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Purchasing Software Off Qatar / UAE - What to Be Careful With?

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  • 03-03-2022 11:15am
    #1
    ElManu
    Registered Users Posts: 3 ✭


    Hi,

    My company is looking forward to upgrade some of the software we are currently using, however the developer of the software has moved into a subscription plan that is outrageously expensive. Up until two years ago, the software was published and sold with lifetime licenses, and it is not a requirement for it to function to be connected to internet.

    In searching for an older version of the software to purchase, we've found that no reseller in Europe offers the previous versions, probably forced by contract by the developer. North America does, but only the US version of the software, which is useless to us.

    We've also found that some online shops from countries in the Middle East (Qatar, UAE) sell the Irish / UK version of the software, for the older versions that we are looking for. They offer the software globally as a digital download, and seem to be reputable and been around selling software for years - as checked with archive.org, plus generic search for customer's complaints.

    Now, it all seems shiny to me, but it's a first with the Middle East. I am unable to be certain I am not missing something in this picture that will cause later trouble, and the software costs enough so that purchasing uselessly is not affordable.

    Would the developer be able to reject activating the software on the basis that those are licenses for the Irish / UK version of the software, but only for use in the Middle East? (software activation is needed, but no further connection to the developer's servers from then on)

    Is there any other concern I should be having?

    Thanks!

    Post edited by ElManu on
    Tagged:


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    #2
    Jim2007
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 10,285 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jim2007


    So loosing your business is worth less that the price of the software.....

    You have absolutely no idea of what you are buying, it could be ransomware for all you know. At some point in time you may turn on the machine to discover you are locked out. The software may have been altered to circumvent the license checking which may result in error that are unseen to you until it is too late. It may have been altered to allow hackers easy access at a later date. This is a dumb idea if you value your business.

    On top of that:

    • Is the license in fact transferable
    • Will you receive support
    • What happens if your data becomes corrupt? Will it be possible to get support to recover it.




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    #3
    ElManu
    Registered Users Posts: 3 ✭ElManu


    We are not intending to buy a hacked version - we'll buy a legal license of the locale of the software we require, from a UAE reseller; our concern is about conflicts with licensing, policies, or other issues of the sort.

    The two shops we consider to buy from have physical locations, and have been at it for the last 10 years at least. Typically, scam shops will last much, much less than that. And all pointers are that this are reputable shops, that sell the original software. One, specifically, is even named (not self-claimed) an official reseller of the specific software we want to buy.

    We are not looking forward to buy hacked, or cracked software. Even more, we are not even looking forward to buying the software itself, as the full version can be downloaded from the developer and used in trial mode. We want to buy a license to make that software, well, licensed. That is, the possibility of the code having been altered is zero. At this moment the problem is no shops sell licenses in Europe, as the developer is pressing hard for its pay per year model. But in the Middle East licenses are available for the product version that was used in UK / Ireland.

    We are to buy a new license, not a used one.

    Getting support is a valid point, and no, there will be no specific support. That said, even when they had customer support, it was awful, so we are already in the mindset of taking care of ourselves with this one.

    So, our concerns are about potential conflicts with licensing / policies.

    Post edited by ElManu on


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    #4
    ElManu
    Registered Users Posts: 3 ✭ElManu


    Should anyone find this thread in the future:

    We went ahead and purchased the license.

    We downloaded the software from the servers of the developer, in Europe. The reseller also sent us a link for the download, and the link pointed to the developer server (in Europe), not to the reseller's server.

    So, full success, we obtained a license no longer available in Europe. Even though the developer doesn't have the license available in any European shop anymore, the license we bought got activated without a problem. We downloaded the software from the source, so guaranteed no tampering. The file downloaded is the same as would be used for Europe, and so is the license, so full compatibility and localization available. All working, and we've solved our problem.

    Thanks @Jim2007 for taking the time to reply!



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