Please crack this software
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I was recently asked by a company to "crack" the licencing module for a popular laundry management system written in .net. Now, my first response was to decline and challenge the request to get permission from the owners of the software to do so (the request came bundled with some long fandangled justification and legitimate business reasons) Anyhow, the challenge worked and it was, in fact, a request to do something illegal. I declined. However... thinking on it some more, is simply declining enough? This company will probably just approach some other programmer and learn to disguise the request more carefully... Do i have an ethical/legal obligation/responsibility to report this matter to: a) the authorities b) the software owners c) other ? Somehow keeping quiet about it just feels weird (you know, evil reigns 'cos good men do nothing- that sort of thing). This is a first for me, so while i reason this one out, it'd be good to get a feel for what the programmer society reasons... I know, i'd feel pretty :mad: if someone started stealing my salary.
<>< :: have the courage to use your own reason
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I was recently asked by a company to "crack" the licencing module for a popular laundry management system written in .net. Now, my first response was to decline and challenge the request to get permission from the owners of the software to do so (the request came bundled with some long fandangled justification and legitimate business reasons) Anyhow, the challenge worked and it was, in fact, a request to do something illegal. I declined. However... thinking on it some more, is simply declining enough? This company will probably just approach some other programmer and learn to disguise the request more carefully... Do i have an ethical/legal obligation/responsibility to report this matter to: a) the authorities b) the software owners c) other ? Somehow keeping quiet about it just feels weird (you know, evil reigns 'cos good men do nothing- that sort of thing). This is a first for me, so while i reason this one out, it'd be good to get a feel for what the programmer society reasons... I know, i'd feel pretty :mad: if someone started stealing my salary.
<>< :: have the courage to use your own reason
Talk to the villagers - there's going to be a lynching. I admire your stance - you did the right thing, and it's time to continue doing the right thing, contact the authorities and the responsible software company. Be up front with the company that challenged you to crack the software, and let them know the course of action you are going to follow. Maybe then they'll think twice about being a bunch of scum sucking, lowdown, bottom feeding thieves.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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I was recently asked by a company to "crack" the licencing module for a popular laundry management system written in .net. Now, my first response was to decline and challenge the request to get permission from the owners of the software to do so (the request came bundled with some long fandangled justification and legitimate business reasons) Anyhow, the challenge worked and it was, in fact, a request to do something illegal. I declined. However... thinking on it some more, is simply declining enough? This company will probably just approach some other programmer and learn to disguise the request more carefully... Do i have an ethical/legal obligation/responsibility to report this matter to: a) the authorities b) the software owners c) other ? Somehow keeping quiet about it just feels weird (you know, evil reigns 'cos good men do nothing- that sort of thing). This is a first for me, so while i reason this one out, it'd be good to get a feel for what the programmer society reasons... I know, i'd feel pretty :mad: if someone started stealing my salary.
<>< :: have the courage to use your own reason
Call the software piracy hotline. I believe the look into all legitimate claims. I don't imagine you have a legal responsibility but maybe an ethical one. Personally, I usually decline and offer custom development solutions as well as explain the legal ramifications of software piracy.
Need a C# Consultant? I'm available.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. -- Ernest Hemingway -
I was recently asked by a company to "crack" the licencing module for a popular laundry management system written in .net. Now, my first response was to decline and challenge the request to get permission from the owners of the software to do so (the request came bundled with some long fandangled justification and legitimate business reasons) Anyhow, the challenge worked and it was, in fact, a request to do something illegal. I declined. However... thinking on it some more, is simply declining enough? This company will probably just approach some other programmer and learn to disguise the request more carefully... Do i have an ethical/legal obligation/responsibility to report this matter to: a) the authorities b) the software owners c) other ? Somehow keeping quiet about it just feels weird (you know, evil reigns 'cos good men do nothing- that sort of thing). This is a first for me, so while i reason this one out, it'd be good to get a feel for what the programmer society reasons... I know, i'd feel pretty :mad: if someone started stealing my salary.
<>< :: have the courage to use your own reason
homegrown wrote:
Somehow keeping quiet about it just feels weird (you know, evil reigns 'cos good men do nothing- that sort of thing).
Somehow I don't think the authorities are going to be doing much just based on word-of-mouth that a company asked someone to crack software, however unspeakably horrible and evil that may be.
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Talk to the villagers - there's going to be a lynching. I admire your stance - you did the right thing, and it's time to continue doing the right thing, contact the authorities and the responsible software company. Be up front with the company that challenged you to crack the software, and let them know the course of action you are going to follow. Maybe then they'll think twice about being a bunch of scum sucking, lowdown, bottom feeding thieves.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
Ah this new gold power of reverting the Univoter's antics - kinda pleasing :)
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homegrown wrote:
Somehow keeping quiet about it just feels weird (you know, evil reigns 'cos good men do nothing- that sort of thing).
