You should be ashamed of yourself. If everyone knew the "truth" about you as you wanted the BSA to know the "truth" about your employer you would never have another job.
What I am ashamed of was thinking of profiting off of it.
Were I in the same position again I would have done the anonymous turn in and not attempted or dreamed of the reward.
Also I am open about why I left that engineering company in interviews. it doesnt hurt me in the least, and also by the reactions of the interviewing managers I get an idea if I will fit in with them.
? because if these people would fund free software, and bother to learn how to use free software, instead of ripping off Autocad because 'its what i learned in school', then we probably wouldnt need autocad.
the bad thing is before I decided to turn them in I tried to find a workable solution with Open Source CAD software and they said "the learning curve would be too steep and the loss in productivity would be enough that they would lose the same amount just buying the software"
Well, I wouldn't put it quite that far. He most likely didn't get paid, as he said, or got paid very little. This is actually a good story to have around: It proves that being a snitch *isn't* worth it.
Yeah thats why I said something honestly RobbieThe1st. I wanted the owner to have SOME small comfort in knowing the one who turned him in was probably used and wont get anything out of it. Its not much of a comfort but its something:)
Actually I didnt administer it.
They fired their IT guy, and hired me in to clean up his mess. when I found out how bad it was and told them and they refused to do anything about it is when I turned them in and no longer worked for them .
Gotta love it when idiots on this site draw their own conclusions from data that was never given or implied.
I worked for an engineering company who said they couldnt justify the 25 licenses of autocad civil3d they were pirating (but also said they needed them to maintain the workflow they had) and said that they didnt care about my liability in the matter being the only IT person in the company.
I turned them in.
The BSA offers a reward, and at first they tell you that if they have to use your testimony they cant give you anything (it would be like paying for testimony) but they tell you that its rare that you ever have to actually use your testimony as the companies generally settle.
If it gives you any comfort, the person that turned you in will not get any reward. the BSA find ways to make it so they dont have to pay out the reward for ratting you out.
Now as far as your legally obtained software.
Scan your PCs for software installed and make sure you have Purchase Records of all software installed that requires a license. this is what any lawyer you hire is going to want. the purchase records are there to prove you had the licenses prior to them coming to you stating that you didnt.
the legal group the engineering company I worked for used was Scott and Scott, iirc they are a bit pricey but they will minimize any fines or fees that could hit you from them. I say do your own due diligence first, then see where you stand. just because you didnt authorize the install of software doesnt mean you have not had an employee installing any and everything they could get a serial generator for, which on your machines, means you are responsible for it.
Oh also dont go formatting and reinstalling the OS on all of your machines. this looks bad if it goes to court like you were trying to hide something according to the lawyers at scott and scott.
I regret doing this to the engineering company myself, but in the end, they are better off for it. Autodesk gave them a huge break on network licenses for their CAD software, and they are now operating 100% legit on the software side for less in fines than it would have cost to buy the stuff out right.
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You should be ashamed of yourself. If everyone knew the "truth" about you as you wanted the BSA to know the "truth" about your employer you would never have another job.
What I am ashamed of was thinking of profiting off of it. Were I in the same position again I would have done the anonymous turn in and not attempted or dreamed of the reward. Also I am open about why I left that engineering company in interviews. it doesnt hurt me in the least, and also by the reactions of the interviewing managers I get an idea if I will fit in with them.
? because if these people would fund free software, and bother to learn how to use free software, instead of ripping off Autocad because 'its what i learned in school', then we probably wouldnt need autocad.
the bad thing is before I decided to turn them in I tried to find a workable solution with Open Source CAD software and they said "the learning curve would be too steep and the loss in productivity would be enough that they would lose the same amount just buying the software"
Well, I wouldn't put it quite that far. He most likely didn't get paid, as he said, or got paid very little. This is actually a good story to have around: It proves that being a snitch *isn't* worth it.
Yeah thats why I said something honestly RobbieThe1st. I wanted the owner to have SOME small comfort in knowing the one who turned him in was probably used and wont get anything out of it. Its not much of a comfort but its something :)
Actually I didnt administer it. They fired their IT guy, and hired me in to clean up his mess. when I found out how bad it was and told them and they refused to do anything about it is when I turned them in and no longer worked for them . Gotta love it when idiots on this site draw their own conclusions from data that was never given or implied.
I worked for an engineering company who said they couldnt justify the 25 licenses of autocad civil3d they were pirating (but also said they needed them to maintain the workflow they had) and said that they didnt care about my liability in the matter being the only IT person in the company. I turned them in. The BSA offers a reward, and at first they tell you that if they have to use your testimony they cant give you anything (it would be like paying for testimony) but they tell you that its rare that you ever have to actually use your testimony as the companies generally settle. If it gives you any comfort, the person that turned you in will not get any reward. the BSA find ways to make it so they dont have to pay out the reward for ratting you out. Now as far as your legally obtained software. Scan your PCs for software installed and make sure you have Purchase Records of all software installed that requires a license. this is what any lawyer you hire is going to want. the purchase records are there to prove you had the licenses prior to them coming to you stating that you didnt. the legal group the engineering company I worked for used was Scott and Scott, iirc they are a bit pricey but they will minimize any fines or fees that could hit you from them. I say do your own due diligence first, then see where you stand. just because you didnt authorize the install of software doesnt mean you have not had an employee installing any and everything they could get a serial generator for, which on your machines, means you are responsible for it. Oh also dont go formatting and reinstalling the OS on all of your machines. this looks bad if it goes to court like you were trying to hide something according to the lawyers at scott and scott. I regret doing this to the engineering company myself, but in the end, they are better off for it. Autodesk gave them a huge break on network licenses for their CAD software, and they are now operating 100% legit on the software side for less in fines than it would have cost to buy the stuff out right.