Coreldrawx5 illigal copy

[gary l roberts]

SO AFTER YEARS OF USE, (YES i HAVE A LEGAL COPY IN THE BOX ETC) I STARTING GETTING A ILLEGAL COPY MESSAGE FROM COREL, THEY ARE OFFERING TO FORGIVE ME IF i JUST BUY A NEW COPY. ANY BODY ELSE HAVE AN ISSUE?

[Kev Williams]

Yup...

what to do to fix the problem:

on second thought, PM me...

[Hilton Lister]

I have had the same problem. Twice, The first time I contacted them and they fixed it, but it happened again after the next update, so I reinstalled then took the Laser PC off the internet. It also claimed that the older version I had on another PC was also illegal, which it probably was because I updated to later version from it. It's a nuisance for sure.

[Bert McMahan]

I had a "legal copy" once that I got from what appeared to be a reputable store on eBay. It had a box and everything. Turns out, it wasn't reputable, and the eBay seller was nowhere to be found. It lasted about 1-2 years before I got the "illegal" message, so I bought the newer version straight from Corel, and have had no issues since.

[Doug Fisher]

Yep. The counterfeit copies off of Ebay and Amazon are hard to tell from the legit ones. Very accurately copied packaging and printed materials. I am surprised that Amazon doesn't crack down on these sellers. A number of them sell for years before getting booted off.

[Paul Phillips]

I've been using the subscription service since 2016, $198 per year comes out to $16.50 per month for the latest version with free tech support, free automatic updates as they become available including free upgrade to latest version, access to online database of fonts and clip-art. Never had a problem with it and I like staying on top of the latest version as I work with other designers who often forget to save down to lower versions. And I like not having to deal with those licensing issues I used to have with older discs. Also, you can install one license on up to three computers. My two cents.

[Bert Kemp]

yep I have the same problem and I have a legal copy. I emailed corel they sent me a fix but it only lasted a couple days.

[Bert Kemp]

Well Corel wanted some more info on my copy of x5, I gave them all the info I had except a receipt which I didn't have since I bought it years ago and don't have the receipt . So the wrote back and said and I quote
"We can't confirm that your copy is a legal copy and It MAY be an Illegal copy, so were going to switch you to view mode only" So they can'y confirm and It MAY be an Illegal copy but hey there not sure but their going to shut my copy off anyway Nice company to do business with. So now what I have to try and figure out inkscape. I've tried that before and find it very difficult to use.

[Jerome Stanek]

I have had that happen with Corel also and the copy I had came from them as I upgraded from an earlier version.

[Bill George]

Well Corel wanted some more info on my copy of x5, I gave them all the info I had except a receipt which I didn't have since I bought it years ago and don't have the receipt . So the wrote back and said and I quote
"We can't confirm that your copy is a legal copy and It MAY be an Illegal copy, so were going to switch you to view mode only" So they can'y confirm and It MAY be an Illegal copy but hey there not sure but their going to shut my copy off anyway Nice company to do business with. So now what I have to try and figure out inkscape. I've tried that before and find it very difficult to use.

Are you using your copy online? You have the CD install it on a not connected to the internet computer. Inkscape is not a good replacement for Corel Draw.

[Bert Kemp]

Are you using your copy online? You have the CD install it on a not connected to the internet computer. Inkscape is not a good replacement for Corel Draw.

my computer is connected to internet which I need it to be as I have to search for stuff or send a cdr design to someone.

[Kev Williams]

Bert-- just uninstall it, re-install it, firewall corel.com from your computer or router, and enjoy the software you paid for.

If Corel can't figure out if your software is legal or not, then Corel has NO business disabling your program.

[Bert McMahan]

The issue here is that people with "legal" copies may think they're legal, but might actually not be. Bert, where'd you get your copy, and how are you certain it's legal? If you bought it online you may be able to look up your old order in your online account, or contact the seller and see if they have a record. If it was from eBay, it's probably pirated.

Corel has the problem that likely 10,000 people have registered with the same serial number. All evidence points towards all of those copies being pirated. Bert unfortunately has one of the serial numbers that is being used by a large number of people, and can't provide a receipt. It's not as cut and dry as "well they can't figure it out".

