29.03.2009.
E-mails
Let's just set up some ground rules before things get out of hand.
If you are unable to compose a decent sentence in English without the usage of "rofl", "r u", "zomg", "actnn" for "activation" etc, please do not write. I swear I'll have to make a filter and send all mail containing that shit straight to the burner if I get one more. As much as it may be easier and faster for you to type like this, it's that much more difficult for me to read that crap. Help me help you and learn to type properly if you use the above a lot.
Why I hate this so much? No point in trying to explain here, since Maddox already explained it perfectly well. Read about it HERE and jump to "Elementary School Dropout" if you're having trouble reading that much text.
28.03.2009.
Editing hosts in Vista
A couple readers e-mailed me saying I forgot to mention a tricky fact on Vista - that in order to change the hosts file in any way, you need to do so as Administrator. Actually, I did. Look at the Vista Workaround post way below. But I guess it got buried under all the others.
Anyway, here goes again: all layman++ actions there need to be run as by Admin in order to succeed at all, including running simple batch files. So to change the hosts file via Notepad, open the Notepad as admin by right clicking and choosing Run as Admin. That's it.
Or as another reader kindly directed me, read about some advanced and slightly more complicated methods HERE.
26.03.2009.
ZoneAlarm for Vista, keygen for Mac
It was brought to my attention this morning that the ZoneAlarm I posted cannot be installed on Vista. As I never did and never will use Vista, I had no idea of this, thanks Nicole!
HERE is a Vista version of Zonealarm Security Suite 7.1.248.000. Note that it is an illegal version and as such you need to follow the instructions posted below to the last detail in order to keep it activated:
1. Install ZoneAlarm and restart the pc, then enter a key generated by the keygen.
2. Make sure your Updates are set to manual and make sure your support and update info says 365 days left and close ZA.
3. Find the file zllictbl.dat in C: ProgramData Checkpoint (you may need to go to Tools - Folder Options - Show Hidden Files and Folders in order to see it) and turn that file into Read Only (right click - properties).
4. Restart ZoneAlarm, turn auto updates back on. That should do. (kudos to Heartbug and W31Andrew for this)
I'd still recommend turning auto updates off, and not updating at all, for obvious reasons, but you can try it this way too.
And
HERE
is a legit, free version of only the ZA firewall. While it won't offer the advantages of the full suite, it will be updateable and will do what it's supposed to do flawlessly - block outgoing Adobe traffic, and that's all we need it to do.
Someone also asked for a new keygen for Mac, HERE it is. You will probably get some false positives (your antivirus will tell you it's a virus). If you're paranoid, disconnect from the internet while using it, and make a full antivirus scan and remove it after you're done using it to install CS4.
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.
24.03.2009.
Cleaning all CS4 traces from your PC - manually.
I got two e-mails from guys who stated their CS4 apps still reported an expired key even after they used BoostSpeed (posted below) to clean the PC. From my experience so far, this can be due to three reasons:
1. Not using a decent firewall and blocking all Adobe components (even during setup) from accessing the internet.
2. The keygen is outdated in which case the one I posted below should work.
3. Adobe still managed to squeeze some entries in somewhere where the cleaner didn't find them.
There are two main steps you should try now.
First and foremost, related to the previous post, try setting your time back into December 2008 or so. Now try running the application. If it works, follow steps mentioned in the previous post.
Secondly, if the above doesn't yield any results, go to Start - Run and type regedit. Press Enter and once the Registry Editor opens, punch F3 to open the Find dialog. Enter Adobe into the field and once it finds an entry containing the word Adobe, delete that entry. If the folder containing the entry also has the word adobe, delete it as well, regardless of any other files inside. If the folder is empty after deleting the entry, also delete it. Punch F3 to jump to the next "Adobe" value, and repeat. Do this until you have no more results searching, and then change the keyword to "photoshop". Rinse and repeat for every single adobe app you may have ever installed. Once you clean them all out, that ought to do it. Run registry cleaner once again so it can clean up after you, restart the PC maybe even, and try reinstalling the apps you were trying to install before, but, again, I can't stress the importance of having a decent restrictive firewall installed enough. Use ZoneAlarm or something equally powerful (some users say kaspersky does a decent job) and BLOCK everything from adobe that tries to access the internet. Also, don't forget to immunize your hosts file, else you'll have to do it all over again.
