Pirated Copies of BibleWorks

[MBushell]

There continue to be people informing me that there are hacked and bogus copies of BibleWorks floating around. The best I can say for this is that it is disappointing. It is certainly ironic that anyone would steal a copy of a Bible program and purportedly use it for studying Scripture. If any of you come into possession of such things I would appreciate receiving copies of instructions, activation codes, and so on, together with any contact information that you were provided. How can anyone expect the blessing of the Lord on labors conducted with stolen research materials?

This is not something new with the closure of the company. Our business manager spent hundreds of hours every year trying to stop piracy.

BibleWorks is not abandonware. There is no such thing. The program is still under copyright as are the hundreds of copyrighted databases in the program owned by other companies.

I said when we closed down that I was committed to maintaining compatibility of the program with Windows. That is still my intention three years out. But if piracy and theft continue to grow I will simply shut down the forum, knowledge database and activation server to prevent them from being a service to those who got the program illegally. Please help me to stop this stuff before that becomes necessary.

Mike

[Chas]

Brother Mike:
I appreciate your service and effort to keep the vision of BW alive. I use BW10 every day that I am in my study. I still have hopes it can get back up and running again. Nonetheless I do not have any personal first or second hand knowledge of piracy, though it is obviously happening. Your word disappointing is too light of a word. It is appalling.
Though I cannot help I do have one request. If it come to closing up completely it would be helpful to have a several months notice. My computer is five years old. It will be at least another year and a half before I consider getting another one. If it comes down to completely shutting down I would like to upgrade before that happens.

Charlie

[newdyne]

Mike;

I use BiblesWorks often and would hate to loose the resource. It is great!

Please know that there are many, many people who appreciate your ongoing efforts to keep BibleWorks up and running.

Most users (like me) bought and paid for their legitimate copy and would not think of using a pirated copy.


Best Regards

Chuck

[jfidel]

Mike,
I understand your frustration. However, you sold many new copies of this program before shutting down operations under the promise of continued support. For you to shut down due to some piracy and leave those as well as your customers from many years without a functioning program would be a breach of promise. You do not punish the innocent because of the guilty. Your plan for shut down was very unique, and from my perspective as a CPA, not one that could be maintained.

I personally use Macs and once I update my Mac, BW is going to probably be unusable. Keeping up with Apple OS is just not workable. However, I have chosen not to sell or make my copy available because of the piracy issues and not knowing who I am dealing with. 2021 will probably be the end of BW for me. It is ok, because I saw the writing on the wall when the 64bit Mac installer failed and have significantly transitioned to other software.

This will actually be the first Bible software program where my resources will no longer be available to me. I have been through QuickVerse, WordSearch and others, but their business plan for continuation allowed me to keep using my resources. The software platform changed, but the resources were still available to me. I personally am disappointed that this option was not made available to your customers. WordSearch just transitions their customers' resources for free to Logos. WordSearch will still function, but not be maintained. WS customers can use WS, similar to BW, as long as it works, but they have a transition plan to a viable software company. I am in the same position as a Mac user with BW, but my resources will not transition.

i am not aware of any piracy and can offer you no help in the matter. I have enjoyed using BW since version 3.5. With that said I hope you are able to work through this problem created by the manner in which you chose to close your business.

[Lee]

Mike,

I will certainly keep my eye out for piracy of BibleWorks. That said, I have not witnessed any to this point, and BW remains a crucial component of my Bible study. I would hate to lose it due to circumstances beyond my control. "If I be bereaved, I am bereaved."

- Lee

[shalommatt]

When BibleWorks closed a couple years ago, it was shocking news. Now, if BibleWorks is completely shutdown, it will be another very sad day.

I wonder if there are some stricter rules and tighter control that can be used to reduce this privacy issue?

How about, instead of shutting down the forum and server, establish some kind of a private forum, allowing access to only known and registered BW buyers? As Mike has record of all previous buyers (with known identity), would this work?

Certainly, piracy and code hacking will be around as long as sin remains on earth.
''What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,'' (Philippians 1:18). Privacy will not cease until the Day of Final Judgment. Nonetheless, could we say, whether in pretense or in truth, the Bible is being studied; and in this we rejoice?

[MBushell]

When BibleWorks closed a couple years ago, it was shocking news. Now, if BibleWorks is completely shutdown, it will be another very sad day.

I wonder if there are some stricter rules and tighter control that can be used to reduce this privacy issue?

How about, instead of shutting down the forum and server, establish some kind of a private forum, allowing access to only known and registered BW buyers? As Mike has record of all previous buyers (with known identity), would this work?

Certainly, piracy and code hacking will be around as long as sin remains on earth.
''What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,'' (Philippians 1:18). Privacy will not cease until the Day of Final Judgment. Nonetheless, could we say, whether in pretense or in truth, the Bible is being studied; and in this we rejoice?

I appreciate the suggestions. Unfortunately I don't have access to a lot of information. In principle I have the company files, but other people handled the user lists, and I don't really have the time to spend putting together a new system like the one you suggest.

Mike

[MBushell]

Mike,
I understand your frustration. However, you sold many new copies of this program before shutting down operations under the promise of continued support. For you to shut down due to some piracy and leave those as well as your customers from many years without a functioning program would be a breach of promise. You do not punish the innocent because of the guilty. Your plan for shut down was very unique, and from my perspective as a CPA, not one that could be maintained.

I personally use Macs and once I update my Mac, BW is going to probably be unusable. Keeping up with Apple OS is just not workable. However, I have chosen not to sell or make my copy available because of the piracy issues and not knowing who I am dealing with. 2021 will probably be the end of BW for me. It is ok, because I saw the writing on the wall when the 64bit Mac installer failed and have significantly transitioned to other software.

This will actually be the first Bible software program where my resources will no longer be available to me. I have been through QuickVerse, WordSearch and others, but their business plan for continuation allowed me to keep using my resources. The software platform changed, but the resources were still available to me. I personally am disappointed that this option was not made available to your customers. WordSearch just transitions their customers' resources for free to Logos. WordSearch will still function, but not be maintained. WS customers can use WS, similar to BW, as long as it works, but they have a transition plan to a viable software company. I am in the same position as a Mac user with BW, but my resources will not transition.

i am not aware of any piracy and can offer you no help in the matter. I have enjoyed using BW since version 3.5. With that said I hope you are able to work through this problem created by the manner in which you chose to close your business.

I know you have been a user for a long time and I appreciate that. With regard to the "way we shut down" you really have no idea of what went on behind the scenes. Those of you who have "never seen piracy" also have no idea. Just today someone posted a link to a site that lists for download a copy of BW10 and instructions on how to bypass activation and serial numbers. A kind user notified me and I deleted the message and banned the user. When we were in business my general manager spent hundreds of hours every year researching pirated copies and contacting web sites to have the stuff taken down. In the case of some add ons the number of pirated copies far exceeded the number sold. It has always been a serious problem. That is the sole reason we had to shift to activation and one reason we had to shut down. With regard to promises, I indicated that I would use best efforts to keep the program compatible with Windows and share that with registered users. I still plan on doing that but all anyone can reasonably expect is that the program will last as long as your current computer. I don't expect to live in this body forever (in this world). There are not many companies that would try to continue providing ANY support to users three years after a shutdown of the company. People should appreciate that. And I know that some do.

Mike

[jfidel]

Mike,
I appreciate your comments and what you have done to keep BW going. You did what you thought best for BW. I think there were other options that may have reduced piracy, would have allowed your customers to keep their BW resources, but would have not allowed for continued support or sale of BW.

In the end it does not matter as we are where we are. As I stated, once I get a new Mac this year BW will no longer be a product I use. It has been a fun ride.

God Bless!!

John Fidel

[Gilbert Salinas]

I know you have been a user for a long time and I appreciate that. With regard to the "way we shut down" you really have no idea of what went on behind the scenes. Those of you who have "never seen piracy" also have no idea. Just today someone posted a link to a site that lists for download a copy of BW10 and instructions on how to bypass activation and serial numbers. A kind user notified me and I deleted the message and banned the user. When we were in business my general manager spent hundreds of hours every year researching pirated copies and contacting web sites to have the stuff taken down. In the case of some add ons the number of pirated copies far exceeded the number sold. It has always been a serious problem. That is the sole reason we had to shift to activation and one reason we had to shut down. With regard to promises, I indicated that I would use best efforts to keep the program compatible with Windows and share that with registered users. I still plan on doing that but all anyone can reasonably expect is that the program will last as long as your current computer. I don't expect to live in this body forever (in this world). There are not many companies that would try to continue providing ANY support to users three years after a shutdown of the company. People should appreciate that. And I know that some do.

Mike

Mike, I for one appreciate it VERY MUCH!!

God Bless You!
Gilbert