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.
My friend works for a company which requires her to use Microsoft specific application
So the company needs to provide said friend with all the needed software.
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So, what should she do?
She should ask her company to provide the neccessary tools to do the work.
She should abide by the company rules, use company provided software and follow company policies if she likes working there.
Otherwise she should move. Bypassing the rules is very unprofessional and can get you in trouble.
Also, why would you want company data on your personal device?
Recipe for disaster
Maybe ask the company if they can get you an O365-Account, so you can just use the web version of it or install that as webapp.
Sorry to say, but employees cost so much money in salary, those few bucks for software licenses are just minor.
Can they find out?
No, not really. The Metadata doesn’t have a “pirated” flag and something like the product key doesn’t get saved. Microsoft themselves probably know due to their telemetry but even they can’t be bothered about it. I would bet that even you send a pirated document to the Microsoft CEO, they wouldn’t notice or even care enough to look for it.
But as always there is the important rule of “don’t fuck with work stuff, ever”.
It’s already questionable why she is editing company documents on here private PC without either a dedicated and remotely managed work particition + VPN or an O365 online work account. These documents fall under far stricter data safety regulations and the way it is right now, she is personally liable for any data leaks.
Fun fact: MS was onced caught using pirated audio software to create an audio file for (I think) Windows XP
Aside from the obvious (company providing all the necessary tools) why not using libreoffice and saving it as M$ excel?
If Office 365 online has enough features for her, maybe just do that. It works just fine on Linux. The web versions are not that feature rich but honestly they have more features than most people use.
Another option is running a Windows VM on Linux with the latest office installed. You probably do not need much RAM.
There have been many cases where they found out it was made by a pirated version of MS office. Just google it. Sometimes the pirates add some metadata, like the author for example. If she wants to live at peace and not put the business at risk, she should do the right thing and get a licensed copy, whoever pays for it.
If the latest version doesn’t work on Windows then get a key for an older version, or sub for the web version.
But under no circumstance use pirated software at a serious business.
I’m going to assume that by the way you’re describing it, using an excel alternative is totally out of the question or simply not possible, but just in case it isn’t…
If you haven’t heard of it, check out LibreOffice.
I don’t think this is what she had in mind when she was thinking about changing metadata to look more legit.
Yep, hence the preface. Just offering up an alternative to using software they’re concerned about in case they don’t know they have the option. 🙂
O365 web
lacks advanced features (tried it)
Why isn’t the company paying for it? Anyways, you could just export it to a different format and then back to Excel depending on which features you’re using. But also, I think this is being paranoid. Microsoft isn’t the NSA
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Why not use Microsoft shit in a windows VM? Seems more secure and the company should offer a key to use the product
Using your own device is good and comfortable. I always hated companies that wants to force windows laptop or macbook on me. I suggest compell them for their tech choice or consider leaving that company and searching for a better one that supports libre software. I know it’s hard but there are some areas like web development, which usually lets you use linux.
