But Dowd denied being involved in software piracy and said he never downloaded anything for personal gain.
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"I honestly believe that if you are using software you should buy it," he said, adding that this was DOD's ethos too.
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Dowd claimed he only downloaded software so he could try it out to see if it was any good before deciding whether to buy his own copy.
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He said he joined DOD in March 2000 after being invited by a member called Andrew Eardley, who used the internet nickname Maverick.