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What are the differences between “freeware”, “shareware” and “open source”?

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  1. Cameron S :D on Mar 08, 2011

    Freeware means you are allowed to download it and legally run the software on consent of the owner without paying any charges

    Shareware means you can share it with other people (torrenting etc). Most people use this for illegal purposes but it can be legal as well. Sorry i don’t know much about this one

    Open source means under the permission of the designer you are allowed to change the code in the software legally.

    Remember to always read the T&Cs on all of these!

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  2. David D on Mar 08, 2011

    Freeware is software you don’t have to pay for.

    Shareware is software you do have to pay for, but you get a trial version of first and you are allowed to redistribute the trail version (rather then having to direct people to whereever you got it from).

    Open source software makes the source code available so you can modify it to better suit your needs. Depending on the license, it might be free, commercial, and you may or may not be able to resell your modified version, and you may or may not have to use an open source license if you do.

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