[Jerome Stanek]

The issue here is that people with "legal" copies may think they're legal, but might actually not be. Bert, where'd you get your copy, and how are you certain it's legal? If you bought it online you may be able to look up your old order in your online account, or contact the seller and see if they have a record. If it was from eBay, it's probably pirated.

Corel has the problem that likely 10,000 people have registered with the same serial number. All evidence points towards all of those copies being pirated. Bert unfortunately has one of the serial numbers that is being used by a large number of people, and can't provide a receipt. It's not as cut and dry as "well they can't figure it out".

Mine came from Corel itself Bought from them way back and then upgraded that through their web site but it came back as being a pirated copy that I had to send them the invoice that I received from them to prove it wasn't.

[Kev Williams]

Bert unfortunately has one of the serial numbers that is being used by a large number of people...
--Does he? According to Corel (according to Bert), they can't confirm whether his is a legal copy or not. Why is that? It should take Corel's accounting computer .0001 seconds to figure out if his serial number is a duplicate of a previous valid registration. So, what happened to their database? Pretty sure Bert didn't hack it or delete it, I know I didn',t pretty sure Gary, Jerome and Hilton didn't either....

It's not ethical and probably not legal for Corel to hack OUR computers to put a "you have an illegal copy of Corel" message in the %appdata%/Corel/Messages folder AND install a hidden trojan to render your software inoperable, when by their own admission (to Bert) that they can't even prove it.

Trying to register a pirated copy of software should be stopped in its tracks at the moment of registration, not several years later. They've discovered a problem and now they're trying to get their customers to pay for it.
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[Clark Pace]

So it sound silly, but I use Corel draw 9. Have used it for 20 years. I have never had need of any new fancy features. And it's blazing fast on new machines. If you can get away with using an older version perhaps you can find one somewhere?

[Doug Fisher]

>>Trying to register a pirated copy of software should be stopped in its tracks at the moment of registration, not several years later.

Agreed. With that said, my guess is that Corel has recently reverse engineered the pirate key gen crack software and Corel has a better idea of the range of illegal serial numbers so they are making everyone in that range prove they are legit.

There are potentially tens of thousands of people using illegal copies of Corel 12 because just about every ebay and amazon laser comes with Corel 12 plus a key generator on the included CD.

[Kev Williams]

IF the law in this instance works anything like normal criminal law, and I see no reason why it doesn't, the burden of proof is Corel's to prove, users have no need to prove they're 'legal'...
And how will they prove mens rea, 99% of those who actually have 'bad' software paid for it in good faith, no intent to defraud.

And I'm pretty sure any statute of limitations that applies has long since expired...

Corel just needs to count this is a lesson learned and move on before they alienate the client base...

[Gary Hair]

Corel just needs to count this is a lesson learned and move on before they alienate the client base...

To be fair, anyone still using X5 isn't really in their client base...

[gary l roberts]

Well, it's a mess. Wondering whether your about to lose the program and files that you have been using for years. You would think that they would recognize it when you register the program one of the 3 or 4 times I upgraded computers and re-registered , and not just some random time frame. I've take measures to project my files (thanks), And I'm sure not about to pay a company any more money for the hassle and threat. If I loss it, I'll change software.

[Rob Damon]

Speculation on my part.
In the early years the computer software came with paper manuals and software came on floppy disk. The serial number/code to verify it was legit was print in the manual or on a card or on the disk. You could mail in the registration card. Once companies realize that media / process allowed for unlimited installs they started to change the process. Once CD's/dvd media came along they stopped sending hard copies of manuals and made you call a 1-800- number to register the software for every installation of the software to verify it was legit. Once they realized that most people were continuously on line, they required you to connect to the internet to thier servers to verify the software is legit during the initial install. Some still offered phone registration. They pushed the subscription model and digital downloads to reduce cost (increase profit margins) and generate a steady flow of revenue and spy/track on it's user.
Fast forward to today.
When I purchased my laser I wanted to buy Corel but it required you to be online. My shop does not have internet access. So I could not use it. In December I recieved an email from Corel offering a discount on the corel suite 2018. When I contacted them I told them my issue with not having internet access and they indicted that now for a perpetual version I just needed internet access for initial install and it would work fine offline after that. So I ordered it. The ordering actual came through a third party service even though it was being ordered directly from the corel website.
Since nearly all current lincenses are cloud based I am guessing that alot of the legacy versions of the software license was not cost effected to add to cloud based system especially if a third party service is handling the electronic downloads and licensing process. So many do have legal copies but the companies do not want to spend the money maintain records of older licenses especially since they are most likely not directly handling the process. Also since most older software is no longer supported there would be no real reason to continue to track and maintain license by these companies. You want support buy a newer version is the mindset.

