Is it possible to install unlicensed programs on a Mac? How to install any paid apps and games on Mac for free

Even despite the gradual decline in sales Mac computers all over the world, the macOS operating system (OS X) continues to actively develop. Developers are paying more and more attention to it, which contributes to an increase in the number of high-quality applications for this OS. Number of programs for macOS in the store App Store numbers in the millions, and we should also not forget about software that is distributed without using the Apple store.

On average, one program for MacBook, iMac, Mac Pro and Mac mini costs about 750 rubles, which is equivalent to $12. As a rule, each Mac driver has at least 20-30 programs installed on the computer, some of which are used daily, and the rest are launched when necessary. Thus, each owner of a Mac computer spends about $250-350 on licensed software. Everyone must decide for themselves whether this is a lot or a little, but you can refuse these expenses without denying yourself pleasure.

The fact is that the macOS (OS X) operating system allows you to install even pirated software without subjecting your computer to hacking or jailbreaking. This is a huge deal for freebie lovers, since almost any program or game can be installed on a Mac completely free of charge, and in some cases it can even be updated using official methods.

The only problem that many Mac owners face when trying to install pirated software is its virtual absence on the Internet. If programs and games for Windows, for the most part, are usually searched for on regular sites, then with macOS (OS X) things are completely different. Almost all the software that exists for the Apple operating system is available for free download from thematic closed sites, one of which is InMac.org.

To put it briefly, then InMac.org is a site with thousands of apps and games for Mac computers. At the same time, loading everything software on this tracker is carried out using torrents. Over the years, this thematic site has brought together not only those who like to install hacked applications, but also advanced Mac users who are always ready to help and provide advice, sharing their personal experience.

In general, this tracker is in second place in the world in popularity among Mac owners and in first place among Russian-speaking users. If you wanted to install for free paid applications to the operating room macOS system(OS X), then it can help a lot with this. Registration is completely free.

The article is written for informational purposes only.

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When choosing applications for a new Apple computer or upgrading a set of programs on an existing Mac or MacBook, the user is always faced with a choice. Should I buy expensive and sophisticated software or give preference to a free alternative? Choose something new or install programs that have been proven over the years? Should you use standard applications or take a closer look at third-party products?

We've collected 30 tools useful for solving the most common tasks that can be useful to any Mac user. For each of the paid applications, we tried to find the most successful free alternative.

Photo: pixabay.com

Surfing on the Internet

Discussions surrounding which browser for Mac is better will most likely never be resolved. Apple computers come with a proprietary browser Safari- in it, users receive functions such as Siri, payment with Apple Pay, video in picture-in-picture mode, the ability to turn off the sound immediately from the tab bar and others. It is convenient to use this browser if you also use mobile devices Apple - bookmarks, browsing history, tabs are synchronized using iCloud.

At the same time, we recommend installing Chrome for Mac. Browser from Google is easier customize through a larger number of extensions, in addition, it will come in handy if you often use Google apps. At the same time, Chrome is less energy efficient compared to Safari, so it will be more comfortable to use on desktops.

Connecting to a Wi-Fi network

For comfortable and safe Internet browsing, you should take a closer look at programs that help manage connections. VPN service HotSpot Shield Free will help secure your computer when connecting to public Wi-Fi points. The application allows you to select the country IP you want to use, set up an automatic connection and access services that may be blocked. The only negative is that up to 750 MB per day is provided free of charge; for a larger volume of traffic via VPN you will have to pay.

We are looking for what we need

Standard application Spotlight can perfectly search files on Mac and execute quick commands, but if for some reason you don’t like it, you can try free application Alfred. The program can quickly perform calculations, search the Internet, and find any text, image or file that you previously copied. The application is self-learning and gradually begins to prioritize results depending on the user's preferences.

Let's do the cleaning

Cleaning the disk of unnecessary programs and files can significantly speed up its operation and clear space for the necessary content. Free Dr. Cleaner optimizes storage and cleans the disk from hidden files, which overload it, including cache, logs and temporary files.

If you install a lot of applications on your Mac just for fun, and then don’t use many of them, this might help. paid program Bartender. With its help, you can choose which applications to place in the menu, when they should be there and when not, and hide programs that should work, but that you don’t want to see all the time. You can test the program for free for 4 weeks.

We work with documents

Being productive on a Mac depends largely on the software you or your company uses as a standard. Office suite iWork from Apple, which includes text editor Pages, the Numbers spreadsheet app, and Keynote presentation software have been offered free on new Macs since 2013, but each program costs RUB 1,500 to install on older models.

Familiar to PC owners Microsoft applications Office is paid and, frankly speaking, is still inferior in functionality to the Windows version of “office”. As a free alternative for typing, we suggest trying apps LibreOffice, allowing you to work with any type of document, or 1Doc: Word Processor for Writer, in which the basic functions of the Word editor are available.

