This site actively supports software piracy

Imagine my dismay to find out this site is illegally distributing my software, PocketDOS, as well as a key generator for my software. Shame on you!

This software is not "abandonware", permission has never been given to HPC:Factor to distribute the software. The only place that it can be legally downloaded and purchased from is: www.pocketdos.com

Is this how this site "supports" Windows CE software authors? A massive FU to Windows CE developers. I am disgusted.

Edited by PocketDOS 2023-02-13 1:58 PM

@PocketDOS PM me with the details of where? There shouldn't be anything other than mirrored versions of your public release binaries on the site

When have I ever given you permission to redistribute my software? In fact, specifically it states on the download page: "IT IS NOT PERMITTED TO RE-DISTRIBUTE ANY OF THESE FILES IN ANY FORM WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION."

There should not be 1 single file of mine on this site. Neither should you be distributing key generators.

Edited by PocketDOS 2023-02-13 2:02 PM

The malware has been zapped, thanks for pointing that out. I'm surprised that the virus scanner hasn't zapped it, it usually does. As for the rest, I'll kill them if you want and make a note that archivist contributions aren't allowed for it - which is what is happening here (and or archive.org). It is your call of course, but it may alienate some of your largest fan base if that is what you want us to do.

I have spent the last couple of hours performing - as best I can from my current location - a forensic analysis on this.

It is clear that there was a malware app labelled as a key generator uploaded to the SCL. I have no idea if it was or was not an actual key generator or just a malware payload, I have not executed it. The anti-virus on the server does not see it as malware - a false negative - and thus I have to conclude that this is why this thread is why I have not known about it sooner. Especially given the issues that we had with CAB Maker a couple of weeks ago due to someone uploading a virus there; the false negative surprises me greatly. That fact is however, what it is. Thankfully though in the time that it has been on the site, virtually no one has downloaded it.

I am well aware that, on a daily basis, there are plenty of people registering on this site who would like nothing more than to be able to convert it into a repository for malware redistribution. I have to spend hundreds of hours every year making fixes, changes and tweaks to keep these people out of our community and keep this site safe for our visitors. I am thus unable to find the words to outline to this community how upset and disappointed I am to learn that this has been done deliberately.

Since I began ce320 in 2000, I have always been very clear on our charter. We do not harm our developers. I, like all of you are well aware of the debates about so called "abandonware" and that in so many cases, developers in the CE community have long since shut-up shop, fallen out of contact and despite the best efforts of many of us here are uncontactable. For the developers who have been contactable, this is why I created the "Exemptionware" license, to allow them to settle into a pattern of control without it ultimately descending into this type of mess. With that said, I and the community have been extremely clear in our communications and support for Pocket DOS and in drilling home the message to visitors to our community that Pocket DOS continues to be purchasable: It is not "abandonware". As per our long held ethical position over this: There is no conversation to be had what so ever ripping off one of the few developers that we still have who directly sells software. If you are too cheap to pay $20 to license it: Shut up and get the hell off my site.

To my memory, this is only the second time in our history that we've been contacted by a developer about the community being used undermine their business. It has happened on other occasions, yes, but they have been dealt with by the moderation team. It is unfortunate that this got missed, but get missed it did. Before the GDPR cull in 2018 we had over 80,000 users. We cannot see everything, we cannot vet everything and ultimately we rely on you the community to help us as much if not more so than we rely on the technology. As of writing, there is over 45GB of binary content sitting on the download server. It gets regularly virus scanned, but in practice, a large part of that cannot be tested because between us we do not have the hardware, time or income streams to allow it. Let alone have someone else eyeball through it a second time to check for things that might have been missed. This is not my job, it does not make me money. Neither does it anyone else. Trust has to come into it somewhere.

So I am left this evening feeling a sense of embarrassment and shame.

To PocketDOS there is nothing else that I can say beyond offering my sincerest apologies. This malicious app should not have been on the site and for it PocketDOS has every right to be angry. There is no excuse for it. I have acted as quickly as possible given the limitations imposed on what has been a difficult day and I hope that if nothing else, this is seen as a gesture of sincerity on my part and I offer a hope that we can move forward.

To the very small number of people who download this file and who have been disseminating it, all I can do is hope that you will look to make amends over this with PocketDOS in your own way.

Hmmm...not good stuff. Think we have been hoodwinked into hosting pirated software that we are all so adamantly against.

All we can do is remove it and hope it doesn't happen again. I think that I was probably responsible for it to begin with as I seem to remember talking to someone about it several months ago and trying to put them in contact with the author. I remember they sent me some files stating they were in the public domain and I uploaded them without checking them out thoroughly...never been an issue before. I'm not a DOS guy nor use the software, still that doesn't excuse any error on my part.

Think it had something to do with activating the Used Handheld version of PocketDOS that many of us paid for and then discovered the links for activation were dead. But to be honest, I simply can't remember that far back.

Now I have to go through my files and make sure that I don't have versions of the malware or keygens or anything...

I hope the PocketDOS guy realizes our sincerity...he would if he saw the hundreds of snailmail and email letters I wrote to authors seeking permission to host their software or ask that it be released into the public domain.

The key generator appears to have been released by a forum member called "MOOSE". Whether or not it is an actual key generator I cannot verify. He/she/it posted on this forum last year bragging that they'd developed a key generator, but was withholding it due out of "respect and legality". Clearly they changed their mind.

I don't want PocketDOS files hosted anywhere other than my site. I've stated as much on the download page, and there is some legality regards redistributing Datalight ROM-DOS (bundled with PocketDOS) without permission. I have permission. This site does not.

To the site admins, thank you for your swift action, and for maintaining this site. No hard feelings.

Edited by PocketDOS 2023-02-14 3:45 PM