ORLANDO, Fla. – If you've downloaded computer software lately, you know how expensive it can be, but some of the best alternatives are actually free. There are legitimate software options available right now that won't cost you a dime, but there's an underground economy on the web that looks like the real thing but ends up stealing from you.
Because of the sticker shock often associated with popular software, consumers may be tempted to download a pirated version.
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"There's obviously the ethical, moral, legal aspects of stealing somebody else's property," said Don Benson, a cyber expert with Keiser University in Orlando.
That's the first problem in this software saga; it's illegal. Anybody caught using counterfeit software could land in jail for five years, pay a $250,000 fine or both.
During a Skype interview, Don Morrison, Microsoft's director of US Anti-piracy, said the hidden agenda behind pirated software is your money and personal information.
"If they download pirated software, there's a 33 percent chance that they're going to inject malware into whatever it is they've downloaded. That's a huge risk. They're spending about $25 billion and 1.2 billion hours a year trying to clean up the mess from those simple downloads," Morrison said.
But there are legal, risk-free software products out there: Gimp-free photo editor program, Lightworks free video editing software, Libre office and Open office, which are compatible with most Microsoft products. There's even a free anti-virus program called AVG.
"Microsoft offers many discounts specifically to students," said Benson.
He said there are discounted systems for students including Office 365 that go for roughly $80.
Here's what you need to remember: Free or not, you always want to use an authorized dealer, be sure to download only from trusted sites, use current anti-virus protection and make sure your security settings are turned on.
Free Software Links:
For documents, try:
- Apache OpenOffice https://www.openoffice.org/ or LibreOffice http://www.libreoffice.org/
For image editing, try:
- Gimp http://www.gimp.org/
- Paint.NET http://www.getpaint.net/
- PhoXO http://www.phoxo.com/en/
- Funny Photo Maker http://www.anvsoft.com/funny-photo-maker.html
- Irfanview http://www.irfanview.com/
- PixBuilder Studio http://www.wnsoft.com/pixbuilder/
- Chasys Draw IES http://www.jpchacha.com/
For music/audio editing, try:
- Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
- Wavosaur http://www.wavosaur.com/
- Acoustica Basic Edition http://acondigital.com/
For video editing, try:
- Lightworks http://www.lwks.com/
- Windows Movie Maker http://www.techradar.com/downloads/windows-movie-maker
- iMovie for Mac http://www.apple.com/mac/imovie/
- OpenShot for Linux http://www.openshot.org/
For computer security, try:
- AVG AntiVirus http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage
- Microsoft Security Essentials http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security-essentials-download
For web-content publishing, try:
- Drupal http://www.drupal.com/
- WordPress http://wordpress.org/
For research and bibliographies, try:
- EndNote http://endnote.com/
- Mendeley http://www.mendeley.com/
- Zotero https://www.zotero.org/