The Coburn Blog

I tell yah guys, I’ve kept my mouth shut for many years regarding anti-piracy techniques, good or bad, but this right here is the disadvantage of anti-piracy software techniques today.

My hard drive pretty much died on me this week. Luckily I had everything backed up to the Network Storage drive. Anyway, so I got a new SATA 11/300 320 gig from staples on sale. Because my old hard drive died, I had to reinstall Windows XP odviously.

Well, after going thru the lengthy process of installing the OS, all my device drivers, etc, I went to reactivate my Ad-Aware 2007 license, and apparently because the hardware hash had changed inside my computer from the new hard drive, I was not able to reactivate my legally purchased copy of ad-Aware.

See, this is the thing that ticks me off about anti-piracy technologies. Now I understand that piracy does exist in the world, and that its just like stealing, but even iTunes, Microsoft Office, and Zoomtext allow a client to install the software on up to 3 computers in the home. Normally, in these programs, before you reformat your hard drive, all you have to do is deactivate your license, sending it back to the license server, then after the reformat, you just activate your product as normal. That process, I do not mind at all, and do support. In that process, I become a satisfied customer, and return again and again to do my shopping needs.

Its how Lavasoft and Hyperbowl do it, for example, that bothers me so much. I mean, in their versions of Ad-Aware Plus, and Pro, once you activate your product, if you change anything inside your computer at all (even keeping existing hardware but just reformatting your hard drive, which I do every few months anyway regardless) your activation is basically lost forever after the reformat. That is just not right. I tried contacting Lavasoft several times over this matter, both in email and over the telephone, and they basically told me “tough crap your loss” kind of attitude.

Well, thats the last time I’m ever purchasing a Lavasoft product again thats for sure. I mean, thats $29 right down the tubes that I could have used for something else. Do you think I’m ever going to go back there again? I don’t think so, and I’m not going to recommend my friends to go there either, see my point?

because of this, I have ceased use of their free products as well. I refuse to do any further business with Lavasoft for this very reason. It wasn’t so much the fact that I could not reactivate my product so much, as it was their attitude on the phone with me about this.

Now I understand all too well, that software piracy is a big problem these days, that software authors have to make money so they can put food on their kids table, and all that good stuff, but if its one thing I’ve learned in the last 30 years I’ve been using computers, is that, nothing is unhackable. Now I personally do not have the knowledge, nor desire, to crack their activation process, but I am aware that it can be done. I don’t believe there is anything not crackable, and I think software companies just have to learn to accept the fact that, piracy activity will always go on, no matter what.

Its just like the record company and motion picture company deals. I wasn’t going to say anything about this either, but since Lavasoft has got me all pissed off, I’m going to say my peace. I’m the first one to admit, I do not understand how someone can enjoy sitting down to a pirated movie, where movie or audio quality is mere worse then VHS quality as best, most of the time those downloaded movies look like someone just went into the theatre with a video camera and started taping, who would honestly enjoy that? I certainly wouldn’t. I mean really, that just takes the whole fun out of watching a movie with your bag of popcorn falling asleep on the couch, hehe, etc, but at the same time, I understand that people do it, and accept it. I don’t even understand why people watch movies over the computer at all to be honest. If I want to watch a movie, I’m not going to sit at my uncomfortable home or work desk, I’m going to sit in my lazy-boy, or lay down in my bedroom, or someplace cozy, NOT the computer, I live my life on the computer as much as the next geek, but movies and TV and music are an entirely different story! hehe

I mean, think about it logically for a minute, even if a person knows that stealing software is wrong, takes classes in software piracy morale and all that good stuff. If that same person purchases legal software, but for some reason that person cannot activate the product they purchased legally after they changed something inside their computer, what do you think that person is going to do? How do these companies think piracy started to begin with? I think most normal people understand piracy is wrong, but as long as companies keep boosting up prices, and putting more anti-theft devices into place, the more piracy will flourish in the world. I know from years of my own experience, “the thicker the wall you put up, the bigger the gun to blow it away is going to get”, and thats what these companies just don’t seem to understand. It isn’t about stopping piracy, because piracy is inevitable, its about coming to compromises so the threat is low. The thicker the wall the bigger the gun, but if you don’t put one up at all, or give legitimate users a way in that doesn’t inconvenience them, then less and less users will desire to use the gun in the first place, thus minimizing the threat of piracy. I’ve even noticed by looking at peer-to-peer servers myself, that not everything is available to pirate. The bigger companies with the most security are always available, I’m sure there’s probably 50 zillion cracks for Ad-Aware available by now, hehe, but you never see anything like editpadpro, zoomtext, iTunes, you never see those available on peer-to-peer sites anywhere, and ya know why? because they don’t have security that inconveniences the customer, thus nobody wants to illegally share it to begin with. It might for awhile, but the popularity of it goes down, so its taken down due to lack of popularity. That should really be the goal of companies if you ask me.

Sometimes, I think these software companies just don’t have all their marbles in tact er something. Either that or I just have a gifted intellect, but I doubt it. hehe.  Most people think I’m an idiot for voicing my opinions on all this type of thing, thus get mad at me and ban me from forums because my opinion is different then theirs. I think differences in opinions are good, shows the person is learning and learning how to use their mind effectively,  so differences in opinions do not bother me, and I always encourage it,  so long as the person remains open to other ideas besides their own as well,  but this is my blog I can say what I want, so I say, booo to software piracy that inconveniences the customer, two thumbs wayyy down boooooooo to Lavasoft!!  hehe