Pirated software installed by college (!)

  • Thread starter Thread starter cookie-san
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

cookie-san

Guest
Hi! So all the computers in my lab have a pirated version of Microsoft Windows and Office. They also have Linux (Open Source) installed.

My question is, is it okay if I use the Windows OS ? Sometimes I just have to, there’s no other go. But yesterday my professor asked me to make a flowchart of something, along with few other kids. The others made it in the pirated PowerPoint software. What should I do? I really want to use PowerPoint because it has a professional look. But isn’t it sinful if I use the PowerPoint when I can use the open-source software instead?

I usually try my best to use the open-source software whenever I can. But it makes me work slower. And also makes me feel like a loser (the stuff I make looks shabby- or perhaps that’s because I don’t know how to make it look better).

Please also pray for me! I feel tempted to sin.
 
It’s the tech department that installs software. I would do it, but I feel I’m scared that people would think I’m crazy. Everyone here uses pirated stuff. EVERYBODY.
 
Why do you believe the software is pirated? Many colleges have academic site licenses for Microsoft Windows and Office. Do you know for certain that your college does not?
 
Well not for sure… But I have a very good guess. You have those ‘You maybe a victim of Software Counterfieting’ messages popping up now and then. The Office suite isn’t licensed. It has all the features though.
 
The OP is a student who suspects the software is pirated. It is the college’s responsibility to provide students with the software… why should the onus be on him? If there’s any sin involved, it’s the college’s. I don’t see how a student could be liable for using what the institution provides.
 
I think it’s highly unlikely that a college is using pirated software. Microsoft has academic licensing pans that make their programs very affordable.
 
I’m on my way to class today. I’ll check it more thoroughly and let you know. I’m sure it is pirated. But let me check just in case.
 
Hi! I checked again. Microsoft has this tool to check whether the operating system is genuine or not. My computer is activated. I didn’t run the tool in it. Some other systems in the lab have a clear message printed on the the home screen saying ‘This copy of Windows is not genuine.’. I checked Office too. It’s says that it is unlicensed and it has to be activated soon.

Well let’s just assume that it is pirated. What should I do? I ended up using Excel today. Did I sin?
 
First of all, this is not your responsibility. It’s the responsibility of the college.

Second of all, as several others have said, your college may very well have some sort of free use license or arrangement. Or there may be a technical glitch causing these messages to appear. I have seen enough kluged-together software and OS to know that you can get popups for all sorts of stuff.

Third of all, if you really feel you must do something, then that “something” would be for you to go to the tech department, tell them you keep getting this popup about unlicensed software, say you are worried about breaking the law/ getting in trouble, and ask them what the deal is. Then you have done your bit to put them “on notice”.

It is not your job to police the operating system, software or behavior of your college with respect to software. This is a task for the tech staff and the college’s admins and legal team. It is way beyond you. Giving “notice” would be all that you reasonably can do. If the issue continues after you give “notice” then you have done all you can do and should go ahead and use the software to do your work assignments as you are expected to do. The only atlernative would be to drop out of the college, if you really want to be that extreme, but since like I said you do not have full knowledge or understanding of the intellectual property situation, you don’t really have obligations here.
 
Last edited:
  1. Software used by your college is your college’s responsibility, and your college IT department’s responsibility. It is not your responsibility except in a remote way. You can and should complain to the IT department, but there isn’t much else you can do.
  2. It is likely that the college has paid the licensing fees, but that the IT department is being lazy about finishing the installation (or the profs were too busy to let them finish the licensing updates). I’ve worked at a lot of businesses, and slow installation of stuff that’s already bought and paid for is weirdly common.
Given all the bugs uncovered this year, and given all the patches for bugs that didn’t work, the IT department may even be correct to be slow about it.

It is also possible that some kind of legal dispute or contract dispute is going on, between your college and Microsoft, and that the state of the software is due to attorney advice. Again, one sees this pretty frequently in businesses, where a lawsuit or subpoena has to be dealt with.

If this is the case, obviously your college might not be able to talk about it, but they could be totally within their rights.
  1. The entire situation is literally a responsibility that is above your paygrade.
My advice is that, if you have already complained to the IT department, you can use the software with a clean conscience. If you haven’t complained, notify them of the situation and then get on with it.

I also advise that you save your work offsite, and often. If the IT department is incompetent or lazy, you don’t want that to destroy your work.
 
cookie-san said:
I really want to use PowerPoint because it has a professional look
Click to expand...
Really? Most PowerPoint presentations I’ve seen are not particularly visually appealing. That isn’t the software so much as the creator.

OpenOffice and LibreOffice should be able to produce Office suite files that look professional. They can save files in the Windows Office format. I’ve never used either for flowcharts. I’d say the interfaces can be less professional or polished looking but the final product (document, spreadsheet, or presentation) look just as professional.

That said, others have given good answers as to your particular responsibility in this matter. I think if anything you should mention your concerns to those responsible for the computers. See what they say.
 
Exactly. That is almost always some sort of malicious-ware click bait. THAT message should be reported because it can go to ransomeware sites.
 
cookie-san said:
Well let’s just assume that it is pirated. What should I do?
Click to expand...
I think that you should assume that it’s not pirated. It could be that it simply wasn’t installed and activated properly. Now that’s something I’d believe, with respect to a college I.T. department… 😉
 
Good point. I’ve gotten a similar warning on my home computer and I don’t have MS Office on it at all.
 
Most likely what occurred is the mess that was free Microsoft upgrades that Microsoft basically pulled back on.

So let’s say the college bought the Microsoft suite and the thousands of licences needed to run all of their computers. Trying to compete with Apple Microsoft offered and permitted hundreds and thousands to upgrade to new OS for free.

And of course, people did.

However, unlike Apple, Microsoft only permitted one free upgrade. Then they put out a new OS. And plastered their previous software with these “you are not using a genuine OS” message.

The same thing happens to me on my Virtual Machine. I have a legitimate copy of Windows on their totally paid for, access code, everything. Upgraded as per allowed. Now because I won’t upgrade again and pay I get these stupid messages.

Ignore them.

And seriously, use Google Docs. Their presntation software is just as robust and useful, if not more so.
 
Xanthippe_Voorhees said:
And seriously, use Google Docs. Their presntation software is just as robust and useful, if not more so.
Click to expand...
That is a good point. You could use Google Docs. Personally I generally don’t because I don’t trust Google with my private data. But for something like this I’d use it.
 
At least you don’t have to deal with meltdown patch in compatible with the Antivirus, got a bunch of Bsod, requiring reimaging. And an audit is coming up.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top