So What Is an EULA and Why Should You Care?
Posted by ThePaladin on February 19th, 2008
Greetings Citizens of the Realm!
Once again the Paladin is taking time out from building the finer points of this site to share some knowledge with you that will be invaluable in your fight against the anti-programmers and many others.
The Paladin came across an interesting article by the BBC (located here) which describes an investigation into software EULA’s by the National Computer Council (NCC).
If you are not familliar with the acronym, an EULA is an “End User License Agreement” that software companies include with their software. You see, when you buy software, you are not really buying the software…you are purchasing the right to use the software. The software is actually licensed for your use by the price you pay.
The license agreement is usually a piece of paper inside the package of the software box you are buying, and in typical form, tends to be printed in very small print to discourage you from actually reading the thing. Why would this be the case? Because like stereotypical legal documents of the past (and present), the makers of the software do not want you to notice certain things about the agreement (yes, you are entering into a legal contract when you buy software).
For example, by the letter of the contract, when you bought your computer and it came preloaded with Microsoft Windows (assuming you are running Windows) it came with a “special” OEM version of the license. If you read the contract carefully, you will find that you cannot legally take your copy of Windows and load it onto a brand new computer when you replace the old one. The license is ONLY good for the computer which you originally bought with the operating system installed.
You can buy versions of Windows that you CAN move from machine to machine (legally), but these cost nearly DOUBLE what that OEM version of Windows cost you (OEM means “Original Equipment Manufacturer” and refers to the special licensing given to computer hardware makers).
In some technical circles, this licensing scheme is referred to as MS-Tax, a tax upon computers for Microsoft, since many feel that once they have bought Windows they should be able to move it to a new machine when they retire their old machine.
So to return to our original story…
An investigation conducted by the NCC has determined that end user license agreements are SO one-sided that they would like the legal system to investigate whether or not such lopsided contracts should be allowed. The NCC also takes exception to the fact that most EULA’s are contained
So the point to all of this background on EULAs is that you should be aware of the fact that you are entering into a contract when you purchase software and that you should take the time to read the EULA carefully. It can be very eye-opening.
The Paladin recalls many years ago reading an EULA for a piece of software he was about to buy that stated in the EULA that opening the software and accepting the agreement (the EULA that is) you were agreeing to allowing the software to scan your hard drive and report this information back to the company who made the software.
Did you follow that? YOU WOULD BE AGREEING TO LET THEM SCAN YOUR HARD DRIVE AND TRANSFER DATA BACK TO THE SOFTWARE MAKER!!!
Do you really want some software company scanning your hard drive and sending data back to their computers? Some of the companies that would like you to agree to this feel that you should “trust them” not to take any personally identifying or critical information and send it back to their computers (such as your Quicken or Microsoft Money files). But these are the very same companies burried this little clause in and EULA in very small print sealed inside a box where you could not read it until AFTER your bought and opened the software.
Does this sound like somebody you should trust?
As the Paladin has said before, in protecting your computer and your data, knowledge will be your best weapon…and understanding what an EULA is and being diligent in reading an EULA carefully will go a long way to protecting your computer and your data.