Theft of computer software deprives many people from the revenue that would have been generated by a legitimate sale. Programmers, software companies, vendors and others depend on the sale of their products for their livelihood. In addition to the ethics of not copying programs, it is illegal and carries a very stiff penalty. Shareware is a method of distribution for software, rather than a type of software. It is neither inferior, nor less powerful than other commercially available programs, and is often better.
Shareware programs are free to copy, pass around, and try out for a reasonable amount of time.
Freeware is similar to shareware, but does not require registration or payment. Many of these programs are copyrighted, however, so you may not sell them as your own or modify them. There are not as many freeware programs available as there are shareware programs, but many of them are just as good as the shareware programs. We encourage our members to abide by these same rules. If we become aware that any program is not legitimate it will be removed.