NEWSLETTERS
 

CIO.com updates, insights and advice on technology, management and your career.

 CIO BlackBerry News and Tips
 CIO Research and Analysis
 CIO Microsoft
 CIO Insider
 
 
 
SUBSCRIBE TO CIO
 
Are you involved in setting the direction for your company's IT budget or strategy?

Apply today for a FREE subscription to CIO Magazine!

 


Mon, Nov 24, 2008 12:24 EST

Holiday Shopping Survey Finds Most College Students Are Willing and Able to Obtain Illegal Software

Topic: Infrastructure

Current Rating: 0 Comments: 0

With the holiday shopping season underway, the Business Software Alliance—the leading voice of the world’s software industry—today announced the results of a national poll gauging the purchasing intentions of college students. The findings shed light on the often unorthodox and risky methods employed by many students in obtaining software at low or no cost. But, results also indicate that being educated about the potential risks of illegal software can impact their purchasing decisions.

The poll, conducted by Washington, D.C.-based RT Strategies during the week of November 10, asked 400 currently enrolled college students about their plans to buy computers and software. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of participants expect to purchase or receive computer hardware or software over the next year. An even greater percentage—79 percent—expect to be “involved” in such a purchase this holiday season by advising a friend or relative on a purchase, making a purchase for themselves, or buying someone else a gift.

On the subject of potential software piracy, 60 percent of the students told pollsters they “know where to go on the Internet to download software for free or at a discount.” As documented in a recent BSA report, buying or downloading software from questionable Internet sites can expose users to hidden cyber security threats such as viruses, spyware and “back doors” for identity thieves. Many sites are also hotbeds of software piracy, which is a federal crime that carries serious penalties. Nevertheless, almost one-third (30 percent) of respondents said that “most students … don’t purchase software from an authorized source anymore, because the same software is usually available for free or at a discount from an unauthorized source.”

What sources do students turn to for pirated software? Though the most popular response was “friends and family,” the students as a group demonstrated encyclopedic knowledge of where to find pirated software. Asked to identify the software sources they might use, 82 percent named an array of questionable sources, including peer-to-peer sources such as Limewire and BitTorrent; shopping sites such as iOffer.com and eBay; and classified ad sites like craigslist. Only 18 percent cited legitimate sources only.

However, when the students were exposed to the list of potential risks from using unauthorized software, 43 percent said they would be more cautious, and 31 percent said they would “never” obtain software from an unauthorized source. Only 12 percent were unfazed, telling questioners they would still borrow or download software from unauthorized sources.

“The results of our holiday survey show reasons for both concern and optimism,” said Rodger Correa of BSA. “College students are some of the savviest consumers of computers and software. We want to make sure students, their families, and friends who may be tempted to obtain software from unauthorized sources will stop and think: Is this legitimate software? Am I about to jeopardize an expensive piece of hardware to save a few bucks on software? If I put this program on my computer, will I expose my personal and financial information to the crooks who supplied this pirated software?

“The poll shows that most college students know where to go for easy access to pirated software,” Correa added. “But it also shows that, once they are educated about the risks, they are far more likely to realize that the risks outweigh the potential benefits.”

The earlier BSA report, entitled Online Software Scams: The Threat to Your Security, provides more information on the scope of the problem, as well as consumer tips to avoid piracy problems, such as buying from only legitimate sources; taking advantage of free software updates from the original publishers; being wary of products

You do not have flash or javascript support.
Average (0 votes)
0
 

Post new comment

* Subject:
* Username:
* E-mail:
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Homepage:
* Body:
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <img> <blockquote> <strike> <p> <br>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
More information about formatting options

* Denotes required field.

Hot Conversations

Take My Windows 7 Please: A Resale Tale

Posted by Shane ONeill in News | 6 comments

Creating a Privacy Policy Part V

Posted by Ariel Silverstone in Best Practices | 1 comments

Start a Conversation
Click to post

Got something to say? We want to hear it! Click the Post button to get started. GO»

EXPERT ADVICE
See our roster of experts.

Advice & Opinion from more than 113 of IT's most insightful thinkers.

  PARTNERS       WEBCASTS    
 

Windows 7 Webcast Series

There's a lot of buzz about Windows 7 out there. Each month in our webcast series, listen to analysts and customers discuss how Windows 7 and the Windows Optimized Desktop is impacting large companies around the world. Learn how they evaluated Windows 7, including the cost of deployment, deployment strategies, and tangible benefits.

