Illegal Copies of Comersus Cart

Date: March-2006

During the past months, we have noticed an alarming increase in the distribution of illegal copies of Comersus Cart. Beyond the legal risks involved in implementing illegal software -which is a crime- we would like to mention other related risks for any individual or company engaging in this practice.

A user recently reported at Comersus technical forum that his customers' credit card data had been stolen from his store and their email addresses had been added to spam lists. The user claimed he was using the free version of Comersus. However, upon a simple inspection, Comersus technicians concluded that the user had scripts which are only provided in paid packages (Power Packs).

The user then admitted he had obtained a Power Pack by illegal means, but said he was only testing the software and would then purchase an official license if he decided to keep it. Comersus technicians reviewed the content of the illegal scripts and came to the conclusion that they had been slightly altered; that is, they did not completely match the official scripts distributed by Comersus. Some of the scripts had subtle variations which sent data on the location of the store to attackers. Other modifications allowed attackers to log in to the Backoffice through a backdoor.

This particular user eventually reached an agreement with Comersus and licensed his software accordingly. However, at this point he had already lost many customers, he had to deal with lawsuits, and he basically had to rebuild his business from the ground up, on a new domain.

Some users believe something like this could never happen to them because they have programming skills and Comersus is provided with open source, so they can check the code. However, Comersus is made up of over 250 scripts, some of which include hundreds of lines of code. Inspecting all scripts would be a complicated, time-consuming, and impractical task.

Using authentic software is not just a legal mandate. It is also a wise choice that will protect your business from numerous risks.

In addition, Comersus offers a free version with a license for commercial purposes, an invaluable tool for start-up businesses with not enough funds to invest on a more advanced package.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in fighting piracy.

Comersus Open Technologies LC