Watching movies

If you like to watch videos on Mac, but the file encoding is different from MPEG, the standard QuickTime You may have difficulty playing it. Free VLC Media Player solves almost all problems related to watching videos. The player plays multimedia files in most popular formats and has a user-friendly interface.

Listening to music

And again about media content. Many Mac users will agree that iTunes- not an ideal option for playing a collection of audio recordings. A free player would be a good alternative. Vox. The application features a simple interface and support for additional codecs (FLAC, ALAC and others), as well as the ability to synchronize with iPhone.

Editing videos

Considering the popularity of shooting videos on iPhone, GoPro action cameras and other video content, it is worth getting a convenient editor program for converting and processing them. We recommend installing free program HandBrake- This multifunctional converter will be easy to use even for a beginner.

For advanced users one of best options will become Final Cut Pro developed by Apple itself. The program has an impressive price tag (23 thousand rubles), but if you have to constantly work with video, then the functionality and user-friendliness of the interface are worth it. You can try the app for free for 30 days. If the video editor is used on occasion, then you can limit yourself to a standard iMovie, which comes free with new Macs.

Processing photos

A program for processing photos on Mac will be useful for both professional photographers, Instagram bloggers and simply those who like to store memorable pictures. Basic processing can be entrusted to the standard application Photos, and for more advanced functions, download one of the third-party programs.

Postponing for later

Updating the standard application Notes on Mac has significantly expanded its functionality for saving and copying content for delayed viewing. However, the free app Pocket It has a more convenient interface and allows you to save photos, videos and articles from the Internet in a single feed. The content is available for offline viewing, and when downloading the application to a smartphone or tablet, it allows you to synchronize saved elements.

Do you know others useful applications for Mac OS? Share in the comments.

If you have at least one pirated program installed on your computer, then you are breaking the law and you can be punished for this at any time. There is a widespread misconception that this only applies to company directors and system administrators, while the average user can sleep soundly. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Analysis of materials from the state database of court documents "Justice" and messages on forums showed that holding individuals accountable for using pirated software is not uncommon.

What awaits you under the law of the Russian Federation for “pirates”

So, let’s assume that on your computer/phone/flash drive/external drive a pirated version is installed or stored as a distribution. Photoshop version. What could this mean for you?

1. Payment of compensation to the software manufacturer

According to Art. 1252 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the copyright holder (Adobe) has the right to demand double compensation from you for each unlawful installation of the program. Or for an arbitrary amount from 10 thousand to 5 million rubles. The exact amount will be determined by the court.

2. Fines if you use pirated software to make money

According to Article 7.12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, if you use pirated software to generate income, then you should be fined:

• 1500 – 2000 rub. for individuals;
• 10 – 20 thousand for officials;
• 30 – 40 thousand for legal entities.

3. Criminal liability for the sale of pirated software

According to Art. 146 According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, if pirated software worth more than 100 thousand rubles is found on your devices and it is proven that you are using copies of programs for sales, then you may be assigned:

• fine up to 200 thousand rubles;
• up to 480 hours of compulsory work;
• up to 2 years of correctional or forced labor;
• up to 2 years of imprisonment or restriction of freedom.

4. Criminal liability for the use of cracks, patches and activators

According to Art. 273 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, for the use of means to neutralize means of protection computer programs, may be sentenced to imprisonment/restriction of liberty or correctional/forced labor for up to four years. Or appoint fine up to 200 thousand rubles.

5. Seizure of computers and flash drives as evidence

When a case is opened, digital media are taken for examination and not returned until closing. This process usually lasts several months.

How users of pirated software are identified. Cases from life

Here typical situations, when people had problems with the law due to unlicensed programs on their personal computer/flash drive.

Situation No. 1 “A beautiful stranger asks to install 1C: Accounting”

Guy (student, IT worker, administrator) computer club) suddenly starts writing very beautiful girl, flirt and ask questions about computers. Gradually, the correspondence comes down to him coming to her work to help install 1C: Accounting for money, and at the same time get to know her in person. After the installation is completed, representatives of department “K” come instead of the girl and draw up a protocol.

Also, law enforcement officers are hunting for workers." computer help" In this case, they do not pretend to be a woman, but simply call under the guise of clients.

Situation No. 2 “Buyers of a used laptop ask for help installing programs”

A man advertises the sale of a computer. The buyer calls him, asks a couple of questions about the product for the sake of decency and immediately agrees to the proposed price. Then he asks for help in installing MS Office/Photoshop and promises to give an additional 2-3 thousand rubles.