[Bert Kemp]

[QUOTE=Rob Damon;2904958]Speculation on my part.
In the early years the computer software came with paper manuals and software came on floppy disk. The serial number/code to verify it was legit was print in the manual or on a card or on the disk. You could mail in the registration card. Once companies realize that media / process allowed for unlimited installs they started to change the process. Once CD's/dvd media came along they stopped sending hard copies of manuals and made you call a 1-800- number to register the software for every installation of the software to verify it was legit. Once they realized that most people were continuously on line, they required you to connect to the internet to thier servers to verify the software is legit during the initial install. Some still offered phone registration. They pushed the subscription model and digital downloads to reduce cost (increase profit margins) and generate a steady flow of revenue and spy/track on it's user.
Fast forward to today.
When I purchased my laser I wanted to buy Corel but it required you to be online. My shop does not have internet access. So I could not use it. In December I recieved an email from Corel offering a discount on the corel suite 2018. When I contacted them I told them my issue with not having internet access and they indicted that now for a perpetual version I just needed internet access for initial install and it would work fine offline after that. So I ordered it. The ordering actual came through a third party service even though it was being ordered directly from the corel website.
Since nearly all current lincenses are cloud based I am guessing that alot of the legacy versions of the software license was not cost effected to add to cloud based system especially if a third party service is handling the electronic downloads and licensing process. So many do have legal copies but the companies do not want to spend the money maintain records of older licenses especially since they are most likely not directly handling the process. Also since most older software is no longer supported there would be no real reason to continue to track and maintain license by these companies. You want support buy a newer version is the mindset.[/QUOTEoo I don't want support I just want to beable to use the software I paid for yeras ago. I don't need a newer version the one I have works fine for me
n

[Bill George]

Buy a used Windows 7 computer, install your copy and use. Do not allow that computer on the internet. Simple. I never allow my Corel to "call home" and its X6.

[Kev Williams]

Wasn't going to post this about losing the 'illegal notification', but here goes:

Search your computer for your %appdata% folder
Within the %appdata% folder find the Corel folder
Within the Corel folder find the Messages folder
delete the messages, or the whole folder, it doesn't matter.
If your computer is on the internet and Corel.com isn't blocked, they will just install another Messages folder
I'll leave it at that--

[Bert McMahan]

--Does he? According to Corel (according to Bert), they can't confirm whether his is a legal copy or not. Why is that? It should take Corel's accounting computer .0001 seconds to figure out if his serial number is a duplicate of a previous valid registration. So, what happened to their database? Pretty sure Bert didn't hack it or delete it, I know I didn',t pretty sure Gary, Jerome and Hilton didn't either....

It's not ethical and probably not legal for Corel to hack OUR computers to put a "you have an illegal copy of Corel" message in the %appdata%/Corel/Messages folder AND install a hidden trojan to render your software inoperable, when by their own admission (to Bert) that they can't even prove it.

Trying to register a pirated copy of software should be stopped in its tracks at the moment of registration, not several years later. They've discovered a problem and now they're trying to get their customers to pay for it.
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Yes, he does have a serial number that's been used fraudulently... that's how they knew to contact him! Whether or not HE used it fraudulently is what they're trying to prove. I'm not saying Bert obtained his key illegally, I'm saying the key he does have HAS been used frequently and illegally. I am not arguing the ethics of if they can brick their software or not, as I'm no lawyer and nobody here has ready the terms of use anyways :)

I think your logic is flawed regarding usage of serial numbers. How many computers have you installed CorelDraw on? I know I've probably had 3-4 installations over the years on new computers, reformatted machines, etc. My license allows 2 installations, but I've never been able to figure out how to "release" a claimed installation, so I just install it on the new machine when I get it. I never have more than 2 active at any given time, so I just leave it alone.

