[thelist] cheap software spam - how do they do it?

Max Schwanekamp lists at neptunewebworks.com
Sun Mar 12 23:42:22 CST 2006


Rich Points wrote:
> Like many of you I've been spammed a million times over the years with 
> advertisements for cheap name brand software.  Well the time has come 
> for me to buy some software and I'm checking these places out and 
> wondering how they offer such cheap prices.  I'm looking at Adobe Suite 
> which retails for $1,200 and they are offering it for $150.

It's a cracked pirated copy, plain and simple.  Whether or not you agree 
with Adobe's business practices, they (or at least their programmers) do 
not deserve to have their work distributed illegally.  Not to mention, 
for all you know they may send some nasty keylogger or pr0nnish malware 
to install along with the software you're "buying"; they have no 
responsibility and as Ken said, you have no recourse.

$1200 is a lot for a commercial "blob of bits" but consider what your 
might tools cost in another business.  If you were an auto mechanic, for 
example, would you feel good about buying stolen Makita tools from 
smugglers based in a former Soviet republic?

-- 
Max Schwanekamp
http://www.neptunewebworks.com/



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