How do I know if software is legit?

MMiles wrote on 8/19/2021, 6:27 AM

Thinking of purchasing Vegas Pro from a third party as a boxed DVD. Any way to know if it's the real thing? Wondering what would be in or on the box that I could ask the seller about? Like: UPC, SN, Guide, DVD.

This is the boxed VP 16 with DVD architect. Blue box.

Mike

Comments

Marco. wrote on 8/19/2021, 6:43 AM

Sometimes the price tells a lot.

Former user wrote on 8/19/2021, 8:02 AM

and who you buy it from.

Dexcon wrote on 8/19/2021, 8:03 AM

If the seller is promoting it as Sony Vegas Pro 16, then it's 99.999999% a scam. I'm not sure what Blue Box means - a seller?

Cameras: Sony FDR-AX100E; GoPro Hero 11 Black Creator Edition

Installed: Vegas Pro 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 & 22, HitFilm Pro 2021.3, DaVinci Resolve Studio 20, BCC 2025, Mocha Pro 2025.0, NBFX TotalFX 7, Neat NR, DVD Architect 6.0, MAGIX Travel Maps, Sound Forge Pro 16, SpectraLayers Pro 11, iZotope RX11 Advanced and many other iZ plugins, Vegasaur 4.0

Windows 11

Dell Alienware Aurora 11:

10th Gen Intel i9 10900KF - 10 cores (20 threads) - 3.7 to 5.3 GHz

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8GB GDDR6 - liquid cooled

64GB RAM - Dual Channel HyperX FURY DDR4 XMP at 3200MHz

C drive: 2TB Samsung 990 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 PCIe SSD

D: drive: 4TB Samsung 870 SATA SSD (used for media for editing current projects)

E: drive: 2TB Samsung 870 SATA SSD

F: drive: 6TB WD 7200 rpm Black HDD 3.5"

Dell Ultrasharp 32" 4K Color Calibrated Monitor

 

LAPTOP:

Dell Inspiron 5310 EVO 13.3"

i5-11320H CPU

C Drive: 1TB Corsair Gen4 NVMe M.2 2230 SSD (upgraded from the original 500 GB SSD)

Monitor is 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz

VEGASDerek wrote on 8/19/2021, 8:11 AM

Since VP 16, the DVD that we shipped with boxed product does not contain the actual installer for VEGAS, just the download manager. If this DVD does have the installer on it, than it is very likely a cracked version of the application or some sort of scam.

MMiles wrote on 8/19/2021, 9:35 AM

@VEGASDerek

Thanks for the details.

Musicvid wrote on 8/22/2021, 6:50 AM

Your BEST defense against phonies is knowing your seller.

In addition to Vegas Creative Software, the resellers on Steam, Humble Bundle, G2A, and Kingwin are known to stand behind their product and resolve customer issues. That doesn't mean you won't have "any" issues, however.

MMiles wrote on 8/23/2021, 1:29 PM

@VEGASDerek

and folks here.

Well I got the software and it's probably a big mistake. See images

1. DVD in a clamshell full size white case with decent inserts and Vegas logo. Odd UPC code on back.

2. DVD label decent looking no blurring

3. Concerning file called: "License Activation.exe"

Scanned for malware, no threats. Not sure if I should install this.

EricLNZ wrote on 8/23/2021, 6:26 PM

@MMiles From @VEGASDerek's comments above it looks suspicious.

MMiles wrote on 8/23/2021, 7:09 PM

Thanks Eric. That's what I was thinking, but was hoping for a confirmation by the details in the installer and activation files. Oddly, nobody in Magix/Vegas support has any idea and didn't seem to care that there may be a seller out there "cranking" these out. The cost wasn't just a few dollars either, which led me to believe it was legit.

UnopenedParachute wrote on 8/23/2021, 7:26 PM

I used that version for a month before I paid for 18/19.

Former user wrote on 8/23/2021, 7:46 PM

I saw another website ISORIVER that says it is free.

VEGASDerek wrote on 8/23/2021, 8:08 PM

@MMiles, please send me details of the seller in a private message.

Musicvid wrote on 8/23/2021, 10:35 PM

Oddly, nobody in Magix/Vegas support has any idea and didn't seem to care that there may be a seller out there "cranking" these out.

It's not that they don't care; it's just terribly difficult to do anything about, especially across national borders, and there are hundreds of crackers out there "cranking" these out.

There is a good discussion of the subject here:

https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/cracked-versions-of-vegaspro--128317/#ca797905

vkmast wrote on 8/24/2021, 4:29 AM

@MMiles if this is still the case that "initially you can't write MAGIX employees messages. They first need to send you a message", try if you can send the info by a PM through VEGAS_CommunityManager.

@VEGASDerek ?

MMiles wrote on 8/24/2021, 11:22 AM

@vkmast

"initially you can't write MAGIX employees messages. They first need to send you a message",

That's sort of convoluted...but I can see why. I'll wait and see then.

Thanks vkmas and all the folks here for the help.

Mike