AV giants target eBay software fraud

Two of the world's largest antivirus software vendors are launching legal action against a group of software pirates selling illegal versions of well-known security software on eBay, as part of a major crackdown on software fraud on the auction site.

The trade in illegal software on eBay is a booming industry and one the auction site has been reluctant to address, saying it is the role of the vendors to protect their intellectual property.

Now McAfee and Symantec have decided to get tough on the pirates, throwing their considerable weight behind a Software and Information Industry Association (Siaa) campaign to clean up eBay. The Siaa is planning to ensnare criminals by buying software from eBay and suing those whose products turn out to be illegal.

The initiative was kicked off with the announcement of legal proceedings against five US-based individuals who face claims for damages as well as court orders restricting them from committing their alleged crimes in the future. The five men are accused of selling 15,000 items of pirated software during the last three months of 2005.

A quick surf around eBay today by silicon.com uncovered dozens of sales offering software from Symantec's Norton range as well as McAfee products. Many appeared far from legitimate with some lots consisting of nothing more than a CD, with sellers admitting boxes and manuals - as well as licences, no doubt - will not be forthcoming.

A spokesman for McAfee said: "McAfee takes the sale and distribution of pirated software extremely seriously. We proactively take all measures possible to shut down all auctions where it is obvious that illegal or grey imports of our products are being sold on eBay or indeed any auction site."

A major problem for consumers using illegal security software is that they may not be as well protected as they think. For companies the problem is more obviously to do with lost revenue and damage to their brand.

John Thompson, CEO of Symantec, last month told silicon.com: "The Norton brand is the BMW of the security world."

As such, he said, the company has no plans to offer a low-cost version and likewise will fight to maintain its reputation.