So if you are not paying to IDA's authors either way, what is the difference? I'd say, by learning to use IDA through a pirated version you create a possibilit

So if you are not paying to IDA's authors either way, what is the difference? I'd say, by learning to use IDA through a pirated version you create a possibility that one day you will use it for something more serious and you or your employers will pay for it. One possible argument against that is that by learning how to use all IDA features through a pirated version, you erase the competitive advantage of people who can afford to pay right from the start and remove their incentive to pay. To that I'd say you would be just levelling the playing field :)