Is This A Safe Host File To Have?

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StevieT

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#829904 3-Jun-2013 05:48

I did pay $99.00 for Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 from http://www.cycloneonline.co.nz/, a website dedicated to students. In a shop, I'd be paying $700+.

The seller on ioffer.com wants me to cancel the transaction. He's already refunded me the money (yet to see it in my account, though - I suspect it takes a couple of days) after receiving an email from Paypal, and I posted exactly what happened on his feedback wall. Hopefully he sucks no one else in.

Also reported him on The Orb's online form.

jarledb

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#829972 3-Jun-2013 11:25

Just another quick note about security: Its a fairly easy thing to sneak in a trojan with a cracked version of software. And giving someone access to your computer could let them install various things you probably don't want on your computer.

The payload could be able to monitor your computer and catch passwords and even go between you and your online bank. Could get really costly and ugly.

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myfullflavour

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#829975 3-Jun-2013 11:40

This thread. Wow.

mattwnz

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#830012 3-Jun-2013 13:10

StevieT: I did pay $99.00 for Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 from http://www.cycloneonline.co.nz/, a website dedicated to students. In a shop, I'd be paying $700+.

The seller on ioffer.com wants me to cancel the transaction. He's already refunded me the money (yet to see it in my account, though - I suspect it takes a couple of days) after receiving an email from Paypal, and I posted exactly what happened on his feedback wall. Hopefully he sucks no one else in.

Also reported him on The Orb's online form.

That is because it is a special educational license, or a student teacher offer. So it will have special license terms. It is not the same thing. You can get the same thing for adobe software, although it is about $700 for the educational one for adobe for the full suite, which you would have seen on that website too.
There are also often restrictions on discounted student software, such as it can't be used for commercial use.

freitasm

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#830075 3-Jun-2013 16:12

Let me just put it here so people can get the full picture:

- Turkey based web site
- Very expensive software being sold by a very low price
- Seller asks to access buyer's computer to install software/configuration
- Configuration is actually used to bypass software validation/authentication

Seriously, it's piracy, pure and simple. Once you have given someone access to your PC to do ANYTHING, consider it compromised. The software itself might have all sorts of stuff there - it can be part of a botnet sending out spam like crazy, or be part of a botnet doing DDoS for hire right now, or could just be recording all your keystrokes, including your bank access.

The previous advice stands: backup your data only and reinstall the OS then reinstall any ORIGINAL software you have (if you have other pirated software, don't install those).

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