Wheres the Warez?
By LAURIE LANDE Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Singapore college student Teh S. prides himself on owning the latest versions of software. He’s even prouder of the fact that he didn’t spend one dollar to acquire his collection. “I don’t go to sites on the Internet to buy software — they are provided for free!” he says in an online exchange with a reporter. “I have never bought warez online.” Warez — slang for pirated software posted on the Internet — can be downloaded from thousands of Web sites around the world. These sites give users access to software and games for free or for a fraction of the original cost. Teh, for example, who asked to use only his first name, says a friend bought Microsoft Office 2000 from a warez site for $4, vs. the online retail price of more than $400. And, he boasts, warez software can be had without leaving the comfort of home. “I call the Internet the home shoplifting network,” says Bob Kruger, vice-president for enforcement at the Business
