Adobe, the famous company behind world-renowned design products like Photoshop and Illustrator,… recently put its foot down and sent out a warning to all its unregistered products (i.e. illegal downloads, cracked software), warning them to purchase their products or unable to continue to use their products.
Why using cracked (illegal) software is dangerous?
I admit that I also downloaded cracked software and games (especially) from various corners of the internet so I think that gives me some sort of qualifications to speak on the matter. Downloading from untrusted sources on the internet is similar to buying drugs from a random guy on a street or behind a van in an alley. you play dice hoping to get what you want for free or viruses, or ransomware that hijack your computer and steal all your information. As I get older, my computer contains important logins and sensitive information, and the risk of it getting compromised or lost is not worth the reward of $10 or even $1000 for downloading software from sketchy sources.
“But I don’t have any money, so I shouldn’t need to pay for products”
Is similar to saying “I’m poor so it’s okay to steal or rob a bank!”. Digital products look tangible as they are just lines of codes, and pixels on the screen instead of physical products like a phone or a table but I can assure you that the time, effort, and resources put in to create those programs are very real. By paying for the games you like, the programs that help your workflow are a way to support and pay respect to the creators as well as your professions. If you don’t have money to pay for them, there are a ton of more affordable or free options in the market that suits your need. There are also benefits from paying for legitimate products like the support, the updates, and most importantly the ease of mind.
but here’s what I’m proposing to company who selling digital products: Parity Purchasing
Parity purchasing and how it will help both the sellers and the consumers.
This section is for people or companies who are planning or already selling their digital products online, as each country has a different GDP and income, a $20 USD monthly subscription in America is very different to people living in Southeast Asia. Enabling Parity pricing will open the door to many users trying your product at a fair price and suitable to where they are living.
As a web designer, most of the products/ services I used are subscription-based such as hosting (Cloudways), visual builder (Elementor, Crocoblock), and other additional plugins, services like WP-rocket, email SMTP, domain name,… They enable me to deliver wonderful, good-looking, and especially reliable websites that help client businesses. If you are a business or a service provider that is using cracked software, carefully consider the risks and liability you might bring to your own brands and your clients.
At the end, It’s just a tool, what’s more valuable is skill and a problem-solving mindset.