Note: Do this at your own risk. Improper use of the regedit tool can render some other applications useless as well if you miss a value and delete the wrong thing, and in some extreme cases can cause severe damage to your operating system. Follow instructions, though, and you'll be fine.
Note 2: Please make sure all Adobe apps are uninstalled before doing this.
If you have any additional info you can offer on some extra values that need to be removed, or any questions, e-mail me at CorruptSuite4@gmail.com
22.03.2009.
Eliminating the need to set windows time back when running CS4 apps
Some CS4 apps will, after some faulty installations, only work if you set windows time back a couple months (end of 2008, early 2009 usually). While this can be an efficient workaround, it can slow down your work as some sites will not show properly and other software might encounter some difficulties as well. So instead of switching time constantly, it would be best to eliminate the need altogether.
There are three main methods I can think of right now.
1. Download the amtlib.dll file from a post below, and overwrite the necessary files. Be sure to make a backup of your original amtlib.dll first, in order to turn it back into the previous state if it doesn't work.
2. Make a complete re-install and follow each and every instruction posted on this site, with no exceptions, including disk cleaning with BoostSpeed.
3. Set your time back to make the apps work. Go to your problematic Adobe application and enter the Help menu. Choose Deactivate. This will not only stop it from ever opening fully again, but will also kill all traces of the last serial used in the activation process. The option is originally there to enable re-installation of the same suite with the same legit key on another PC, but comes in very handy for this purpose. Then, set your time back again. Make sure all the restrictions in ZoneAlarm are active and that Adobe Updater is killed. Also make sure the loopback addresses in the hosts file are there. Run the application again and generate a new serial with the keygen to re-activate the suite/app.
I've tested this third method on a previous configuration I had with Photoshop as the only application and it worked. Hopefully it'll work for you too.
20.03.2009.
Zonealarm
I've been getting some emails asking about where to find ZoneAlarm7+ I've mentioned in the previous posts. Seriously guys, it's a matter of googling or torrent searching, 4 seconds tops. Here's just one of the links you can get it from...
ZoneAlarm AntiSpyware 70462000 + keygen
But I reckon if you can't find it, you probably won't know how to use it either, so just give up.
19.03.2009.
Cleaning all CS4 traces from your PC
Since serial numbers are generated via an algorithm that basically has no "end", the CS4 apps check whether this algorithm matches the requirements when getting a serial number input. They don't check the number in specific, only the way it's constructed. In some cases, if you tried to install CS4 before, it will have traces of failed attempts all over your PC. When you uninstall a failed attempt, it doesn't get uninstalled 100%, something is left behind on purpose, and something because Add/Remove is crappy. The registry and hard drive will be packed with remnants of the illegal serials, and if a new setup detects those remnants, it won't work, even before you try running the apps. Already during setup will an application be told "Algorithms 1, 4 and 6 were illegally used on this computer, so exercise extreme caution while activating and tag user as suspicious". So in some cases, all serials by a certain keygen will be blacklisted and you'll never be able to install it unless you first purge your PC of all traces of previous installations.
To make a decent cleanup, you must NOT use Windows tools. Instead, use THIS PROGRAM . It's Auslogics BoostSpeed, and it's one of the best computer optimization programs I've seen in a LONG time. Among other incredibly useful tools, there's an improved Add/Remove, and a way to purge both your registry and hard drive of all traces of applications that no longer exist. That's what you need - uninstall any failed attempt of CS4, clean your PC, and then install using all the instructions posted below.
In some cases it seems, programs will still keep asking for serials, judging from the e-mails I got. It must be either user error, or not having hosts protected and a decent firewall. If that's the case with you, you can always try another method mentioned on MANY torrent sites that seems to work for some people. Download THIS file. Inside is amtlib.dll, which is a library of registration information and processes, in layman terms. You need to extract it using 7z as always, and simply copy amtlib.dll to your CS4 application installation folder. It will ask for an overwrite, say yes. You need to repeat the step for every CS4 app you want to activate this way. This way works for some people at ANY stage of a screwup, so give it a shot if you messed things up, but I recommend you do it immediately after installing CS4 applications in Trial mode.
