Beware Santa bearing pirate software

It's not the jovial fat man coming down your chimney you should look out for this Christmas, it's the policemen knocking on your front door - that is if you have bought any software which could be from an illegal source.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is putting out a seasonal reminder to consumers to be aware of the threat of buying knocked-off software during the Christmas shopping season.

Often-uninformed relatives, looking for the latest games or software for a young nephew or niece, may not think there is anything wrong with the CD-ROMs on sale down the market, but the BSA is warning shoppers to be on their guard and remember some simple tips.

Similarly with more and more software being sold online - often on auction sites such as eBay from unknown sources - the BSA is keen that shoppers should be more clued up.

Deanna Slocum, anti-piracy director at Macromedia EMEA, said one of the major concerns her company has is with consumers getting what they consider to be substandard software with the Macromedia brand on it.

And such software may pose more serious problems than simply not working - it could even damage a user's machine or create a security vulnerability.

"We are regularly contacted by unhappy consumers who have innocently bought illegal Macromedia products from an auction site. Frequently they've paid nearly the full price for a counterfeit product that is full of bugs that damage their hard drive."

William Plante, senior director of corporate security and fraud protection at Symantec, added that online sellers of software may not even be interested in selling counterfeit CDs, but may be more interested in harvesting credit card details to commit further fraud.

BSA internet shopping guidelines:

1. Trust your instincts. If a price for software seems too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Make sure it's authentic. Be wary of software products that come without any documentation or manuals.
3. Read the label. Be wary of products that do not look genuine such as those with hand-written labels and watch out for products labelled as academic, OEM, NFR or CDR.
4. Beware of back-ups. Take special care to avoid sellers offering to make 'back-up' copies or citing Section 117 of the Copyright Act.
5. Steer clear of compilations. Avoid compilations of software titles from different publishers on a single disk.
6. Do your homework. Check the feedback section on the auction site to find comments about the seller based on previous transactions. Keep in mind that a clean complaint record doesn't always ensure that you will receive genuine product.
7. Get the seller's address. Remember that if you cannot recontact the seller, you may have no recourse if the product turns out to be pirated.
8. Keep receipts. Print out a copy of your order number and sales confirmation and keep them at least until your software arrives in satisfactory condition.
9. Be careful when crossing the border. Be especially cautious when dealing with software sellers in other countries.
10. Report piracy. Buyers suspecting software piracy, counterfeit software and/or fraud on auction sites should contact the software manufacturer or the BSA.