My friend works for a company which requires her to use Microsoft specific application, she didn’t really want to switch to Win 11 and choose to just use Wine Linux package and install a 2016 version of MS office on her Linux laptop. That’s all well and good, but this company she is working for servers other clients at pretty high up places and she is terrified that she using the pirated version of MS would create a liability for her company as if Microsoft wants to target pirated software, they hunt for organisations rather than individuals.
So, what should she do? Is there a way you can hide the fact that the excel sheet was created on pirated software, is it even possible to tell excel sheets apart which are using pirated software?
PS: If there is a way to destroy all metadata related to the excel sheets, it would be very helpful.
edit: Thanks to everyone who chipped in for an answer, gonna suggest her to either ask her employer to give her the necessary software + hardware and if denied quit. I now realize this is not the norm in any company but hers. Anyways, thanks everyone.
Its actually the first time I hear of this and I work in IT. Still possible it flew over my head but I never imagined this to be the case. Pretty sure a million more people would be in jail if that were the case.
Microsoft (via third parties) absolutely do audits of companies as part of licencing conditions, but the result of noncompliance is not jail, it’s a bill.
We are talking about two wildly different things.
Indicators of pirated software in metadata of documents (which would probably make ms office immediately be outlawed by the EU bc of privacy violations) on my end.
The general licensing situation of ms and their customers on yours.
I know they make audits. I dont think you can get in trouble for using pirated ms software to work on documents though.
Still, the question remains why OP is working on company stuff on their private device. Sounds very much like they might be inexperienced and easily taken advantage of or just overeager, which isnt healthy either.