Ask HN: We found a cracked version of our software on the web, now what?
Congratulations! Having cracked versions out there indicates that your software is both useful and notable, which is a point where many developers would <i>love</i> to arrive at, maybe, one day.<p>As to what to do about it, there are two basic tracks, neither of which is incompatible with the other:<p>1. The legal route: notifying distribution sites that they&#x27;re hosting content in violation of copyright law, requesting takedown, and if required, demanding such (with a DMCA notice or similar). If a distributor is unresponsive to both, DMCA Google, Bing, etc. to at least suppress the cracks in most search results;<p>2. Having some fun with it: make sure that a special page on your own site becomes the #1 search engine result for &quot;&lt;productname&gt; crack&quot; and similar. On this page, put a human face on your pricing, explain the available discounts, and finally offer to supply a free registration key to anyone that truly wants it, so they don&#x27;t have to download all kinds of shady binaries. Of course, any such free keys don&#x27;t come with support and display a prominent <i>PIRATED VERSION</i> notice in all window captions, printed outputs, et cetera, but you disclose all of that upfront and explain how that&#x27;s a small price to pay...<p>But above all, make sure not to confuse a &quot;pirated copy&quot; with a &quot;lost sale&quot;. In 99% of cases, the Venn diagram of those has <i>very little</i> overlapping area.