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Best Buy's 'Geek Squad' Accused of Pirating Software

S

SokaMoka

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AUSTIN, Texas ? A Texas software company sued Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) in federal court on Tuesday, alleging that the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer was using unlicensed versions of its diagnostic equipment.

In response, a U.S. District Court granted Winternals Software LP's request for a temporary restraining order.

The lawsuit by Austin-based Winternals alleges employees of Best Buy's computer-repair subsidiary, Geek Squad Inc., have been using pirated versions of the software since talks on a commercial licensing agreement broke off.

The suit accuses Best Buy and its subsidiaries of copyright infringement, circumvention of copyright infringement systems and misappropriation of trade secrets.

"We are aware of the lawsuit filed today by Winternals. We are currently investigating the claims, but cannot comment further on pending litigation," Best Buy spokesman Jay Musolf said in an e-mail late Tuesday to The Associated Press.

According to the lawsuit, Winternals and Minnesota-based Best Buy began negotiating an agreement to use a Microsoft (MSFT) Windows-based systems recovery and data protection software last fall.

The lawsuit says Best Buy broke off negotiations in February, saying it was no longer interested in the commercial license.
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I can't believe BB would actually do such a thing,.....oh hold on who am I kidding I totally dig this lawsuit that ought to teach them a lesson or two 😀
 
I briefly worked at CompUSA fixing computers after college, and let me tell you they did some really shady stuff there. Bootlegging was just the tip of the iceberg...
 
Im not surprised... actually I am, that it took this long for something like this to come out.

Originally posted by: wasssup
I briefly worked at CompUSA fixing computers after college, and let me tell you they did some really shady stuff there. Bootlegging was just the tip of the iceberg...
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*sits and waits for some good stories* hopefully.
 
Originally posted by: wasssup
I briefly worked at CompUSA fixing computers after college, and let me tell you they did some really shady stuff there. Bootlegging was just the tip of the iceberg...
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ok, i am interested... spill.
 
Originally posted by: quasarsky
why aren't schools and businesses, hell even the gov't. accussed of this as well
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Visibility. I know most of you techs are using diagnostic software for business purposes that has a free use license for home users, but requires a fee for corporate licensing. You just don't drive around fruity little cars and dress like mormons on TV.
 
Originally posted by: ta8689
You know.. a 16 year old kid is one thing.... but a buisness?????? what were they thinking?!
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its not like the business promoted it...employees do have wills of their own and often don't follow company policies.
 
My gf brought her PC in to get a new harddrive. The old one died and she had some service plan to get a new one for free.
So they put in a new unformatted 150gb drive.
When I brought it home to fire it up I found a geek squad diagnostic cd in the drive.
I still have it in my cd case.
 
Originally posted by: SampSon
My gf brought her PC in to get a new harddrive. The old one died and she had some service plan to get a new one for free.
So they put in a new unformatted 150gb drive.
When I brought it home to fire it up I found a geek squad diagnostic cd in the drive.
I still have it in my cd case.
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what's on it?
 
Originally posted by: Shawn
Originally posted by: SampSon
My gf brought her PC in to get a new harddrive. The old one died and she had some service plan to get a new one for free.
So they put in a new unformatted 150gb drive.
When I brought it home to fire it up I found a geek squad diagnostic cd in the drive.
I still have it in my cd case.
Click to expand...

what's on it?
Click to expand...

probably a load of software, and freeware that are either commercially available or online
 
Originally posted by: EKKC
Originally posted by: Shawn
Originally posted by: SampSon
My gf brought her PC in to get a new harddrive. The old one died and she had some service plan to get a new one for free.
So they put in a new unformatted 150gb drive.
When I brought it home to fire it up I found a geek squad diagnostic cd in the drive.
I still have it in my cd case.
Click to expand...

what's on it?
Click to expand...

probably a load of software, and freeware that are either commercially available or online
Click to expand...


Is that true SampSon?
 
Originally posted by: wasssup
I briefly worked at CompUSA fixing computers after college, and let me tell you they did some really shady stuff there. Bootlegging was just the tip of the iceberg...
Click to expand...


:Q
 
[sarcasm]Best Buy unscrupulous?!? No way!![/sarcasm]

While Best Buy corporate might not have been aware of this, but I would bet good money that they set the stage for it to happen by either restricting budgets or encouraging "creative" methods to save money. I worked in CompUSA for a few months, and I saw enough back then to question any of these retailers' ethics.

Case in point: There was a shrinkwrapping machine in the back in the warehouse. When merchandise was returned that had been opened but was in good condition, it was wrapped up and put back on the shelf as a new item. CONSTANTLY. I started tearing packages so that they couldn't do that, little saboteur that I am.
 
That's just weird, because you can do pretty much everything the Administrator's Pak can do with freeware stuff. NT Offline Password Editor, Memtest, UBCD4Win, PEBuilder...
 
Originally posted by: shoRunner
Originally posted by: ta8689
You know.. a 16 year old kid is one thing.... but a buisness?????? what were they thinking?!
Click to expand...

its not like the business promoted it...employees do have wills of their own and often don't follow company policies.
Click to expand...


Another instance of 'true, but doesn't work that way'-- as an employee of a corp. you represent that corp. Basically, anything you do while you are on the clock falls back on the company. This is why execs are so paranoid about employees behavior.
 
Originally posted by: Phil
That's just weird, because you can do pretty much everything the Administrator's Pak can do with freeware stuff. NT Offline Password Editor, Memtest, UBCD4Win, PEBuilder...
Click to expand...


Right and you can do all that and more with Linux, but it takes some learning and exactness. It's alot easier for the "tech" to simply pop-in a CD and have everything right there in big block letters with arrows.
 
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