If the seller agrees, then employees of the competent authorities are waiting for him at the meeting with the buyer.

Situation No. 3 “A person shared a file with pirated software on the Flylink file sharing service”

The man sits at home and doesn’t bother anyone. Suddenly, employees of department “K” come to him with a document in which it is written that they downloaded pirated programs from his IP address. They conduct a search, check the contents of hard drives/flash drives, and find necessary files, they confiscate the computer and take a written undertaking not to leave.

Situation No. 4 “They came to the person for another reason, but at the same time they checked the Windows license”

A person takes an advance payment from clients of his online store and does not send the goods. One day, department “K” comes to his home with a search on charges of fraud. In between cases, the presence of unlicensed software on the hard drive is recorded in the protocol.

How is the state inspection carried out?

Since 2008, Department K employees have been using a software inventory system that they carry with them on a flash drive. It compiles a list of programs installed on the computer, finds unlicensed software among them and displays its price. DeFacto even finds programs that have been deleted.

How many people have been prosecuted for pirates in Russia?

To the state information system "Justice" all unclassified court documents since 2010 are downloaded (for particularly important cases since 2000). The data bank contains almost 28 million files. Among them are 535,140 sentences under Article 158 of the Criminal Code (“Theft”).

But under Article 146 of the Criminal Code (“Violation of copyright and related rights”) there were only 2,659 verdicts. However, a significant part of these cases are not related to software. And only 1071 court verdicts under Article 273 of the Criminal Code (“Creation, use and distribution of malicious computer programs”).

How many administrative cases have been opened under the article on piracy?

As you can see, the likelihood of being criminally liable for a pirated program is very low.

This kind of “failure” only happens to a couple of hundred people a year.

What about administrative and civil matters? Unfortunately, in the Justice system you cannot filter by articles of the Civil Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses. Therefore, to estimate the number of such cases, let’s do a global search for the names of software manufacturers in all files:

Microsoft - 2451 documents.
Autodesk - 1224 documents.
Corel - 1083 documents.
"Adobe" - 606 documents.

Some of the mentions of brands in court documents are not related to the software license. For example, 89 documents mentioning Microsoft related to the theft of Microsoft Lumia phones.

As a result, only a few thousand users of pirated software reached the court. Many times more successful checks were carried out. What happened to the rest of the lawbreakers?

P.S. How the check ends in most cases

Here is a typical story that can often be found on Russian forums:

“People from department K came to our office, discovered pirated Windows and began to threaten us with fines, court proceedings, and confiscation of computers. Then the leading lawyer came and talked to them privately, they left and did not return for six months.”

In most cases, people manage, with the help of a police officer or lawyer they know, to negotiate with government officials not to open a case, significantly reduce the initial fine, and avoid having their computers seized and the case taken to court.

Many people are interested in how to install software on a MacBook. Where can I download the application and what should I do if I no longer need it? What methods are there to remove software? Today we’ll talk about everything in order.

Firstly, to find the treasured application, you can resort to one of 2 methods - go to the developer’s resource or look in the AppStore. What does the first method mean? Let's say everyone knows such names as Skype, Google Chrome and many others. The easiest solution would be to type the appropriate name into a search engine. As a rule, the first resource that pops up will be the application website, where you can download it. You will certainly notice that the cost of the same product on different resources is not the same. This way you can easily choose the lowest price and not overpay.

So, where to get the application and how to find it, we seem to have figured it out. And then we’ll talk in detail about how software is installed on a Mac.

Let's look at the process using the well-known VLC as an example. First you need to download it from the developer’s resource in the form of a DMG image. It is a type of archive that contains applications for the MacBook. That is, it is as if the user was sent over the network not a file, but a flash card, from which copying is possible, but writing to it is not. There is something similar in the Windows environment (ISO, NRG). After downloading, the vlc-2.2.0.dmg element, which we need, will be found in the download folder.

Then it opens the element with a 2nd click, after which a new window will pop up. You will also see an image verification window, which you should skip. The procedure was intended to be consistent. Moreover, regardless of what you choose - skip this action or not - if the image is broken, this will be reported. Therefore, there is no point in waiting - feel free to skip this step.

So, the image is open, the time has come to explore its structure. More often than not, there is:

• the software itself, in our example it is VLC;
• a link to the folder with programs (by the way, it may not be there);
• service elements for dating (licenses, etc.).

In our situation, we will be interested in VLC. To install it on a Mac, you need to drag the corresponding icon to the program shortcut and then release it. The copying process will start.

Attention! Do not launch software directly from dmg images, since the application cannot be copied to a PC in this way. And if you move the application to the Dock (bottom launcher), then after disconnecting or rebooting it will disappear from here without a trace. And you will not be able to delete an item from your PC while the application is open.

