Like electronic I. D. theft, PC viruses, and the dissemination of other PC crimes, software piracy is rising. The difficulty with software piracy is that software costs make this criminal activity appealing to the end user. The most exposed victims of software robbery are software companies or independent programmers who create and distribute commercial software or shareware. We described shareware in another article, but because both commercial software and shareware need payment, they are the target of pirates who try to make these sorts of programs free to use. Depending on their binding legal agreements, licensing generally permits the use of a single program on a single PC. This set up is mostly fine for a user who uses software at home on one PC. But in an environment where there are 5, 10, 20 or more PCs, purchasing a license for each PC can be down-right pricey.

So dear the enticement to pirate a little software here and there may be pretty enticing. Work-mates are acquainted with this enticement and they're frequently those who "share" acquired software among people who need it. However the same enticement also prompts others to deliberately or unknowingly buy illicit copies of commercial software or registered shareware. As captivating as it is, it's still illegal and the punishments / fines for sharing commercial or registered software is too much for one to bear. Colleges can research student versions of commercial software or ask for a faculty discount. Freeware or open-source software ( also described in another one of our articles ) is another option to pirating commercial-ware, as well as shareware. Up till recently, public opinion held tiny religion in freeware or open source software - frequently per it as low-quality knock-off's of better known commercial products.

But if you are taking a close look at what's being offered at no charge, you could be in for a gigantic surprise. The standard of today's freeware and opensource software made a robust rift among the commercial community and it's literally driving the contest bananas. So much so, that even some famous software development companies have joined the cause and made a few freeware opensource products of their own.

If you can remember that there are hoards of alternatives to expensive commercial software ( and you make some effort to get it ), you can discover that you can stay alongside of the remainder of the PC industry at a noticeably cheaper cost than if you tried to pay your way down the software aisle.