Any and all questions can of course be sent to CorruptSuite4@gmail.com
18.03.2009.
Alternative keygen for CS4 MC
I got a mail yesterday about the standard keygen many people download with their torrents not working. While the cause of certain less-than-legal software failures may be their general instability or age, in most cases it's Mr. Gates that's pulling your leg again. Windows, with each new service pack, includes several measures to prevent fishy software from working properly. Some minor updates naive people download do that as well, so the next time you see a description like "Fixes a critical vulnerability issue in Internet Explorer" under an update on the microsoft site, ask yourself "Why am I even still using Internet Explorer and can I really trust those descriptions?".
That said, here is a link to an alternative 1.1 keygen which should work: Download HERE . I've tested it and it worked fine for me. Of course, for any of the generated keys to actually work, regardless of the keygen, you MUST have a firewall like ZA blocking the apps from phoning home to Adobe, otherwise the whole set of generated keys will be tagged as illegal and you won't be able to activate CS4 again with that keygen.
Which reminds me, someone mailed me saying he would like to use only a certain application from the suite, but doesn't want to use or install anything like ZoneAlarm. Tough luck, I gotta say. You absolutely MUST have a firewall blocking the apps from accessing the web. There is simply NO alternative, other than not having an internet connection. No amount of adding those protection lines into the "hosts" file will help you - the apps WILL find a way to contact additional activation servers sooner or later, and will commit suicide. If you want to use anything CS4, be prepared to use a decent firewall. After all, it can only help you in the long run.
Also, if you need only one of the CS4 apps, I suggest you find a torrent that contains only that one, solo. It's your best bet. Alternatively, you can download the trial for any of the apps from the Adobe site (you'll need a free adobe account for that) and activate it using all the measures I mentioned below. Naturally, you'll need a keygen as well, but finding that shouldn't be a problem.
P.S. To open the file linked above, you need 7zip, a free open source zipping tool that's way better than WinZip and WinRar combined. Just google it.
16.03.2009.
Spread the word
I check various torrent sites regularly for new problems and solutions, and find that people still have lots of trouble finding out how to get it all to work properly, even the basic stuff mentioned in previous posts. So people, please spread the word. If you see some people on some of your torrent sites struggling, send them here. Mention this blog. If you have encountered your own problems not covered here, please, mail me about it to corruptsuite4@gmail.com, and I'll do my best to find out how to solve it as soon as possible. Let's work on it together and make the suite free for all.
14.03.2009.
Vista workaround
I forgot to mention this before. You'll need to be logged on as administrator on Vista for the "hosts" modification to work properly. Don't ever think simply blocking the apps in your firewall will be enough. If pimping the hosts file up seems like too much work, you might as well give up right now. It's absolutely imperative you do it, as your apps will phone home sooner or later, and when they do, they'll need to be stopped from talking to activation servers.
13.03.2009.
Sneaky sneaky Photoshop
It has recently come to my attention that Photoshop has evolved beyond the original Adobevil. You see, even if you block it from going online like I said in the previous post, even if you deny it from running rundll32.exe and even if you stop ALS from going online but let it talk to Photoshop, Photoshop will actually manage to CHANGE settings inside ZA from time to time. Yep, that's right, it actually tells ZoneAlarm "Listen, I'm a good guy and you know it. Why don't you just let me through?", and ZoneAlarm, as gullible as it is, obeys.
So one day, you'll just find it all ticked green without being notified. It's really curious, happened to me twice now. Just change it back and see what happens, and if you notice something causing that change, please let me know at CorruptSuite4@gmail.com so I can give it some more thought.
Settings in ZoneAlarm
Behold. All the needed ZoneAlarm settings. Check your list very carefully and make sure you catch'em all!
Some might not make any kind of sense (as in, why the heck would Acrobat reader deactivate my CS4?) but take my word for it. There's a bit of evil in everyone. And in our case, that little bit is enough to drive you mad.
#1: Entries that need to be KILLED. You get to the kill option by clicking the "Trust Level" column next to the name of the application, and selecting kill. That way, ZA will prevent that application from ever running.
The settings next to Adobe Updater need to look like this:
Does this mean you won't be able to update CS4? Yes. I suggest you do not update the software, as new updates may bring new ways of trashing your activation blocks.