After the copy operation, you can start extracting the image, just like a simple flash drive or external drive. And the vlc-2.2.0.dmg element itself needs to be thrown into the trash.

How to install software from the AppStore

If you decide to install from the AppStore, first create an account, that is, an Apple ID. If you have other devices from the Apple company and you downloaded to their memory, you can use the same account for Mac.

First of all, decide what you want. To do this, use the search on the right, at the very top. Or just glance around the store - suddenly you will immediately find something useful and worthwhile. At the top there is also a category section, by clicking on which you can select the type of software - music, business, and the like.

Let's say a user needs an archiver. Here we recommend one of the free distribution options - The Unarchiver. But keep in mind that searching for software in a store is not ideal. And it has nothing to do with Spotlight. If you enter the name of the application incompletely or enter “archiver”, information will be displayed that nothing was found. So be extremely careful and write everything without errors.

So, the software has been found, now you can read its characteristics, view reviews, screenshots and much more. But the main thing is that you can now carry out the installation. To do this, you need to click on the downloads element next to The Unarchiver icon. During the operation, an ID/password may be requested. After downloading, the icon of the downloaded unit will pop up in the programs folder and in Launchpad.

At this point, the process is considered complete - everything that was required has been installed. This is how easy it is to install software on Mac. But there is another method for this purpose, used extremely rarely, when the installer is located inside the dmg, and not the application itself. To complete the installation, you need to launch it, and then run all the suggested commands. There is nothing complicated here - just click on the “Next” button, and so on until the operation is completed.

Removing software on MacBook

The removal task is also quite simple. You just need to go to the programs folder and move the item you no longer need to the trash. But some difficulties may still arise.

During operation, applications can create many temporary files. For example, these are elements containing software settings. When you erase a program, these files are stored on disk as garbage. And if you reinstall the software due to any problems, you will find. That absolutely nothing has changed. And the accumulated trash will also be to blame for this.

Few applications contain a special uninstall script (as is the case in Windows), which is usually located in the program's disk image near the installer. But this happens extremely rarely, so there is specialized software that allows you to clean up garbage left over from other applications. An example is AppZapper, a utility that is very easy to use.

The uninstallation software needs to be moved to the program window. It will instantly analyze all dependencies and display a list of temporary elements associated with the selected program.

By clicking on the delete button, the user will permanently erase the previously selected software. There will be no traces of it left in the system.

You can reinstall any program using one of the methods discussed above. Installing elements both from resources on the network and from the AppStore is equally easy. However, the first method is preferable because it does not require any accounts.

Lifehacker did not include browsers, instant messengers, cloud storage, and also graphic editors, office packages and other special tools that everyone knows and uses depending on their needs. This selection contains only universal applications that are necessary and useful for everyone without exception.

1.IINA

Without exaggeration, the best media player for macOS, significantly superior QuickTime features and legacy VLC. It reproduces any formats, has a modern interface, supports all system functions such as picture-in-picture and touchbar, can also automatically download subtitles, allows you to open online videos directly from the browser, and much more.

2.Transmission

A free torrent client that is not overloaded with unnecessary functions and does its job perfectly. Suitable for both ordinary users who value simplicity and convenience, as well as those who use remote control, task grouping and other advanced functions.

3. The Unarchiver

A laconic archiver for unpacking and creating archives. All operations are performed in almost one click using pre-configured scenarios, which can be easily changed if desired. Supports any types of archives, including even the most exotic ones, and has no problems with encodings.

4. Amphetamine

A miniature utility whose benefits are difficult to overestimate. Using Amphetamine, you can prevent your computer from going into sleep mode, leaving active running applications. This is done both by time and by more complex conditions: battery charge level, network connection, external display, disks, and simply according to a schedule.

5. Paste

It doesn't matter whether you're writing text or actively working in the browser - an extended clipboard that remembers more than just the last copied element will be equally useful. Paste stores the text, links, images and files you copy to the clipboard and allows you to instantly paste them, quickly finding what you need.

6. Bartender

And this utility is a real find for everyone who loves order. With Bartender, you can flexibly customize the display of icons in the menu bar, hiding unnecessary ones and hiding those that are rarely used and only take up space in a drop-down panel.

7. Spectacle

While working with multiple applications at the same time standard means Window management is not always enough. The free Spectacle utility adds convenience and allows you to quickly resize windows using hotkeys and move them around the screen to divide up the available space without the hassle of minimizing and maximizing.

8.AppCleaner

On macOS you can delete installed applications, simple transfer to the trash, but it’s still better to do this through AppCleaner. This will delete not only the application itself, but also all associated files that take up disk space. If you enable the tracking option in AppCleaner settings, the utility will launch automatically when you move applications to the trash.