement is a contract that obligates the person signing it to keep the project they are working on as a secret. Trade secret is a prime example of your having to rely on yourself if you want solid legal protection.

Copyright protection protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. This would include the structure and content of a program. Some common misconceptions about copyright laws include:

1) Forget everything you've heard about sending yourself copies of your program in sealed envelopes. While it's always nice to receive mail, sending yourself programs will not provide copyright protection.

2) A pirate cannot circumvent your copyright by changing a few lines in your program. The courts will examine the whole program and find infringement if significant copying has occurred or, perhaps, if the structure and logic of the program as a whole has been "borrowed".

3) Do not put the following symbols on your program unless you know what they mean: reg, TM, PAT., Patented. They have nothing to do with copyright.

4) Names of companies, names of programs, and book titles cannot be copyrighted. However, they very likely can be protected in other ways, including trademark protection and statutory laws against unfair competition.

A patent protects the idea itself. There are two major drawbacks to patents. The drawbacks are that they take a lot of money and that they take a lot of time, usually two or more years. One should also realize that the process is complicated and technical as well. The Patent Office has taken the position of granting patents "unwillingly", which simply means that one must prove their case in order to get a patent. Computer games are rarely patent protected because the shelf life for a game is up to six months, and that's if you're lucky. By the time the patent is finally received, the product has already been taken off of the shelf. On the other hand, if the design of a particular approach to basic programming, because of its innovative nature, holds the premise for widespread use once the concept become know, one should explore the possibility of obtaining a patent on it.

Trademark laws protect the name of the software, not the software itself. It may be that protecting a name from being used by others is more valuable than other protection. Some examples include: "Lotus 1-2-3", "Apple", "D-BASE", "Wordperfect", and many others.

The best approach for protection is to have a combination of trade secret protection, copyright laws, and trademark laws for the product being produced because these are cheap, effective, and fast ways of protecting a software product from being pirated.

To find out more about software protection techniques one can visit legal care at Island Graphics Click on Legal Care for your Software. This will take you to Legal Care for your Software's home page. This contains a step-by-step legal guide for computer sofrtware writers, programmers, and publishers. It also talks about a book called Legal Care for your Software. The fifth edition is now completely revised and remains the software industry's definitive book explaining software protection law. It shows how to take advantage of it, and offers practical advice for writers and publishers of computer software. It includes tear-out contracts and forms ready to be used or modified.

While computer software is a new form of intellectual property, it is covered under the same provisions of the copyright laws that protect music, books, and film from unauthorized distribution. Like the more traditional media, infringement of copyright law carries with it stiff penalties. All software comes with a license which specifically states the terms and conditions under which the software may be legally used. It is important to read and understand the license accompanying the program to ensure that you have sufficient legal copies of the software for your organization's needs.

Unauthorized duplication of software is a Federal offense that can subject one to not only a civil suit for damages, attorney's fees, and other relief, but criminal liability as well, including fines and jail terms up to five years. The primary legal weapon against software piracy is Federal copyright law. The owner of copyright has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize the reproduction
of the copyright work in copies, prepare derivative works based upon the copyrights works, distribute copies of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer or ownership, or by rental, lease or lending. Anyone who violates any of the exclusive
rights of the copyright owner is an infringer of the copyright or right of the author, as the case may be. Any person who infringes a copyright willfully and for purposes of commercial advantages or private financial gain shall be punished. When any person is convicted of any violation the court in its judgment of conviction shall order the forfeiture and destruction of all infringing copies and all implements, devices, or equipment used in the manufacture of such infringing copies. Any person who, with fraudulent intent, places on any article a notice of copyright or words of the same purport that such person knows to be false, or who, with fraudulent intent, publicly distributes or imports for public distribution any article bearing such notice or words that such person
knows to be false, shall be fined not more than $2,500. Any person who, with fraudulent intent, removes or alters any notice of copyright appearing on a copy of a copyrighted work shall be fined not more than $2,500. Any person who commits an offense shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution, during any 180 day period, of at least 10 copies of 1 or more copyrighted works, with a retail value of more than $2,500.

Below is a picture is of the certificate of authenticity which came with Microsoft's Windows 95 package. The Certificate of Authenticity is an assurance that the software that the customer has purchased with their computer system is legally licensed from Microsoft Corporation. It also states that if the consumer has any concerns about the legitimacy of the Certificate of Authenticity or the software they have received, to call the Microsoft Piracy Hotline at 1-800-RULEGIT or contact a local Microsoft subsidiary.

Microsoft's home page contains information on the company itself. It contains information on its products, support, developers information, partners and solutions, their internet resource center, their internet explorer, and the Microsoft Network.