While you're at it, feel free to do this as well, it'll feel really good:
Ok, moving on.
#2: Entries that need to look like this:
(if you have multiple entries of any one program, the above and below goes for all copies of the entry)
- Activation Licensing Service
- ANYTHING starting with „Adobe“ including Adobe Setup, Adobe Version Cue, etc.
- AIRAPPLICATIONRUNNER.EXE
- Contribute CS4
- GPUSNIFFER.EXE
- IMPORTERPROCESSSERVER.EXE
- PHOTOSHOPSERVER.EXE
- SNIFFER_GPU.EXE
You might not have some of these, depending on your installation, but basically, if you have ANY of them, block them. You might wonder what to do about Dreamweaver (which needs to go online if you're using it to upload your work), or certain things that might work better with internet access, like flash player 10 or Contribute, which is basically an online thing. I don't have an answer for that. So far, I've experienced no problems when temporarily letting them go online when they absolutely need to or they'd be useless but there's no way to guarantee Adobe won't sneak something into them eventually during that small online window.
Any questions can be posted in comments or sent to CorruptSuite4@gmail.com.
12.03.2009.
Basic deactivation
Let's start with the basics. So far, anyone who downloaded a not-so-legit version of any piece of CS4 encountered the same problem. In all cases, regardless of information provided by the group that released the torrent, the software somehow managed to phone home, realize it's using an illegal serial number, and commit suicide. All apps die, request a new serial, and never run again. That is, until you kill them thoroughly, purge them, re-install, and try again.
How does CS4 phone home? It uses several services, some obvious and some less so, of which all at some time or another try to verify the number used to register the software. Two of the most notorious ones are Adobe Licensing Service, which is needed to run the programs, but takes them online afterwards and checks the situation out. The other one is Adobe Updater, an absolutely sinister program which will run in the background whenever it gets the chance. The CS4 apps themselves are not as evil as the services using them to get online. So, how do we get around the basic verification? Here's a step by step.
1. Completely KILL windows firewall and TURN OFF EVERY ASPECT OF IT. It is FULL of back doors and bugs, and WILL expose your PC to threats Microsoft wants to expose you to. Sure, it'll stop some, but why not stop them all? Furthermore, Microsoft struck a deal (or blackmail, whatever you may call it) with most big software production companies – from game studios to giants like Adobe - and uses the loopholes in its own firewall to help those applications check their serial numbers and other factors indicating illegal use. The big software companies in turn give birth only to software which works on a specific SP, by which they force the end user to upgrade to a higher SP even if nothing was wrong with his previous installation. A very sneaky way of getting you to install more back doors. Get ZoneAlarm 7+. One of the best firewalls out there right now, and is PACKED with options you'll need to run CS4 properly.
2. Once you have Zonealarm, and a piece of CS4 downloaded (or the entire CS4 for that matter) make sure there's a keygen somewhere in there. Also, turn off your antivirus, as there is a 99% chance of it scoring a false positive on virus detection in the keygen. Nothing to worry about. 97% of the keygens that cause false positives have NOTHING to do with viruses.
3. The next step is to kill your internet connection before you start installing. Disable your network, or better yet, just push the LOCK button in ZoneAlarm. Anything, just prevent your PC from going online for the next hour or two. This is not an absolutely required step if you have ZA7+, but it might help prevent some problems. It's better just to do it and get it all over with properly.
4. Run the installation. Whether it's CS4, Photoshop alone, Indesign, whatever, run the installation. Use your key generator to make a serial, and install the software. While it's installing, it's time to tweak your hosts file. The hosts file is a file inside the Windows/System32/Drivers/Etc/ folder, and, in our case, is very useful. To find out about its original use, google it or check here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_file. Anyway, find it and open it with a text editor (wordpad or notepad). Add the following lines under the line 127.0.0.1 localhost:
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
What does this do? It basically prevents CS4 (or your computer in general) from talking to ANY of these servers (these are all servers used to identify Adobe's apps and their serials – all data regarding verification is sent to those). With these in the hosts file, CS4 will not be able to contact the basic and main activation servers. After you added those, save the file, but make sure it has NO extension. If your text editor won't let you save it without an extension, save it as hosts.txt or hosts.doc and just rename them – delete the extension. Make sure you have known file extensions visible the entire time (go to Tools – Folder Options – View and remove the tick for „Hide extensions for known file types“). This is a very important and absolutely unavoidable step.