Somehow I don't think the authorities are going to be doing much just based on word-of-mouth that a company asked someone to crack software, however unspeakably horrible and evil that may be.
yeah. the authorities, agreed, ain't gonna help much in this case. only maybe if they asked me to crack the passcode that opened some cyber-safe that allowed them access to endless loot... but it's more like an email thread. not that having it in writing makes it any more or less "evil" :)
<>< :: have the courage to use your own reason
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Ah this new gold power of reverting the Univoter's antics - kinda pleasing :)
Now all you need is the swivel chair, and the white cat to stroke and world domination is yours. :-D
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Hmm, well this has happen to me a many of time. Being asked to crack is not really illegal yet, but doing the act is. The only thing you can do is decline the request. But, doing so will probably get you fired.
KISS "Keep It Simple, Stupid"
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Now all you need is the swivel chair, and the white cat to stroke and world domination is yours. :-D
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
I'm waiting until the prices of Secret Lairs come down - they're sky-high at the moment :)
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I'm waiting until the prices of Secret Lairs come down - they're sky-high at the moment :)
You can have one of my old hollowed out volcanoes. The rent is dirt cheap.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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You can have one of my old hollowed out volcanoes. The rent is dirt cheap.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
How much is it per square foot? I'm looking for new office space... Sorry, had to indulge my silliness :rolleyes:
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning." - Rick Cook "There is no wealth like knowledge, no poverty like ignorance." Ali ibn Abi Talib "Animadvertistine, ubicumque stes, fumum recta in faciem ferri?"
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How much is it per square foot? I'm looking for new office space... Sorry, had to indulge my silliness :rolleyes:
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning." - Rick Cook "There is no wealth like knowledge, no poverty like ignorance." Ali ibn Abi Talib "Animadvertistine, ubicumque stes, fumum recta in faciem ferri?"
£20 per square foot, or you could always tune up my evil death laser. Mind you, it only has one setting - extremely slow burn. It's extremely useful for giving me the time to explain my plains in detail to my victims - and giving them a chance to escape the ropes using a wide variety of handy tools. I like to think I'm one of the more victim friendly despots.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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i guess it is arguable wether asking someone to do something illegal is actually "ok" afterall, no harm done.... yet. sheesh... you really get asked to do this kind of thing often?
<>< :: have the courage to use your own reason
I believe if you ask someone to commit a crime your are in fact soliciting and are fact then committing a crime; like, as if I had asked you to murder someone for me.
Steve Jowett ------------------------- Sometimes a man who deserves to be looked down upon because he is a fool, is only despised only because he is an 'I.T. Consultant'
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I was recently asked by a company to "crack" the licencing module for a popular laundry management system written in .net. Now, my first response was to decline and challenge the request to get permission from the owners of the software to do so (the request came bundled with some long fandangled justification and legitimate business reasons) Anyhow, the challenge worked and it was, in fact, a request to do something illegal. I declined. However... thinking on it some more, is simply declining enough? This company will probably just approach some other programmer and learn to disguise the request more carefully... Do i have an ethical/legal obligation/responsibility to report this matter to: a) the authorities b) the software owners c) other ? Somehow keeping quiet about it just feels weird (you know, evil reigns 'cos good men do nothing- that sort of thing). This is a first for me, so while i reason this one out, it'd be good to get a feel for what the programmer society reasons... I know, i'd feel pretty :mad: if someone started stealing my salary.
<>< :: have the courage to use your own reason
You didn't play both ends? Double the money, double the fun. :-D
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I was recently asked by a company to "crack" the licencing module for a popular laundry management system written in .net. Now, my first response was to decline and challenge the request to get permission from the owners of the software to do so (the request came bundled with some long fandangled justification and legitimate business reasons) Anyhow, the challenge worked and it was, in fact, a request to do something illegal. I declined. However... thinking on it some more, is simply declining enough? This company will probably just approach some other programmer and learn to disguise the request more carefully... Do i have an ethical/legal obligation/responsibility to report this matter to: a) the authorities b) the software owners c) other ? Somehow keeping quiet about it just feels weird (you know, evil reigns 'cos good men do nothing- that sort of thing). This is a first for me, so while i reason this one out, it'd be good to get a feel for what the programmer society reasons... I know, i'd feel pretty :mad: if someone started stealing my salary.
<>< :: have the courage to use your own reason
homegrown wrote:
I know, i'd feel pretty if someone started stealing my salary.