Microsoft's Windows 95 package also came with a license agreement for the end user. The license agreement reads, This Microsoft End-User License Agreement (EULA) is a legal agreement between you and Microsoft Corporation for the Microsoft product identified above, which includes computer software and associated media and printed materials, and may include "online"
or electronic documentation. By installing, copying, or otherwise using the Software Product, you agree to be bound by the terms of the EULA. If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, promptly return the unused Software Product to the place from which you obtained it for a full refund. The license goes on to say, The Software Product is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. The Software Product is licensed, not sold.
The license grants the user the right to install and use one copy of the Software Product on a single computer. If the Software Product includes functionalities that enables your single computer to act as a network server, any number of computers or workstations may access or otherwise utilize the basic network services of that server. To install the Software Product on other computers you must acquire and dedicate a license for each separate computer on which the Software Product is installed or run from. A license for the Software Product may not be shared or used concurrently on different computers. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software Product, except and only to the extent that such activity is expressly permitted by applicable law notwithstanding this limitation. The Software Product is licensed as a single product. Its component parts may
not be separated for use on more than one computer. You may not rent or lease the Software Product. Without prejudice to any other rights, Microsoft may terminate this EULA if you fail to comply with the terms and conditions of this EULA. In such event,
you must destroy all copies of the Software Product and all of its component parts. The license ends by saying, All title and copyrights in and to the Software Product (including but not limited to any images, photographs, animations, video, audio, music, text, and "applets," incorporated into the Software Product), the accompanying printed materials, and any copies of the Software Product, are owned by Microsoft or its suppliers. The Software Product is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Therefore, you must treat the Software Product like any other copyrighted material except that you may either make one copy of the Software Product solely for backup or archival purposes, or install the Software Product on a single computer provided you keep the original solely for backup or archival purposes. You may not copy the printed materials accompanying the
Software Product.

The software industry losses millions of dollars each year in projected sales because of pirates. In 1993 it has been estimated that the software industry had lost $1.5 billion in the United States alone to software pirating. It has also been estimated that 40% of the software used in the United States is illegal. By losing the potential sales the industry also loses out on potential profits. By not knowing the users of pirated software they also lose the opportunity to cross-sell their other products, market upgrades, and they don't receive suggestions from pirates. There are three main ways in which legal users are effected by pirates. These are that it limits research and development funds of companies, drives retail prices on software up, and there is also a decline in software
production.

Besides the losses felt in the United States, there is much more of a problem with pirates overseas. Worldwide losses from pirated business software was $12 billion in 1993. Overseas, six of every seven software users utilize pirated software. Some countries provide no copyright protection at all for software. They are hostile towards enforcement because software is primarily a United States asset. One case in Germany was that there was a company called Microsoft OEM which copied Microsoft's Windows and DOS disks and sold them to consumers. Over 200,000 disks were recovered after a raid and the company settled for $200,000.

There was another case involving computer piracy which was printed in the New York Times, February 20, 1996. The headlines read, "Copyright Pirates Prosper In China Despite Promises". The author was talking to a Mr. Wang who is a pirate, and when asked about his business Mr. Wang replied, "Pirating is not so bad, if it means selling compact disks at prices ordinary Chinese can afford, like $1. Exports made up most of the five million disks copied at the Cai Ling Audio and Video Company, where Mr. Wang is the chairman and general manager. A year after a landmark agreement between the United States and China promised to fight intellectual property violations and pirates like Mr. Wang aggressively, factories like his in Guangdong Province are still
flouting enforcement efforts. In the meantime, 220 million cassette tapes and 45 million CD's, worth a total of $250 million, were
copied illegally in 1995. Although a few compact disk companies were finally suspended by Chinese Government officials last
year, not one has been prosecuted, nor has a business license been revoked. In fact, it is increasingly evident that pirates like Mr.
Wang are protected by powerful forces, military, secret police, and organized crime, which the central Government has failed, or
simply declined, to rein in. One piece of evidence is a CD-ROM compiling Windows 95, OS/2, and other computer software on
a single disk, that is widely sold for $2.50 in Shenzhen. During the conversation with Mr. Wang, he lost his composure when
asked about the federation's representatives. He said, "Those people are snakes!". He goes on to say, "I tried to help them when
they first approached me, even arranging a lunch with his friends in the local government to introduce them. I help them, and what
do they do?", he said, "they send people here undercover to buy CD's to see what we are making! They are spying". Mr. Wang
admitted that what he had sold the federation's buyers was pirated, and said he understood that it was against the law. And he did
not seem sheepish about displaying his closeness to local officials whom he invited for lunch. But he seemed to be most offended
by what he saw as a violation of a code of honor. Mr. Wang goes on to say, "They want to protect intellectual property rights. I
have no problem with that. But it is wrong for them to spy". I would ask Mr. Wang, "Isn't wrong to break the law to begin with
and there would not be a reason to spy if you did not break this law?". Below is a picture which is found in the New York Times
which displays the destruction of the pirated materials.



