Man! This is getting pretty insane! Lately, especially with the emergence of XF, I have seen a TON of people running nulled versions of forum scripts. Why are so many people jumping on this bandwagon? I mean, it's particularly annoying to me because I paid for mine legitemately, and to see someone just to be able to have it for free is something I am definitely not okay with. Plus, it's stealing from the company that made it. Think about the countless hours the entire software team puts into the software; how can you be okay with ripping it? The same goes with themes, add-ons, etc! I know the economy is rough right now, but can't people just try their hardest to make their free forum the best that it can be? *sigh* It's something that needed to be said
I have seen many people running nulled script over years and still they didnt caught up! Even the team never cares about it!
Copyright Theft is a big thing these days! Illegal Software, Nulled Scripts.. Cloned Website much much more, but to be honest these big company that create this software they should take more action they don't do anything it's Illegal they should take action, but there is just too many sites these days running Nulled Software but yet you can do your own part.. if you see someone using nulled software contact them and let them know It helps them knowing which sites are running there software illegally so they can then take future action.
It's wrong! The funny thing is, the people who use pirated software will most likely go on to run the big communities, the ones who legitimately paid for software may be stuck with finding users Happened to me.
I must admit i have used nulled software in my time, so i'm not going to act like a stuck up and say im against it, i believe the word "Free" should come to use
Totally agree with you on this, I see nulled IPB forums everyday and it's quiet frustrating. XF/IPB & vB should have an license checker available to the public where they can type the domain URL the license is attached to, to check if its legitimate and this way sites using illegal downloaded scripts to be shut down. Similar to WHMCS: http://www.whmcs.com/members/verifydomain.php
Most of your nulled scripts have back doors in them for hacking. They are too dangerous to risk and since you obtain them illegally, there is no official support when the worst happens People who are stupid though will get what is coming to them
If you are able to find the back doors the people left, you won't have to worry about getting hacked. And there are some easy ways of telling if the software is authentic or not. Simply by hovering over the forum software at the bottom. If it is not click able it is not authentic. A lot of newbies rarely make it click able. I have bumped into at least 5 websites running nulled IPB or vB.
Nothing stops you from REPORTING the sites. I have reported tens of vbulletin sites that were nulled and they 'disappeared' in few days. Or had to change scripts. Just crying about it won't help Most of the time the developers will do their best to close down those sites and most of the time they succeed in doing this. Even in my country, which is still a haven for pirated software, our hosting providers will 'kill' a site IN HOURS. I did it for some sites I sold hosting too, most of the others do it too. Just report and focus on your forum. Have a unique design. Take care of your community, bring in daily content and you'll be fine. If I had a cent for all the 'competitors' I had in the past 10 years, I'd be pretty rich
The problem is most of them using nulled scripts actually think its like using a free one like MyBB. They argue that companies like VB, IPB, XF are money minded and are not so generous like MyBB, phpBB, etc. So, they actually claim its not wrong to steal it from them. But the problem is, they don't see the fact that those paid companies should pay taxes, employee salaries, etc. using nulled scripts is the worst thing any webmaster can do. And my biggest question is, when there are several big boards (who earn thousands of $'s per month) trust free ones like MyBB, phpBB, etc; why can't those people who can't afford a paid license try using a free one like MyBB?
It's unfair on the company's that create these kind of software, because they loose out on a lot of money from people purchasing a licence then, then downloading the product and sharing it on Warez websites hopefully one day in the future, forum developers will introduce a product where only paid users can actually use the software so it cannot be shared on websites for people to download free!
Been on HackForums for a few days now to promote and discuss webmaster things and the amount of people using a nulled copy of IPB or Xenforo is unreal.
Personally it is not my business to report anyone. It is illegal, yes but so are alot of other things I have seen friends and colleagues do in the past and present. It is not up to me to be the police of anyone BUT me and those who I am in charge of. I don't a profit for reporting this. Sure it may be the right thing to do. I can understand how us paying customers may get pissed but to me it's noseying around and what's to say they wont come back up with another site. Offshore hostitng plus an obscure domain extension makes most of these people untouchable and from little knowledge I do have of nulled scripts, I believe the reason you don't see a clickable link is simply becuase they remove it because if someone were to click on it it sends them to Xenforo, ipb and adds the site name to referral list thus bringing unwanted attention to your company.
People don't care about the work the designers, developers have put in. They just want the best to be used in their forum. Even some offer free tools, paid is the option many opt for .
We can jump from top floor of a building (its possible). But we don't do it as we have certain principles in life and we fear of death. Now tell me whether jumping from top floor of a building is a good thing.
Committing suicide or at least risking major injury is a bit extreme when comparing something like using a nulled forum
