According to The Business Software Alliance (BSA), it found that 72 percent of software was not properly licensed in Thailand. The commercial value of these unlicensed software installations slipped marginally to 26,000 billion. But a large majority of IT managers cited security threats from malware as the main reason not to use unlicensed or mis-licensed applications. Topping their list of concerns was the risk of losing data, followed by unauthorized access to company information, the time and costs involved in disinfecting, and loss of intellectual property or proprietary information. In 2014 the rate of unlicensed software in Thailand was down to 71 percent because the Department of Intellectual Property of Thailand’s encouraged people to realize the piracy law.
Thaiware.com, the website that providing free and tested software download, revealed the used of unlicensed software in Thailand was 82 percent and only 18 percent used license software. The factors behind software piracy are high price of software, propensity of free, functions and capabilities as license software, difficult payment, complicated and used some features.
No one in the world wants to pay more money in the same thing. Perhaps this is the reason why someone prefers illegal software. However, Have you ever heard the idiom "there ain't no such thing as a free launch". While people obtain something, they have to pay.
According to BSA research, there are several advantages from using legitimate software. The most important thing is its revision. Companies regularly fix program's bug and update the virus database to ensure that client's computer will be safe and won't receive any negative effect from their product. Moreover, purchasing legitimate software indicates that people's support for technology industry. The more the using rate of legal software rise up, the more job positions are applied. These advantages come with an expense.
For illegitimate software's users, there are plenty of illegal software options they can select; it can be found without difficulty in the internet and all over computer store in Thailand. In addition, legal software price is a lot more expensive than the illegal. The users are satisfied to spend less money on another one. On the other hand, their saving comes with risk. According to Microsoft, Thailand is identified as one of the 25 countries in the world that are most targeted with malware attacks. As individuals and organizations become more connected with their devices, they are also increasingly vulnerable to the exploits of cybercriminals seeking opportunities to steal private, financial and confidential data.
Therefore, the current study helps us to understand what are the factors that affect to illegal software in Thailand. Specifically, the use of illegal software among university students.