An article in Computerworld read, "Microsoft tries to quash European software piracy". Saying it is tired of losing money to
European software counterfeiters, Microsoft Corp. recently kicked off a multinational campaign to fight the growing crime of
software piracy. Microsoft's European president Bernard Vergnes said the company is committed to cracking down on
counterfeiting operations that have spread from Asia into Europe's established software markets. There is $5 billion in Europe not
being made by the software industry because of counterfeiting. Vergnes also went on to say that a number of new organizations
have begun to sell high-quality imitations of Microsoft's DOS and Windows programs with the Microsoft label, but without a
license. Microsoft hopes to curb the counterfeiting trend by heightening awareness of local and international enforcement
authorities; lobbying governments to classify software violations as copyright infringement; educating users about counterfeit
software and the benefits of buying original programs; and taking legal action against know violators.

Below is a graph which shows the losses of the industry over the years of 1992 and 1993 all over the world.


The Software Publishers Association (SPA) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) are the two major organizations which
fight against software piracy. The SPA is the leading international trade association for the personal computer software industry. It
is also the largest international network of software professionals representing over 90% of the US packaged software industry.
The SPA and its members are dedicated to serving the needs of the software publishing community, in addition to addressing
relevant issues and providing solutions to specific industry concerns. The SPA collected $2.7 million worldwide and the BSA
collected more than $4 million in North America alone from companies last year. The SPA initiated action against 447
organization in 1994. The SPA reports that the vast majority of anti-piracy cases are initiated by hot-line calls from current or
former employees. Of these, 80% or more are from former employees. The SPA reports that almost 30 times a day their
anti-piracy hot lines ring up a new tip. As a part of its ongoing mission to promote compliance with software license agreements,
the SPA has developed an eight point program for ensuring software compliance.

One can reach the Software Publishers Association by clicking here. The SPA offers information on subjects such as Membership
Benefits and Information, SPA Europe, Anti-Piracy, and the Certified Software Manager Courses.

One can reach the Business Software Alliance by clicking here. The BSA contains information on topics such as the 1994 piracy
statistics, information about the organzation, and wordwide anti-piracy hotlines.

The SPA has come up with an eight point program which allows for companies to ensure software compliance with the law. This
program includes appointing a software manager, implementing a software code of ethics, have procedures for acquiring and
registering software, establishing and maintaining a software log, conducting periodic audits, establishing an employee education
program, maintaining a library of software licenses, and finally to enjoy the benefits of compliance.

The software manager is responsible for implementing all aspects of software policy, maintenance of detailed records and
supervision of compliance. The importance of assigning a specific person to this task must be emphasized. To ensure a
comprehensive, uniformly administered program, employees should have access to a single individual.

Implementing a software code of ethics involves the organization having its employees sign a Software Code of Ethics agreement.
It should be made a condition of employment and should be documented as such in employee handbooks and organization hiring
policies. Employees should also be educated about this code of ethics.

The next topic is to establish procedures for acquiring and registering software. There are eight steps to this process.

1) Needs Assessment: Software purchasing decisions should be assessed like any other organization investment. The organization
defines its software requirements, supervisors approve the requirements, and software packages are evaluated to determine which
is best for the organization.

2) Planning and Budgeting: Software purchases must be budgeted. New software must be budgeted in when purchasing a new
pc. Software purchases can equal 50% or more of the cost of the computer.

3) Purchasing: It is essential that the purchasing of software can be a standard procedure just like the acquisition of other critical
assets. All software purchases should proceed through the organization's normal purchasing channels.

4) Registration: The software manager should complete registration cards for all software as it is purchased. Returning these
promptly to the publisher ensures that the organization will receive product support and timely product announcements.

5) Storage and Security: The software manager should deliver new disks and manuals directly to the individual user. After
installing the software for the user, the software manager should keep the original disks in a separate, secured, storage area.

6) Documentation: Original manuals, tutorials and other user-oriented documentation should reside with the software user. This
encourages employees to purchase the software.

7) Home Computers: Generally, employees should not be allowed to bring software from home and load it on organization's
computers because of the risk this poses. An organization's computers are important assets and risks to assets should be
minimized. To ensure that all software used in an organization is both legal and virus-free, software should be purchased and
installed through the organization's established software acquisition process only. Organization-owned software cannot be taken
home and loaded onto employee's home computers if it also resides on the organization's computer. If the employee is to use
software at home, the organization should purchase a separate package and record it as an organizational asset. However, there
are some exceptions, some software companies provide in their license agreements that home use is permitted under certain
circumstances.

