Do you buy all your softwares if they were not free? I used to buy softwares, but when I found out about torrenting, I was able to save a considerable amount of money and I just for something else more important like food. Now, I only buy a new software if I couldn't find a legitimate software that I can activate. But if there were, then I prefer to use the torrent one.
It depends what kinds of software. For websites, sometimes I pay for hosted software. Actually, I seem to be paying for most software I use these days. When I find something that works, I go with it - even if it means paying. If something is quality, I dont mind paying for it.
I usually download software if they are available online for free but I would not expect them to have high quality though. I purchased some for the sake of quality and also because I couldn't find them somewhere else.
Torrents are definitely the wrong direction to head if you're looking for free software. There are lots of sites like sourceforge and others where you can legally obtain software without having to use torrent sites because you never can tell what malware comes with the software. And as a matter of fact, pirated software, technically, isn't free software [it's stolen software]. So if you want free software opt for safer open source software.
When we had a slow internet connection, I was buying the games that I want, although they are pirated versions. Now that we have a broadband connection, I also just download them via torrents. They're not really that dangerous as long as you scan each file that you download before opening them. Yeah, they're technically stolen, but it would be dumb not to take advantage of free stuff.
I mostly download the programs i have for free online. I do torrent and i don't even feel bad about that. I mean i know it's not legit but hey, everybody does torrent. Most programs are available for free online if you know how to look them up. I don't even remember buying a program ever. Lol
I'm not against pirating softwares but I wouldn't recommend it if you have the money to spare. If you got the cash then just purchase them. Those softwares cost a lot of money and effort to make and it's only right to give back to the developers. I acquire my softwares both from legit purchase and for free from torrent sites. If I'd be using the software for a long time for business purposes I buy it off and if I'm just going to use it once or try it, then I tend to torrent it first.
To be honest, I'm surprised this topic even exists since it's about something illegal and therefore a violation of the forum rules. Torrents are stealing from the original creators and without sales, then they stop making new programs or updating existing ones. Plus most ISP's in the USA track what you do and report it to the various agencies so you could end up with loss of internet service, fines and/or jail time. If it's good enough to use, then it's good enough to buy.
I don't like torrenting cause it's stealing and stealing is bad for karma. As they say, "What goes around comes around.". On top of that fact, torrents are often loaded with viruses. Note, some people claim software, textbook, music, and movie companies purposely put them there. Do you think that is true or a lie or exaggeration? That actually happened to a friend of mine torrenting Hollywood movies. Fortunately, though, he only got a strong letter.
I admit that I don't buy licensed software because it is very expensive to me. There are alternatives which are free. All I do is to search the internet. I have composed so many songs, made the minus one accompaniment, recorded and edited using free software only. My cousin gifted me with a software that can clean an audio file. When I checked the license, oh it was expensive that for sure I would not buy.
This makes me miss one of my old jobs. I used to work for a pretty big company and we got all sorts of deals on software, and this was when new versions were coming out like crazy. That was a good run for saving some money on computers.
I normally download softwares especially free ones. I also download premium versions using torrents but sometimes I don't. Instead of buying the premium version, I'll go with the trial first. Once the free trial has ended and I liked the pro's features, then that's the time I would download the premium version via torrent. But most of the software that I use are free since I am satisfied with their features
