春节将至，你在网上买到回家的火车票了么？近日，许多互联网厂商纷纷退出各自的浏览器抢票插件(plug-ins)。有人奉其为抢票“神器”，也有人斥责这有失公平，你怎么看呢？

Software companies have denied reports of a government ban on Web browsers that allow users to cut ahead of others when buying train tickets online.

近日，有报道称政府部门叫停抢票软件，对此各大软件厂商予以否认。

Popular software providers Beijing Kingsoft Software and Qihoo 360 both had the controversial programs available for download on Sunday.

上周日，知名软件商金山软件和奇虎360都推出了这种备受争议的软件，供用户下载。

The browsers have add-ons designed to help people buy seats at 12306.cn, the Railways Ministry`s official ticketing website, and have been popular before the Spring Festival travel rush.

春运高峰将至，这些带有抢票插件的浏览器能够帮助人们在铁道部官方订票网站12306.cn上购得车票，因而大受欢迎。

However, critics say the software gives some people an unfair advantage, while media reports suggested officials were considering a ban.

然而，有评论指出这种软件有失公平。同时也有媒体报道称政府部门正在考虑叫停抢票插件。

Jin Lei, a marketing manager at Beijing Kingsoft Software, which makes the Liebao browser, said on Sunday that business was continuing as normal.

猎豹浏览器的开发者——北京金山软件有限公司市场部经理金磊（音译）在周日接受采访时称，这项业务仍在正常运行中。

He confirmed that company representatives had met with ministry officials, but declined to disclose more details. "The issue is still under discussion," he said.

他承认公司相关代表已与政府官员会面，但拒绝透露更多细节。他表示：“这一问题仍在商讨。”

A spokesman for Qihoo 360, who gave her name only as Zhao, also dismissed talk of a ban. She said the company had received a notice on Friday night from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology urging software developers to ensure the security of 12306.cn and to not do anything that may cause a system crash.

奇虎360公司一位赵姓发言人也否认了叫停抢票插件的说法。她表示上周五晚，公司收到过来自工信部的通知，敦促广软件开发商确保12306网站的安全性，并禁止任何可能导致系统崩溃的行为。

However, according to a female receptionist at 12306.cn headquarters on Sunday, customers are being advised not to use such browsers or plug-ins due to privacy and security concerns.

而一名来自12306铁路客服中心的女性接待员上周日表示，出于个人隐私及信息安全的考虑，建议用户不要使用这种浏览器或插件。

"The Liebao browser and the plug-ins are totally safe," said Jin at Kingsoft. "We only help customers search for ticket information, which will not affect the servers of 12306."

“猎豹浏览器及其插件是完全安全的，”来自金山软件的金磊称，“我们只是帮助用户查询票务信息，不会影响到12306网站的服务器。”

He added that users merely get an optimized search result.

他补充说，用户只不过是获取了优化的搜索结果。

Zhang Peng, a Beijing business consultant, bought a ticket to Jinan, using the Qihoo 360 browser on Friday.

上周五，来自北京的企业顾问张澎（音译）利用奇虎360浏览器买到一张到济南的火车票。

"I thought it was ‘game over’ when the software told me there were only a dozen tickets left, and about 200 people in the line ahead of me," she said. "But just several seconds later, the magic happened.

“我本以为‘没戏了’，因为当时抢票软件显示只有十几张余票了，而在我前面有200多人在排队，”她说，“但仅仅几秒之后，奇迹发生了。”

"The software helped me jump ahead of the others and I got a ticket."

“这个软件帮我抢在其他人前面买到了票。”

She endorsed the software。

她十分认可这款软件。

"It makes up for drawbacks in the official ticket website, improving the things the official site should have done, but somehow did not," Zhang said. "For example, the browser automatically tells you how many people are waiting ahead of you when you click on a train number, so you can decide whether to change to another train or wait."

“它弥补了订票官网的不足，完善了一些官网该做却没做的地方，”张澎说，“比如，在点击车次时，浏览器会自动显示在你前面排队的人数，这样你就可以决定是换一趟车还是继续等待。”

Beijing lawyer Xiao Wenbin said while the software is unfair, it may not be against the law.

来自北京的律师肖文斌（音译）表示，这些软件尽管有失公平，但可能并不违法。

The majority of migrant workers, who make up a large number of rail passengers during Spring Festival, are not familiar with the Internet and may not even know how to use such software, he said.

他说，春运旅客绝大多数都是外来务工人员，他们上网并不熟练，甚至可能根本不知道这些软件怎么用。

"Trains are part of the public transportation system and should give equal opportunity to each citizen, no matter if they can use the Internet or not," Xiao said.

肖律师说：“火车作为公共交通系统的一部分，应该给予每位公民同等的机会，不管他们会不会上网。”

Li Shikai, 25, a graduate student in environmental science at Shanghai Ocean University, plans to travel home to Kaili, in Guizhou province, for Chinese New Year in February.

来自上海海洋大学环境科学专业的研究生、25岁的李世楷（音译）计划在二月农历新年期间从家出发去贵州凯里旅游。

On Saturday, he tried to buy the ticket for his trip returning home on Feb 8 but failed after numerous attempts. On Sunday, with the help of a special browser, it took just two minutes to get a sleeper ticket.

上周六，他试图购买一张2月8日回家的车票，但屡试屡败。而次日，在一款专业浏览器的帮助下，他只花了2分钟就订到了一张卧铺票。

"The software really works, but for those who cannot use the Internet, that`s a problem," Li said. "The ministry should keep a balanced ratio between the tickets sold online and those sold in ticketing office to ensure fairness."

“抢票软件确实有用，但对于那些不会上网的人来说是个问题，”李世楷说，“铁道部应维持网络及售票窗口发售的车票比例平衡，以确保公平性。”