Why are they so readily available to buy on the net? Why haven't you done anything to stop them?
In fact we are doing a lot but sadly we can't stop every shipment from China and sadly a lot of people are supporting piracy knowing full well that they are doing something wrong, this does not make our work easier. We are trying to work many routes, one of them is being proactive in forums like this trying to make people aware of what they are buying/using may not be a legit copy.
We do not like suing each and everybody, instead we try to ask for your understanding and support - similar to our support which we have provided the community with over the last 10 years. Things always go both ways.
What's wrong with getting a cheapy cable and the free/demo version of the software for the poorer people?
There is nothing wrong with using a dumb interface with VCDS-Lite. But those interfaces differ from interfaces which work with VAG-COM/VCDS 504 or newer - to work with such versions they have to have a proprietary firmware to communicate with VCDS. Proprietary means we and our associates wrote that firmware, therefor we own the rights to it. Also each of those interfaces which claim to work with more or less current version contain an activation/license which enables VCDS's full functionality.
FWIW, this is not a driver being messed up. The symptoms here are typical for one of those fake products which often fail due to bad quality and other circumstances.
BTW: If you need to
clear codes getting a VCDS-Lite license is not even necessary because the shareware version does that just fine. In either case, just to work on your Leon (1M) getting a VCDS-Lite license is really not a big deal. Neither financially nor for the sake of getting it. The argument of "cant justify the amount of money" is simply bollocks - you can justify an illegal HID kit which sure cost you more than a VCDS-Lite license.
