Pirates Ahead, Be Ye Warned!

"Ahoy ye swabbies! We be takin' heavy damage on the starboard side! Brace ye-selves for impact! Arrrr!" That is pirate talk for "Hello fellow co-worker. Our CRM tools crashed again and IT needs to reboot the server." September 19th is Talk like a Pirate Day!

If somebody talks like a pirate, it is easy to know they are indeed a pirate. Unfortunately, modern day pirates may not be as obvious; in fact, they probably look and sound just like you. Today we have software pirates, and they are the scurvy of the digital sea.

In 2011 the Business Software Alliance estimated that 42% of all PC software installed was pirated, costing companies an estimated $63 billion. This touches your own bottom line, making software more expensive when purchased legitimately.

Software companies are taking more and more aggressive measures to combat this expensive problem, and the law is on their side. If a pirate is caught with illegally copied software, they can be sued for civil copyright infringement up to $100,000 per title infringed, and if the transgression is charged as a criminal violation, the fine can be up to $250,000 per title and up to 5 years imprisonment.

It is the goal for companies to catch the pirates and make them "walk the plank," i.e., stiff fines. But what if you find your business on the plank? What if one of your employees is using pirated software? With 42% of all PC software pirated, there is a chance that some of the programs on your network could be illegally installed, putting you and your reputation at risk if fined. There is also the additional risk of viruses and malware being attached to the pirated software due to its shady third party origins.

At Preferred we can check your software and determine if it is legally installed or not, and if we do happen to find risky software, we can install the legal version while keeping your documents intact and help you manage your software licenses. For added protection, Preferred can provide regular maintenance on your system and keep track of the up-to-date licensing software agreements so you don't have too. Give us a call today at 708-781-7110 and let us help you protect what's most important; your booty.