Sponsored by Microsoft  Listen to on-demand Recordings »

 

Service Level Management Best Practices Life Cycle Overview - Improve Service Levels

Best practices for Service Level Management (SLM) is a process for consistently meeting customer requirements and delivering on IT's promises. See the steps required to ensure high-quality SLM.

Sponsored by Compuware  Read this White Paper »

 

Keeping Your Members Safe from Online Scams and Predators

In order to keep fraudsters out, romance sites must deploy effective solutions that look at information independent of what is supplied by users. A device fingerprinting solution such as iovation ReputationManager™ provides unique insight into the computers being used to create multiple accounts and exposes hidden device-account relationships that identity-based fraud solutions often miss.

Sponsored by iovation  Read this White Paper »

Resource Alerts

Get instant email notifications by topic when white papers, webcasts, and case studies are added to our library.

Resource Alerts

Get instant email notification when white papers, webcasts, and case studies are added to our library. Don't just be up-to-date—be up to the minute with our new Resource Alerts.

Defend Against Blended Threats: What You Need to Know

Blended Web and email threats are becoming increasingly complex and represent a huge...  View Now »

 

Prescriptive Actions to Reduce Risk

In this Webcast, learn best practices for effective systems management in a heterogeneous environment and keep client systems cost under control.   View Now »

 

Webcast- Vantage 11: Redefining Application Performance Management

Compuware's latest release, Vantage 11, is a major advance in end-to-end application performance management--bringing together proactive issue identification, quantification of business impact and problem resolution into a single solution. Tune in to learn how Vantage 11's top-down approach helps you make better decisions and dramatically lower operations costs.  View Now »

Resource Alerts

Get instant email notification when white papers, webcasts, and case studies are added to our library. Don't just be up-to-date—be up to the minute with our new Resource Alerts.

 
NEWSLETTER

Sign-up for the Blogs & Discussion Newsletter

 
FEATURED SPONSORS
 
 
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

See how AT&T can help protect your network.

Top Five CIO Challenges

Streamline IT Costs. Boost Performance with WAN Optimization.

Want to know how you can maximize employee productivity?

Build your 1st app FREE with Force.com

TDWI checklist helps define data readiness for analytics. Download report.

Increase UPS efficiency without sacrificing protection.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

The rules of infrastructure management just changed.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

Interactive Q&A helps you discover key ways to maximize IT assets.

Ready to virtualize tier one applications? Check your virtualization maturity.

Think you can't afford a Cisco Switch? Cisco Catalyst Switches are now more affordable.

Five minute business analytics assessment. Immediate results.

The Case for Investing in Business Analytics Technology. Read white paper.

White Paper: Right-Sizing Your Power Infrastructure

Webcast: Unleashing the Power of Customer Data

White Paper: Managed Security for a Not-So-Secure World

SharePoint - Unchecked growth of content is unsustainable.

White Paper: Legacy Tools: Not Built for the Helpdesk

Taking a Seat at the Executive Table: The Reality of Virtualization

Five-Step Mobility Management Plan

White Paper: Next Generation Remote Infrastructure Management

Disciplined Autonomy: Resolving the Tension Between Flexibility and Control

Join us at the US-Brazil IT-BPO Summit, on November 10th in New York.

Unified Communications: Thoughts, Strategies and Predictions. Join the discussion

Read the RSA report: Security for Business Innovation

Webcast: Looking to the Cloud for Email and Collaboration Services

64-page prescriptive guide to security, compliance, and IT operations.

Keep your IT expertise up to date. Join the Intel Premier IT Professionals.

A new fleet of PCs with a total ROI in 10 months. Find your ROI.

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity

Reduce risk, gain agility. See how Progress can help your business.

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity

World-class trading technology solutions from NYSE Technologies.

If You're Paying for Telecom, You're Paying Too Much. Contact Asentinel Today.

Trade-In your old printer and save up to $1,000 plus free recycling!

infoBOOM! - The Mid-Sized Company CIO's Exclusive Community

Live Webinar: Applying Business Analytics. Click here to learn more

White Paper: 4 Customer Service Myths

Mobile Security: The Essential Ingredient for Today's Enterprise

White Paper: Improve Agility with Operational Responsiveness

White Paper: 5 Best Practices for Smartphone Support

Global Research: CIOs Weigh In On Virtualization

5 Key Virtualization Management Challenges

Learn How Web Site Performance Impacts Shopper Behavior

IDC White Paper: CCM for IT Compliance and Risk Management

Tolly Group Lab Test Results: Cisco vs. ShoreTel