5. When the application is done installing, choose Register Later if it asks and run it. In most cases, it will run fine and won't ask a thing. Close it, and run it again. It will ask for internet access even though your connection is still down (it is, right?). Tick „Remember“ and choose „Deny“. Now, some apps might ask you whether or not you'll let Adobe Licensing Service „talk“ to them. You gotta. If you kill that service, no apps will work. So yeah, let'em. Some apps might also ask you if they can access rundll32.exe. Absolutely NOT. Deny and remember. Close the application, and run it a few more times to see what happens, whether or not you get some more questions. If you're not sure about a choice, try it. Try deny first (do not tick remember) and see if it runs and works. If it does, close the application and run it again, then tick remember and deny. If it doesn't work, well then allow it. Simple enough, we're giving the apps only the basics they need to function properly. Don't worry, this won't slow them down or disable any options, it will actually make them load much faster because they won't be choked by all the activation checks. Do this process with ALL of your CS4 apps if you installed more than one.
Once the application(s) no longer ask for any permissions, check the next post for all the things you need to do in ZoneAlarm to block the most crucial components.
Introduction to killing CS4 activation
Over the last couple months, many a good folk have had epic trouble activating and using an illegal copy of Adobe CS4 master collection, or any other CS4 application for that matter. While Adobe's protection system is nothing short of awe inspiring, it is my opinion, as is the opinion of many others, that the software is simply to expensive to represent a fair balance of effort invested into its development vs. actual value. Considering the amount of software sold, and the sheer number of licenses needed for, in example, only one firm to use the software, the money earned by far outweighs the usefulness of the apps, as epic as it may be.
All the programs included in the CS4 master collection are beyond useful, of course. Dreamweaver has become a sort of standard in simplified web development (even my own university uses 20-30 illegal versions of the good old ancient Macromedia Studio MX), Photoshop is one of the most powerful graphic editing apps on the planet, and Illustrator keeps pushing the standards of vector based graphics to new levels version after version. Flash is among the most powerful animation and interactivity apps in the field with improved coding features that came with Actionscript 3.0, and Adobe Premiere and After Effects make up an invincible team of video editing apps. Combine them with Flash, and you have the most fancy apps and web sites one can imagine. As if the story ends there. InDesign, LiveCycle and Soundbooth are only some of the apps I haven't mentioned, and yet well worth one's time. From print layouts and designs to interactive forms compatible with almost.. well.. everything.. to the extreme extents of sound editing, Adobe has bought and covered every field in the computed industry, and has done it well.
While it has always been my opinion software developers are underrated and their work should be supported both financially and otherwise, I find myself living in a country where one could only afford CS4 master collection if one worked for 12 months straight (provided one has a normal job and is not a parent-leech) without spending a dime on anything else but a saving fund for CS4. What's worse, by the time one could afford CS4, CS7 would be out. Never think I blame Adobe for my country's lowly management and disorganization, or for my own poverty, or that of others around me - it is solely my country's fault. But the fact remains that certain things are inaccessible to certain parts of the world regardless of how much effort they put into it.
Hence this blog. Since the internet (torrent sites in particular) is flooded with CS4 in one way or another, it's time to help people use it. The world is packed with morons these days, morons who somehow get their hands on the best software and yet are unable to mount a simple image file or extract *.7z files, and those cannot count on my aid. But the average man, the folk who have children to support, rents to pay, and colleges to go to, those are not to blame for their situation wherever they are, and if they wish to further their creative development, I feel they deserve it. In the end, I am 100% certain that if one should succeed (financially and otherwise) in crafting a decent paycheck with the help of the CS4 master collection, that person will also spend the next $2500 he/she has on an original and legit version to show his/her appreciation, dedication and honesty. I know I would.
Stay tuned for detailed posts on how to make your CS4 software work.*
*bear in mind that I will not crack or otherwise perform any illegal modifications on the software myself. I merely intend to make a compilation of the most helpful and useful hints I've found throughout the web regarding the issue mentioned above, ultimately resulting in a full guide to all CS4 troubles.