8) Shareware: Shareware is copyrighted software that is freely distributed through bulletin boards and on-line systems. Shareware
applications should be considered as part of an audit and shareware authors should be paid for their efforts.

The next main point is to establish and maintain a software log. The software manager should maintain a log of all software
purchases by the organization. The software log should note the location of each software package and the computer on which it
was installed.

The software manager should also conduct periodic audits. The biggest benefit of the audit is that it allows to determine
compliance with the various aspects of the organization's software policy.

Another point is to establish an employee education program. To ensure that the software compliance program is successful, it
should be supported by an organization-wide education program, one that targets its message to all employees from senior
managers to support staff.

The next step is to maintain a library of software licenses. The software manager should not only become familiar with the license
agreement of the software products used by the organization, but should also be responsible for maintaining a library of product
licenses.

The final step is to enjoy the benefits of software license compliance. With original computer software, users receive full
documentation, technical support and upgrade notifications. The user will also be investing in the quality assurance and reliability of
the product.

Today there are many ways in which companies are trying to beat pirates. Copy protection and license management are technical
ways of protecting software. They are practical responses to a technical problem, software piracy. One of the new technologies
which does this is a program known as network license manager which roams a network and keeps track of programs in use.
When a user attempts to use more programs than they paid for this program makes them wait until a copy becomes free. Another
technique is known as mode locking. This is that a program is encouraged to be copied and freely distributed but the program
runs only in demo mode and if a person wants the full copy of the program they can call the company and get a password to do
so with a phone call and money. A new product from Link's is CopyLock II which makes software able to distinguish between
seemingly identical computers, therefore only one computer can have the software. Once protected, the program or data cannot
be copied by software utilities or hardware devices. SoftLock is another product out on the market today which encourages users
to freely pass software person to person. SoftLock carries a password so that demo copies are passed on and that the software
will only work on the system that the product was purchased for. Another new technology is the CD-ROM. Software companies,
mostly gaming companies, can now sell their products on CD-ROM and require the user to have the CD in their drive while using
the purchased software. This in turn allows only one copy of the program to be in use at one time. While the CD technology is
new and preventing software piracy, it only really effective in the gaming industry because on most application packages sold the
CD is not required to run the program and therefore people can still copy the software. It has been said that copy protection helps
keep honest people honest by removing the temptation to copy.

Two companies which specialize in protecting against piracy can be found at:

Data Encryption Systems

SoftCop International Inc.

Data Encryption Systems is a company which specializes in the encryption of data. SoftCop offers software publishers a one-stop
solution for user registration, secure distribution and authorization (anti-piracy).

There are two main reasons why pirating is an issue. The first is because software companies have to allow the buyer to make
backup copies of the purchased software. These backup copies therefore become pirated copies when a person gives their
copies away to another person (or sells them) instead of keeping the backup copies for their own use. The second reason why
pirating is an issue is because everyone does it and nobody thinks of it as a crime. Many people and companies have been fined
thousands of dollars and even in some cases have served jail time for pirating. Software pirating is a crime and everyone should
think of it as being a crime. I feel the only way that there will no longer be software piracy is when law enforcement plays a bigger
role, software companies work together and find a strategy to beat pirates, and when the public is finally educated about software
piracy and what it is doing to the software industry.

A site which contains a paper by Gary McGath which is about Pirates and Property Rights. It talks about software piracy and
how it has become a household word and a household crime. The paper also goes into a way of defense against software piracy.
This is a must read..

If there are any questions or comments I can be reached at kppt@maristb.marist.edu.

Works Cited



Cunningham, Cara. "Microsoft tries to quash European software piracy." Computerworld 25 April 1994: 41.

SYBEX Inc., "Legal Care for Your Software." Internet

Link's Security Products, "Cop's Copy Lock II" Internet

Link's Security Products, "SoftLock" Internet

Software Publishers Association. Certified Software Manager. Washington, DC: 1994

Faison, Seth, "Copyright Pirates Prosper In China Despite Promises." New York Times 20 February 1996: A1.

Givon, Moshe, Vihajan Mahajan, and Eitan Muller, "Software Piracy: Estimation of Lost Sales and the Impact on Software
Diffusion" Internet

Alster, Norm, "Copy Cops." PC-Week

Marshall, Patrick, "Software Piracy." CQ Researcher 21 May 1993.

McGarth, Gary, "Pirates and Property Rights." Internet

SoftCop International Inc., "SoftCop" Internet

Software Publishers Association. Internet

Business Software Alliance. Internet

Island Graphics, "Legal Care for your Software." Internet


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