Someone trying to illegally obtain filter forge serial from me?

That is weird.

Don't they know they can download the trial and try and earn a license via plugin creation?

There is two alternative to this

1 - Delete all the OS (Operative System) you are using and reinstall a fresh version of the OS and so you will be able to have another 30 days trial.

2 - Go to another computer that has not been installed filter forge before

Can filter forge know who is the sender ?

How can you ask for a serial in the FF forum ? even if it is done by PM ?

Morgantao is right. He really looks desperate.
If I remember well, it is not the first time that such a thing happens. I already saw it in the forum before.

I do recall some keybegging being reported around about when 2.0 came out.

Because Filter Forge always needs the newest minor version to download filters, it means that any warez monkey's offerings will go obsolete soon enough which I guess is why ppl resort to begging on official forums.

That is a great way to curb piracy.

SpaceRay, if it means we get a new bug fix or a new feature every month, I'm all for it. Otherwise it's just a pain in the butt for all the legal, paying cutomers, that have to upgrade for nothing all the time.
Fighting piracy is important, but it can't get in the way of the paying customer.
Imagine that going into a jewlery store would mean you have to register 2 weeks in advance, so they check your backround before you can enter. After all, there are criminals out there.

I think that in general fighting piracy is a loss of time.
We should before wonder who uses pirated software.

I think there are two categories of people:

1. They really don't have money to buy the new soft.
In some countries, for example in Indonesia, you can normally find in the net or in the shops pirated or copied software. And nobody cares. So, what to do? Stopping it? It is meaningless. The people there cannot buy a new software: it is too expensive and they need those money to buy food instead. What they download ( or buy for few money ) is one of their few enjoyment. Do we want to take it away just to be able to say "I deleted pirated software"? There is no need to take it away, because anyway the software maker would not receive any advantage. Not even 1 copy more would be sold.

2. People who aren't really interested in the program.
They don't even have few ideas about how to use it and no serious intention to use it for long time. Maybe they just use it a couple of times and after forget it. That's why they never thought to spend some money for it.

Yes, there are surely also people who download the pirate version and, if that version was not available, they would buy the original software. But the are a so small number that I think FBI and companies are wasting much more money to fight against piracy than what they would lose if they simply were forgetting the problem.

In most of cases, if they were instead selling the software at a cheaper price, the would get much better results.

I'm certainly not suggesting that constant updates just to block pirated serials are a good strategy. In fact, that would be terrible, and extremely frustrating for paying customers!

I'm just saying it's a handy by-product of on-line connectivity. If anyone actually was using this as a deliberate tactic, then I'd certainly not buy the product. I once almost got a nice lil 3D editing thingy for second life, but just before I got it, I found out that it connects to verify the registration details every time you use it, I was like noooo, I don't think I'll be getting that. Anything that inconveniences users is a bad thing.
It's like those unskipable anti piracy messages you get on DVDs, whenever I have to see that crap I think, if I'd got a pirate copy, I wouldn't have to watch this, I'd be watching the film by now.

Also, monthly updates for bugfixes I don't think is good practice either, being able up update bugs makes companies lazy with testing, knowing that if they miss anything they can update it later. It's best to keep updates down to the least possible.

Quote
Did you know that Windows7 does that every time you boot your computer? Did you know that Adobe Photoshop does that every time you load it?

Ohh, I didn't quite make it clear with that one, this program checked every time, and if it couldn't connect and verify it, it refused to work! :O So, you can only use it when it can connect to it's server. No connection, no workies.

Photoshop you can happily block from ever connecting online and it won't complain,
With Windows Vista and Windows Vista With A New Name you can turn off it connecting to Microsoft every time it connects online with a simple registry edit (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesNlaSvcParametersInternet then set EnableActiveProbing to 0 if you wana try). Pretty much any product you can turn this stuff off and it doesn't complain, except Apple stuff, cos they are evil, which is why I don't install Quicktime, well, that plus it's so awful.

As for Facebook, I stopped using that when they let everyone in, blah, it was cool when it was just for Universities, soon as I got a friend request from my dad I was like, nope, end of this.

I can also make a nice comment on another company: PayPal.
I firstly made an account. Everything looked easy. Good, I thought.
Then they started changing the rules. "We have an update for protecting your privacy", etc etc.
One day, suddenly, I got a message. "Your account have been limited for a random check". So, my account was not working anymore, because of a random check. I could not delete it. I could not delete my bank data. All stopped.
And they asked to verify my account. This was done detracting 1.5 Euro from my bank. I had to check the detraction number and then type it in PayPal. I don't mind for the 1.5 Euro, but what kind of service is this? Blocking my account and taking money at "random"??

I had a PayPal account for my company too. My company changed bank. So we had to modify the bank data.
I thought it was enough adding the new data. Instead no.
PayPal sent two small money amounts to the new bank ( 0.2 and 0.4 Euro ). They asked me to go checking how much was the amount and the code number.
I was abroad, so I asked to another person in my company to go checking the bank and type the totals in PayPal.
Result: PayPal blocked the account for "unusual activity". What is the "unusual activity"? It simply that the account was logged in from two different countries the same day.
The account was blocked. No transfer of money from PayPal to our bank was possible. In one month, all money received in the account would have sent back.
How to unblock?
They asked me:
1. To explain, amount by amount, who was my client, why I got the money, showing correspondence with the client, showing email and address.
2. Asking to my bank a certificate in English with all my bank private information, etc etc
3. My home and company address certificate, plus a passport certificate to verify my identity.

I WILL NEVER AND NEVER USE PAYPAL ANYMORE.

Then, if somebody gets angry and decides to hack them, what should I think?

Yet, Rod... You never had any issues with paypal at all, yet

Ramlyn, sorry to hear those horror stories... I don't have a facebook account, so I didn't know about those fake rules and strange photo confirmations... In fact, I can't tell you my brother's birth date, not to mention my friends' bithdays! And a picture of a fish? I bet even the fish couldn't tell you his birth date

Mongoose, you're right, all those softwars can be blocked from going online. The "No connection, no workies" is a messed up thing. If I ever payid for a software that did that I'd get my money back. Don't know about you, but I have had plenty of downtimes when I could not connect to the internet. Most of the time it's the DSL company's fault, but once a couple of years the DSL modem just dies.

Well,for getting something for free from filterforge.com don't we have to purchase the software first and then, by submitting filters, we earn points for other products discounts further? At least thats whats I understood.

Hyperborea, What Rod_D ment is you can use the 30 days free trial software to create your first filters and have them earn you points.