Are you saying that you have NEVER downloaded a song? NEVER copied a MP3 off somebodies computer or CD? NEVER done anything that would make another company/person lose money? If so, I admire your stance, and you join a manority But if you have, isnt that a bit hypocritical?
"There are three sides to every story. Yours, mine and the truth" ~ unknown
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homegrown wrote:
I know, i'd feel pretty if someone started stealing my salary.
Are you saying that you have NEVER downloaded a song? NEVER copied a MP3 off somebodies computer or CD? NEVER done anything that would make another company/person lose money? If so, I admire your stance, and you join a manority But if you have, isnt that a bit hypocritical?
"There are three sides to every story. Yours, mine and the truth" ~ unknown
Would they lose money if you would never have paid for the song in the first place? So if you couldn't get it for free, you wouldn't bother at all. Would they still actually be 'losing' money then? Think about it ;)
My current favourite word is: Nipple!
-SK Genius
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Would they lose money if you would never have paid for the song in the first place? So if you couldn't get it for free, you wouldn't bother at all. Would they still actually be 'losing' money then? Think about it ;)
My current favourite word is: Nipple!
-SK Genius
lol ok, so I worded that incorrectly. I should have said "cause them to lose profit" or something like that
"There are three sides to every story. Yours, mine and the truth" ~ unknown
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Definitely B, and contact the BSA under C. I don't know that hte local cops would care, or even necessarily be able to understand the problem at all. :doh:
Otherwise [Microsoft is] toast in the long term no matter how much money they've got. They would be already if the Linux community didn't have it's head so firmly up it's own command line buffer that it looks like taking 15 years to find the desktop. -- Matthew Faithfull
dan neely wrote:
BSA
:rolleyes: it's been my experience that any organization with the letters SA in the acronym who purport to combat software piracy are shallow fronts for the top 10 software companies in the world and they don't give a crap about any other software company.
When everyone is a hero no one is a hero.
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I was recently asked by a company to "crack" the licencing module for a popular laundry management system written in .net. Now, my first response was to decline and challenge the request to get permission from the owners of the software to do so (the request came bundled with some long fandangled justification and legitimate business reasons) Anyhow, the challenge worked and it was, in fact, a request to do something illegal. I declined. However... thinking on it some more, is simply declining enough? This company will probably just approach some other programmer and learn to disguise the request more carefully... Do i have an ethical/legal obligation/responsibility to report this matter to: a) the authorities b) the software owners c) other ? Somehow keeping quiet about it just feels weird (you know, evil reigns 'cos good men do nothing- that sort of thing). This is a first for me, so while i reason this one out, it'd be good to get a feel for what the programmer society reasons... I know, i'd feel pretty :mad: if someone started stealing my salary.
<>< :: have the courage to use your own reason
homegrown wrote:
evil reigns 'cos good men do nothing
That's true.
homegrown wrote:
This is a first for me, so while i reason this one out, it'd be good to get a feel for what the programmer society reasons...
If you have evidence (emails, etc.) then blow the whistle by either informing the authorities or the supplier of the software. If you don't have evidence then there isn't much you can do. Either which way you might want to ready your CV or résumé in preparation to move on just in case. (Or you might just like to pre-emptively move on as you now know that the company culture does not match your own)
homegrown wrote:
I know, i'd feel pretty :mad: if someone started stealing my salary.
Absolutely. And I think that is exactly the correct way to look at it.
Upcoming FREE developer events: * Developer Day Scotland Recent blog posts: * Follow up on hiring a software developer * The Value of Smaller Methods My website | blog
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I was recently asked by a company to "crack" the licencing module for a popular laundry management system written in .net. Now, my first response was to decline and challenge the request to get permission from the owners of the software to do so (the request came bundled with some long fandangled justification and legitimate business reasons) Anyhow, the challenge worked and it was, in fact, a request to do something illegal. I declined. However... thinking on it some more, is simply declining enough? This company will probably just approach some other programmer and learn to disguise the request more carefully... Do i have an ethical/legal obligation/responsibility to report this matter to: a) the authorities b) the software owners c) other ? Somehow keeping quiet about it just feels weird (you know, evil reigns 'cos good men do nothing- that sort of thing). This is a first for me, so while i reason this one out, it'd be good to get a feel for what the programmer society reasons... I know, i'd feel pretty :mad: if someone started stealing my salary.
<>< :: have the courage to use your own reason
Being asked to commit a crime I believe is called a conspiracy. And yes you can go to jail for conspiring to commit illegal acts. Although this probably also depends upon the justice system where you live. Regardless, you do not want to be doing business with the company that approached you.
Chris Meech I am Canadian. [heard in a local bar] Donate to help Conquer Cancer[^]