Corel *probably* lets you install 10-20 times before they crack down on things, heck maybe 100 times, who knows. If they were super strict about licensing, they'd just stop you after installation number 2, leading to gobs of upset users who can't get their computers to work. If they are incredibly strict in their licensing (like most other companies are), they have to spend TONS of time on support with people trying to just use their software.

So what do they do? They let the "little fish" go, and when some particular key has been used a million times, they start cracking down. After all, only ONE person who uses a given key is likely to be the one who ACTUALLY purchased it, so they can get rid of 9,999 illegal copies if they can find the ONE actual person who purchased it.

This is just a theory of course, and again I'm not sure of the legalities of bricking your software after you activated it. I'm not arguing that at all.

Also, I'm fairly certain that Corel, and the law, doesn't care if you weren't trying to buy a fraudulent number. If someone sells you stolen goods, you don't get to keep them just because you thought it was legal when you bought it.

[Bill George]

He does have a serial number that's been used fraudulently... that's how they knew to contact him! Whether or not HE used it fraudulently is what they're trying to prove.

So if he purchased an illegal copy unknowingly and registered it, would they not have his email address from that? I believe this is a illegal ploy on Corels behalf to get users to upgrade. Apple did the same thing in slowing down the older iPhone 6 and got caught. They slowed them down so the end user would buy a new phone! I have never used the Online benefits of my legal copy. Do not need.

[Mike Null]

Since version 8, I have purchased all my upgrades directly from Corel. I now have X7 as my latest version though I use X5 for all my work. To date, I have not encountered the warning from Corel. My machine is online just about 24/7.

I have 5 and 7 loaded on 3 machines although only one is in use at a time.

[Bert McMahan]

He does have a serial number that's been used fraudulently... that's how they knew to contact him! Whether or not HE used it fraudulently is what they're trying to prove.

So if he purchased an illegal copy unknowingly and registered it, would they not have his email address from that?

Yes they would... I"m not sure exactly what you're asking. Registration is basically "Here is my email address and I have serial number XYZ123". If XYZ123 is a valid number, the software works. If it's not a valid number, the software doesn't work. For them to be starting a fraud investigation, they will have about 1000 different people that said "My serial number is XYZ123, here is my email address". Their task right now is to figure out which one of them, if any, purchased the serial number from a legitimate seller.

Anyone with a valid serial number can just copy their CD and go on eBay and sell the CD, then send the same serial number to everyone. It will activate initially, but once they see the number of activations are 100 or 1000 they start retroactively locking all accounts that used that serial number. Scammers can just buy 20 copies of Corel Draw, then resell each one 4 or 5 times on eBay and make a nice profit, then close their accounts and move on. It's even easier if they sell 40 or 50, or 400 or 500 copies of the same serial number. They will reuse a legitimate serial number until Corel stops accepting that it's valid, which means all of the people who bought their CD from that eBay auction are now hosed, as they don't have a legal copy, even though they THOUGHT they bought one.

If Corel only allowed, say, 2 activations per serial number, then they would cut down massively on fraud, but they'd = off about a million people who recently replaced their hard drive and can no longer install their software anymore. They give some leeway on the number of activations they allow, until it hits some threshold.

To continue my example, if they see XYZ123 has hit, say, 100 activations, they stop everyone's accounts from working and tell everyone to send in their receipt. Only ONE of the people, at most, has a valid receipt for that serial number, so they just deactivated 99 illegal copies. Unfortunately, if you are the ONE person with the valid number and never got a receipt (even if it WAS valid), you're in a pickle.

If you bought a car from someone on Craigslist, then the police showed up and said "Welp, sorry, but this car was stolen" you don't get to keep the car just because you didn't KNOW it was stolen when you bought it. You won't be *prosecuted*, but you can't keep the car.

I think what most people don't realize is that a serial number will very frequently start out as "legal" but then gets duplicated a ton of times. Keygen programs are the exception here- none of those serial numbers started out legitimate (unless the keygen just happened to guess a valid serial number).

[Bill George]

Bert, the only thing Corel has is my First name. They do not have my Email address. Its activated and its legal but I never Log in or do anything Online. Same way with Microsoft, its activated and legal but they do not have my name or email address unless I give it to them. That is why I asked, how did they have his email address, very simple you do not give it to them and they will not have.

