—the product key flashed on the screen. He entered it into the activation window. Then came the "Request Code." He pasted it into the crack tool and hit "Patch." "Successfully Patched," the program chirped.

However, as the days went by, Alex began to feel a nagging sense of guilt. He knew that using a cracked version of the software was technically piracy, and he worried about the potential consequences. What if his employer found out? What if Autodesk discovered his use of the crack?