"Cai Win dao" is a slang phrase used by IT circles over the past 20 years to describe individuals specializing in door-to-door reinstalling for computers, including the Windows operating system, for friends, relatives or clients.

Their typical toolkit consisted of a software installation disc set containing Windows, Office, drivers, utility applications and games, most of which were cracked software. The machines being serviced were usually older models.

This was once a booming trade, particularly during the 2002–2010 period when online gaming emerged, driving massive demand among personal computer users and internet cafés looking to upgrade their systems. 

During that era, Windows XP SP2 was a wildly popular choice used by these freelance installers for desktop PCs.

Even up to the present day, this trade still exists. However, those practicing it are no longer university students or IT corporate employees working side gigs. 

Instead, they operate out of small computer repair shops in cities or rural areas, handling software reinstallation for personal computers or providing hardware and software maintenance for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Nevertheless, being fully aware of software copyright infringement, many have begun to abandon the profession.

N.A.D., a former computer technician who specialized in assembling and installing software for internet cafés, and who introduced Bootrom technology to numerous suburban internet cafés across HCMC, said that, following recent strict crackdowns on copyright violations, he has stopped accepting software installation gigs for clients.

Now, he only takes on network installation and computer hardware assembly, while urging his customers to purchase legitimate, copyrighted software like Windows or Office.

"For clients facing budget constraints to purchase licenses, especially internet cafés, I usually advise them to shift to open-source software since plenty of great alternatives are available now," he said.

N.T.A., owner of a computer repair shop on Ton That Tung Street in HCMC, said his store no longer accepts maintenance contracts involving the installation of unlicensed software for businesses as it did in the past. Instead, he encourages his clients to invest in copyrighted software or utilize open-source platforms.

"In the past, we handled both hardware and software maintenance for small agencies or businesses, spanning a few dozen computers at most,” he said. 

“Most of them used unlicensed software. We would just come in and use a Ghost file (operating system compressed image) or perform a fresh install. However, recently, my team and I advised them to transition to copyrighted software to avoid breaking the law. For places that refused to do this, we simply declined to provide maintenance altogether.”

He added that the community of "freelance Windows installers" in HCMC has almost abandoned the trade. Most have pivoted exclusively to computer hardware repair. 

When it comes to software troubleshooting, they generally only service laptops because the devices usually come with pre-activated factory licenses.

Software copyright prosecution 

The narrative surrounding the handling of software copyright infringement in Vietnam continues to heat up. On June 11, the Investigation Police Agency of Phu Tho Provincial Police issued a decision to initiate a criminal case regarding copyright and related rights infringement under Article 225 of the Penal Code.

This marks the first-ever nationwide criminal case connected with the unauthorized use of copyrighted computer software.

According to the case file, the suspects supplied computers pre-installed with the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office suite that showed signs of unauthorized activation tools, such as cracks, pirated product keys, and activators, to bypass the manufacturer's copyright protection mechanisms for illicit use.

According to the investigation agency, the legitimate commercial value of the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office suite on the market currently ranges from VND4 million to VND9 million per device. With hundreds of infringing computers discovered, the direct financial damages inflicted upon intellectual property rights holders are estimated to reach tens of billions of VND.

In addition to economic damage, this behavior severely impacts product research and development operations, diminishes the effectiveness of intellectual property rights protection, and has a negative impact on a fair competitive environment.

Thai Khang