SIIA Releases Tips To Spot Pirated SoftwareSIIA Releases Tips To Spot Pirated Software

The Software & Information Industry Association has outlined some tips on how to spot illegally copied software while shopping online for the holidays.

The SIIA said the number of people who innocently purchase or receive pirated software as gifts goes up during the holidays as shoppers look to stretch their gift-buying budgets. "Popular video games, business applications, and home software have all been widely copied and distributed illegally," Keith Kupferschmid, SIIA's SVP of Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement, said in a statement. "If a shopper is in a rush, or just looking for the best deal, it's easy to unintentionally purchase a pirated application, wrap it up, and give it as a gift." SIIA warns that illegally purchased software does not come with technical support, upgrades, and patches. The group warned that pirated copies can also come with loaded viruses and malicious code.

Buyers can be duped by official looking Web sites or illegal postings on legitimate online auction sites. According to SIIA, more than 90% of the software sold on auction sites is illegal.

The SIIA says, when it comes to prices, shoppers should take to heart the old saying: "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is." On auction sites, user comments and feedback are more important that labels like "Power Seller," according to SIIA. Sellers who have held many auctions on the same piece of software at a deep discount are almost always selling illegal copies, according to SIIA.

Buyers should also beware of foreign sources, the SIIA said.

"In addition to the potential for piracy, you may be purchasing software that will be incompatible for your computer," the group warns. "You might be buying software that will not run on U.S. computers, will run in a foreign language, or may be unlicensed for the U.S."

And, anyone who offers to sell outside of an auction, showing they'll cheat the auction site, could also be willing to cheat customers, SIIA warned.