PS Cars have titles, no title no money, no sale.

[Bert McMahan]

Then they know to contact him by the software phoning home. I'm not quite sure what the issue is, the question was "How do they know to contact him" and the answer is "He either gave them his email when he registered it or the software is phoning home". That's the answer to that question, which is all I was trying to say, nothing more.

And regarding the cars comparison... change it to a stereo or most any other item, you still don't get to keep it if it's stolen.

[Scott Shepherd]

Unfortunately software is part of the cost of doing business. Like others have said, it's not that expensive to get a new copy when you consider it lasts for years. A few bucks a month. Well worth it in my opinion. The RIP software for our wide format printer was close to $5,000 and costs about $1,100 a year to stay "current". I look at CorelDraw and the Adobe Create Suite as reasonable.

I bought a copy of Windows 7 Pro from a local guy. Thing was brand new in the box, sealed up tight with the hologram on it. I installed it and it wouldn't work. They said it was an unauthorized version, apparently sold in bulk to institutions and not for resale. I filled out a report with Microsoft for illegal software and they actually sent me a brand new copy of it for free. In return, I sent them the package I had bought and all the details of where I bought it.

[Jerome Stanek]

Unfortunately software is part of the cost of doing business. Like others have said, it's not that expensive to get a new copy when you consider it lasts for years. A few bucks a month. Well worth it in my opinion. The RIP software for our wide format printer was close to $5,000 and costs about $1,100 a year to stay "current". I look at CorelDraw and the Adobe Create Suite as reasonable.

I bought a copy of Windows 7 Pro from a local guy. Thing was brand new in the box, sealed up tight with the hologram on it. I installed it and it wouldn't work. They said it was an unauthorized version, apparently sold in bulk to institutions and not for resale. I filled out a report with Microsoft for illegal software and they actually sent me a brand new copy of it for free. In return, I sent them the package I had bought and all the details of where I bought it.

Why would you pay to get a new copy if the first one was real and it works for what you needed it to.

[Scott Shepherd]

Why would you pay to get a new copy if the first one was real and it works for what you needed it to.

Because I'm running a business and the time it takes me to go through all that costs me far more than the update did. Time is money. You want to spend hours on the phone and writing emails and troubleshooting, knock yourself out. We get $100 per hour for our shop rate so if it cost me more than 3 hours or time/frustration then I'm losing money.

[Jerome Stanek]

Because I'm running a business and the time it takes me to go through all that costs me far more than the update did. Time is money. You want to spend hours on the phone and writing emails and troubleshooting, knock yourself out. We get $100 per hour for our shop rate so if it cost me more than 3 hours or time/frustration then I'm losing money.

You are assuming that Corel won't do that to the new one you just bought.

[Scott Shepherd]

You are assuming that Corel won't do that to the new one you just bought.

I think it's pretty safe to assume if you buy it directly from Corel that you aren't going to have any issues with the license. Far better odds with that than eBay from a non-authorized reseller. Like I said, it's your time and your money, do with both how you please, but for me, I don't have hours to figure it out. If I had no work (and no pay) then I'd probably take the time to fight with them because it wouldn't be costing me anything but when work is here, it's a fool's errand to try and fight it. Just my opinion.

[Jerome Stanek]

I think it's pretty safe to assume if you buy it directly from Corel that you aren't going to have any issues with the license. Far better odds with that than eBay from a non-authorized reseller. Like I said, it's your time and your money, do with both how you please, but for me, I don't have hours to figure it out. If I had no work (and no pay) then I'd probably take the time to fight with them because it wouldn't be costing me anything but when work is here, it's a fool's errand to try and fight it. Just my opinion.

Did you read my post I bought from Corel and the locked down my software.

[Scott Shepherd]

Did you read my post I bought from Corel and the locked down my software.

Wasn't referring to your situation. The OP said they'd abandon the entire software package before paying them any more money. Just seems short sighted to me. You can stand on principle all day but if that principle ends up costing you more money in time then it may not have been the best choice.

If I bought it directly from Corel, then I'd make a quick call, ask to speak to a supervisor and explain the situation. Like I said, time is money. You can pay for the new version or spend hours trying to resolve it. Your choice. If I had to spend much time on it, I'd just upgrade and get back to work, but like I said, that's me.