Mr. Modem: Cheap programs likely to make you pay in other ways

I have a friend who obtained Microsoft Office and PhotoShop from an online merchant for about 90 percent less than the retail cost. She got serial numbers with them, but was told that she cannot register the programs with the respective companies.

Are these programs pirated or rip-offs of originals? I’m also wondering if it’s possible when you buy this type of super-cheap software, if the seller could plant something in your computer when you go to use it?

I wouldn’t touch any of that software with a borrowed 10-foot pole. Ridiculously inexpensive software is a huge red flag that there is something amiss and the program could include viruses, malware, tracking software or worse.

If you purchase software from any entity that cautions you that what you are purchasing cannot be registered with the manufacturer, you should definitely suspect something is wrong. There really is no rationale (and thus no defense) for knowingly purchasing pirated or bootlegged software. Beyond that, if it is infected and it creates serious problems when you install it on your computer, to whom are you going to complain?

Unless your life has been devoid of excitement lately, I would steer clear of anything like this and only purchase software from legitimate sources.

I have a program that is asking me to log in to Windows 7 as Administrator. How do I determine if I am already logged in as such and if not, how can I go about doing that?

To check if you are logged into Windows 7 as a user with Administrative privileges, go to the Control Panel, open User Accounts and click Manage Another Account. (You can also go to Start > Search and type in User Account.)

All user accounts will be listed, with each account assigned a status, such as Administrator, Standard User, etc. Make sure that you are logged into Windows under an account with the status Administrator.

If you are not sure under which account you are currently logged in, go to the main User Accounts page. The current user will be displayed on the right-hand side of the page.

What is the red arrow that shows up on occasion at the top-left corner of an Excel spreadsheet? The cells in question are filled in. I can usually get rid of the arrow if I erase the cell’s contents, then rewrite it, but not always. Thanks, Mr. M.

That little arrow is a “formula error indicator.” In other words that arrow indicates that the formula within that cell contains an error that will prevent it from functioning properly.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Mr. Modem: Cheap programs likely to make you pay in other ways."