🚀 go-pugleaf

Richard_Robb@mindlink.bc.ca (Richard Robb) writes:

>Yes, we've all been screwed so often by the computer hardware/software
>industries that we justifiably feel some satisfaction if we can recoup our
>losses by sharing software that has been legally purchased.

>But: aren't you worried that the virii are usually spread by piratii?

Richard,

You raise a good point about being taken advantage of by software/hardware
companies.  However, your second point is a popular myth that needs to be
refuted.  Yes, the pirating underworld does (every so often) suffer from a
virus infected program, but the penalties in the pirate community are
severe for those distributing it.  Case in point:  Pete Pirate uploads DOS
6.0 Beta to a Pirate BBS, but just before he u/l's it he infects it with
the whale virus.  Assuming he can encrypt the virus (unfortunately quite
easy) the program is now infected.  Bob Buccanner sits at home and says,
Wow! Dos 6.0 - and he d/l's it.  When Bob's computer crashes, he posts a
note to the sysop at the pirate BBS.  The sysop summarily kicks Pete off
his system.  Pirate Sysops are often well connected, and Pete finds
himself unable to connect to any BBS in his area.  With the fact that good
virus detection software available everywhere, and the fact that no Pirate
has all that many Pirating friends to throw away, Pirated programs are
generally safe.  Hey, if you play the game you take the risk :-).  I don't
need to tell you that people upload infected shareware too!

Feel free to respond,

Dave

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|| dlanglan@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu - University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign  ||
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