Is it a sin to use a crack in order to use my software?

[Presbyterian Continuist]

There's no reason to think he uninstalled it either. Given that he almost certainly installed it at some point, it's safer to err on the side of caution and assume it's still installed.

The bottom line to all this is that it is none of our business anyway.

 

[RDKirk]

The bottom line to all this is that it is none of our business anyway.

Except...we were asked for our opinions.

 

[Nithavela]

Except...we were asked for our opinions.

Its all a moot point now, anyway. The OP has already destroyed his property.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Except...we were asked for our opinions.

Granted.

 

[FireDragon76]

It's not theft but you could be violating copy-protection laws, like the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. But the DMCA is of dubious legality anyways- media companies basically dumped a dumptruck full of campaign contributions into some Congresscritters laps and told them to make circumventing copy protection illegal. I don't think anybody is going to throw you in jail for it, though.

BTW, at one time most software was free to use and modify. That only changed around the late 70's or 80's. That's why GNU and Linux became a thing.

 

[FireDragon76]

What is theft here is done by the company. While it is not the case for the OP, let's say you purchased it prior to 2017 from Abode and activated it. Imagine you reformatted your PC/laptop come 2018 and tried to reinstall the program again only to find out the company no longer maintains the activation server. Worst is the company didn't provide alternative to activate the program. Meaning you just purchased a useless product.

Imagine if this happens to a car manufacturer. After 2017 they no longer produce the specific car key to the model. You so happen to lose your key and the spare, you are by all entitlement able to ask a third party key maker to produce a key that works as long as the car belongs to you. Same as a software crack.

Not everything is piracy. When the company no longer supports you, you're entitled to get a third party to help you use that software since it is yours to begin with. All the new software that only gives you license to use the program is unscrupulous. They make it so that you're forced to upgrade whenever they come out with newer versions. Worst still is the new business model that forces timed subscription only.

Stinks of you will own nothing and you will like it attitude. Consumers are nothing but produce to be harvested at given interval. And this is coming from an IT pre-sales consultant.

That's why we need more consumer protection laws, like Right to Repair, and so forth, extended to digital media. No users benefit from having to buy new licenses to software they've already paid for.

The EU has a better track record at defending electronic media consumers rights, than the US. EU courts have started cracking down on digital distribution companies like Steam for attempting to stop people from selling their accounts full of games.