25.03.2009.
Adobe CS4 activation on the Mac
It occurred to me yesterday when I received an e-mail about it that I had completely forgotten about Mac versions of CS4. While I am neither particularly fond of Macs, nor very knowledgeable about them and the software to match, that's no reason to leave Maccers hanging. So I looked around, asked about, and probed this and that. What follows is an attempted guide on how to properly set up and use CS4 on a Mac. The methods were confirmed by a few people as valid, but note that I cannot guarantee it nor can I tweak the process to a large extent, I'm doing this by gathering info about it all around and gluing it together with common sense.
1. Cleaning previous traces of Adobe CS4
As in Windows, we first need to clear the traces in order for a new Setup not to notice a previous illegal installation. One advantage of Macs over PCs with Windows is that they do not have a registry, and as such there are no entries to delete there. However, Adobe may have written its evil snippets somewhere else. First, do this: this. It should clean up at least some traces.
Then, if you have anything of CS4 installed, try using a keygen to run the application. Nevermind that it will deactivate the next time you use it - all you need to do is gain access to Help - Deactivate. Or you can try setting the year back to 2008, that might work too. Then find the Deactivate option. This will deactivate all CS4 instances on your Mac and kill the illegal serial and its traces. If you just can't get it to run, remove /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe PCD/cache/cache.db if it exists and then try.
2. Immunizing hosts
Contrary to popular belief, Mac does have a hosts file. And it can be immunized just as the windows one, it's only slightly harder to get to it. Enter the Terminal (Applications / Utility). Type this:
sudo /Applications/TextEdit.app/Contents/MacOS/TextEdit /etc/hosts
and hit enter, then enter your admin password. Once the file opens in TextEdit, add these values at the bottom of the document:
127.0.0.1 activate.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 practivate.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 ereg.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 activate.wip3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 wip3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 3dns-3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 3dns-2.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 adobe-dns.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 adobe-dns-2.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 adobe-dns-3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 ereg.wip3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 activate-sea.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 wwis-dubc1-vip60.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 activate-sjc0.adobe.com
Save the file.
That's it, immunization complete.
3. Snitching, a little.
Like it or not, there's a need for ZoneAlarm here as well. Only there is no ZoneAlarm for Mac. Here it's called Little Snitch, and you can get the cracked version here. This program will allow you to block outgoing traffic, including adobe apps from accessing the internet. When anything "Adobe" asks your permission to access the internet, just slap it on the wrist and deny it. Voila. Off to step 4.
4. Finishing touches and retry.
Make sure there is no "cache.db" file from the first part of this post. Run/install your Adobe app again. Enter a new serial from a keygen you have. Deny all requests to access internet, of course. Find the aforementioned newly formed cache.db in "/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe PCD/cache/" and make it read only (I think it's via Get Info). That should be it.
And there you have it. It should now work without being able to verify the key (if you properly installed and configured Little Snitch).
If you have any problems or hints, e-mail me at CorruptSuite4@gmail.com.
