Terms of Service

Last updated: 30 September 2026

1. Acceptance

By purchasing, downloading, activating, or using Red Herrings, you agree to these Terms. If you are entering into them on behalf of a school, department, company, or other organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization, and "you" refers to it.

2. License and plans

When you buy a license, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use Red Herrings according to the plan you purchased. Plans differ by the number of activated machines (seats) and, where stated, by feature set. The detailed grant, restrictions, and ownership terms are set out in the EULA, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

3. Trial

Red Herrings runs as a time-limited trial: a set of sample cases, a capped number of students per lab, and watermarked documents. The trial is provided "as is" for evaluation. We may change or end trial availability at any time.

4. Orders and payment

• Prices are shown in US dollars and are exclusive of any taxes, which are added where applicable.
• Payments are processed by our payment processor, Stripe. By purchasing, you also agree to any applicable terms of that processor.
• License keys are delivered electronically, normally within minutes of a successful payment. It is your responsibility to keep your key secure; contact us if it is lost.
• Where a plan is offered on a recurring (for example, annual) basis, it renews at the then-current price unless canceled before the renewal date. We will make renewal terms clear at checkout.
• We accept institutional purchase orders for eligible plans; contact us to arrange one.

5. Refunds

Purchases are covered by our Refund Policy Accessibility : a 14-day money-back guarantee, described in full on that page. It forms part of these Terms.

6. Acceptable use

Red Herrings produces realistic but entirely synthetic forensic evidence for teaching, training, assessment, and lawful professional practice. You agree that you will not:

• present generated evidence as if it were genuine, or use it to deceive, defraud, or mislead anyone, or introduce it into any real investigation or legal proceeding as authentic;
• share, resell, sublicense, or publish license keys, or use one license beyond the seats you purchased;
• copy, redistribute, or repackage the software or its bundled cases outside your licensed use;
• reverse engineer, circumvent, or disable the licensing, verification, or other protective features of the software, except to the extent this restriction is prohibited by law;
• use the software to build material that is unlawful, or that infringes or misappropriates anyone's rights.

You are responsible for how you use any labs you generate, and for complying with your institution's policies and applicable law when handling student or other personal data.

7. Intellectual property

Red Herrings, including the software, the case scenarios, the generators, the documentation, and the Red Herrings name and marks, is owned by us and protected by intellectual-property laws. These Terms grant you a license to use it, not any ownership of it. The individual lab packages you generate (the specific evidence sets, worksheets, keys, and rubrics for your students) are yours to use within your licensed teaching and training.

8. Third-party tools

Working the cases involves separate, third-party forensic tools (for example, Autopsy, Volatility, or Wireshark). We do not provide, control, or warrant those tools; your use of them is governed by their own licenses. Links and setup scripts we provide are for convenience only.

9. Disclaimer of warranties

The software is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the software will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that it will meet your requirements. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, profits, or goodwill, arising out of or relating to the software or these Terms. Our total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to the software or these Terms will not exceed the amount you paid us for the license in the twelve (12) months before the event giving rise to the claim. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

11. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your misuse of the software or your breach of these Terms, including any presentation of generated evidence as authentic.

12. Suspension and termination

These Terms apply for as long as you use the software. We may suspend or terminate your license if you materially breach these Terms or the EULA, for example by sharing keys or circumventing licensing. On termination you must stop using the software and remove it from your machines. Sections that by their nature should survive (ownership, disclaimers, liability limits, indemnity, and governing law) survive termination.

13. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. The state and federal courts located in that state will have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute that is not otherwise resolved, and you consent to their jurisdiction and venue. Nothing here limits any mandatory consumer-protection rights you may have where you live.

14. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will change the "last updated" date above and, for material changes, give more prominent notice. Continuing to use the software after a change takes effect means you accept the updated Terms.

15. Contact

The Competence Collective, LLC: email contact form. See also our Privacy Policy, EULA, and Refund Policy.