I consider myself quite tech savvy. Some 20 years ago I even coded for the PC, and might have run questionably sourced software a few times. Nowadays, I have a home server, do my tiny bit of tinkering. My current approach to pirated software is “nope”. I find it too much trouble to still not feel safe. If there isn’t an open source alternative, I’ll either cough up the dough for the real deal or go without.