As more and more hackers flood the Web, a study conducted by researchers at the University of Florida and the University of Nevada revealed software piracy on college campuses also remains a problem.
Boston University is not an exception, according to Jim Stone, director of the Consulting Services of Information Technology.
“Does it happen on campus? Yes. Is it illegal? Yes,” Stone said. “And the University will take actions against the students that are caught.”
First-time offenders of software piracy and copyright infringements get a warning and are told exactly what happened and who reported them. Repeat offenders receive disciplinary action, Stone said.
Peter Myers, a College of Communication sophomore, admitted to having illegally pirated creative software in the past, such as Apple Final Out, a video-animating software that normally costs around $1,000. He later bought it through Boston University for $300.
“There’s no way of getting caught unless you put the stuff on a website and thousands of people visit it everyday,” Myers said.
Stone said software piracy has moved to the background lately, as copyright infringements on music and movies have become the biggest problem.
Myers said he does not use programs such as KaZaA to download music, saying he thinks it is unethical. He said he supports the musicians he listens to by buying their records.
It’s different with software,” Myers said. “There’s an enormous difference in price. You can also go without a CD, which is not always the case for software.”
Nevertheless, Stone said pirating software is still a concern on all campuses and in all corporations. He said there are only two answers to further preventing software piracy: education and technology.
Education would consist of teaching people they should not commit piracy, Stone said. He said this doesn’t work well on campuses, however, as university students don’t take it seriously.
As for technology, Stone said there are a number of mechanisms to prevent illegal pirating, which some corporations use and some do not. He said taking measures to prevent pirating can be frustrating.