Suspected hard disk loading is practised by dishonest computer dealers or system builders who pre-load PCs with illegal software. This practice appears to sweeten the deal for the consumer who is generally unaware that he has purchased illegal software, and it gives the dealer an unfair price advantage over his law-abiding competitors. At the end of day it is the end user who suffers as he is not provided with the standard back-up discs, manuals and certificate of authenticity which means that he cannot register for product support. Counterfeiting is software piracy on a grand scale. It is the illegal duplication of software products and is generally perpetrated by organised crime syndicates, which redistribute the fake copies as supposedly legal product.
Internet piracy involves software illegally being made available through the Internet.