License for NIS 2010

[Criss-AC]

I am a big fan of Symantec products. I have been using Norton Internet Security ever since I got my first computer. But never actually bought a license for it. Recently I was considering buying one for NIS2010 which is an amazing product, and mostly out of curiosity, I went searching for it on eBay. To my surprise, I was able to find it for sale on auctions starting at $0,01!! And there are several sellers who offer it for sale, and if you look at the feedback these people received from those who bought it already, you will see that they have sold VALID licenses!

...and now I am wondering. A license for NIS2010 is somewhere around €79,99 on Symantec.com. Why would Symantec agree to provide a valid license on eBay for as little as $10 or even under?

What's the trick? Would I be getting a good deal if I go on and purchase if from eBay? Would Symantec recognize it as a valid license?

You can see a screenshot of the offer from eBay on my blog (http/Criss-AC.net), in case the auction will not be available anymore at the moment you read this post.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Chances are it's a scam, just buy a hard (and legit) copy from a shop.

 

[4Ryan6]

Why would Symantec agree to provide a valid license on eBay for as little as $10 or even under?

Ask Symantec about it directly and see what they say!

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

i guarantee they are stolen keys or they are made with a keygen.Don't buy your license on ebay because it wil be blacklisted by the symantec server when you update it!

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Buy legit!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Criss-AC]

Well guys, it is too late. I won the auction already, paid $16,99 for it and seller sent it to my PayPal email address minutes after I've paid for it. It is said to be a 2 year subscription and I could use it for 3 PCs. I have registered it @once and it worked, it gave me 731 days (2 years) and I've also sent it to my brother. It worked for him as well.

And I do believe it is a legit one because... if I access my Norton Account on the website, it is displayed as active! I will post some pics on my blog with the subscription window + my Norton account on Symantec.

And I can't help wondering what's the trick, if this license is legit and it is displayed OK in my Norton account? Everybody would then just purchase it from eBay for much little money.

 

[mountain_man]

I was wondering about this also. I bought a 2-year 3 computer license off of Ebay in early Oct. I installed on two computers and have not had a problem.

I just got a new third computer and tried to install. This time I got the message I had exceeded the number of licenses. I contacted the seller and in less than 24 hr. they emailed another 3 computer 2 year key and now have my third computer working. Presumably if I had more computers I still have 2 activations.

If Norton has a problem with pirates they sure aren't acting concerned. The same sellers have been selling these keys on Ebay for months. So you would think Norton would put a stop to it as it is so obvious. I read another post were someone bought one of these cheap ebay keys and had a problem. They called Norton and said they bought off of Ebay, Norton gave them a new key and said nothing, so if there is a problem seems Norton is keeping it under the rug.

Based on the email correspondence and sellers broken english, and time emails are answered, it looks like he is in China.

Something is suspicious as it won't show the Norton 2010 as a registered product under my norton account (so, presumably it is registered to some other party who can monitor how many computers activate under each key).

 

[btk1w1]

I think its got something to do with the online global market.

You can travel to a poor country and buy cigarettes for alot cheaper than you could at a wealthier country. I think the same concept applies.

Software is made much more affordable to poorer nations, it is still a market for the vendors, and it wouldn't sell if they try to charge the same as they would elsewhere.

This seems politically incorrect, but it makes sense.

I haven't looked at the EULA for software licenses sold at online auction sites, but I couldn't imagine that the EULA states that the software activation key is only valid in certain areas.

Being digital merchandise there isn't the need to jump on a plane to retrieve your purchase.

This is the reason I think legitimate DVD's can be purchased in South East Asia for only a fraction of the cost, that we have region coding on DVD players... the powers that be don't want people that can afford their product to pay less for it than what they can squeeze out of your pocket.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Sort of on topic.
http/ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/51583/Valve-Banning-Grey-Import-Modern-Warfare-2-CD-Keys

 

[Criss-AC]

Sort of on topic.
http/ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/51583/Valve-Banning-Grey-Import-Modern-Warfare-2-CD-Keys

I quote from your article: "EULAs state that you simply own a license, and that the manufacturer can do whatever it likes to your purchase at any time." I find this thing to be a bit unfair to the user. If you have been lured into buying a grey-market license, although valid, you did not accept any EULA or TOS or anything like that. And second thing is that the user paid for the license. I believe the manufacturer should deal with the seller of the license, and not with the user directly. But again, this is just my opinion, believing that this is how it should be done -- instead of banning these licenses. The efforts should be directed against those who sell them.

 

[4Ryan6]

Unfortunately for some the old addage comes into play, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!"

 

[Criss-AC]

And mine too, from the moment I've started this thread. But still I am not sure it is 100% legitimate, although it is OK, it appears as OK in my Norton Account, and it is the same for the other two computers I've used it on (as it was a 3-user license).

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey