According to the Chamber of Commerce registry, 98.2% of the 170 companies registered in Montería are micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The authors selected a representative sample of 50 companies that account for 30% of those legally registered in Montería. These cases are MSMEs that sell informatics systems and software applications. 2 evaluative type surveys were designed for the study. The results show that 95.6% of the MSMEs use proprietary software without actually having the proper licenses; 90.4% do not use free software and 75% confuse free software with software that is free of charge. The authors explain how they examined the use and knowledge of free software at the MSMEs of Montería.