PIRATING ADOBE CC MASTERPOST
I was about to make this one of those posts that say, "Hey everyone, WATCH OUT, there's some ILLEGAL PIRATED Adobe software that you should definitely AVOID. Here's the link so you know what to look out for, because you wouldn't want to get stuff FREE by MISTAKE"... and then I realized, if Adobe actually wanted to come after me for copyright shit (which they don't), their lawyers don't fucking care if I did it with a coy wink and a nudge.
Fucking steal that shit. It's a moral imperative.
(And if you don't want to for personal reasons, or because you're a business and they will come after you, you can get Adobe CS2 free legally, or any of these decent free alternatives.)
But if you want the real CC, read on!
god I sound like a drug dealer now
I use the 2019 CC cracks made by Zer0Cod3, who was taken down almost immediately after, but this mirror site still works as of July 2021: https://cgpersia.com/2019/01/adobe-2019-cc-collection-win-x64-148263.html
You have to download it using one of the options at the bottom of the site (I used RapidGator) and it's a pain in the ass but still ultimately safer than trying to find a torrent (send me an ask about that if you want another masterpost).
Once the files download, PUT YOUR COMPUTER IN AIRPLANE MODE
Make a System Restore Point just in case anything goes wrong and you want to roll it all back.
Install the programs you want. They may ask for you to sign in or put in a key. Just click the "do it later" option and close out of the program as fast as you can. Ideally, try to install the programs without letting them launch at all.
Copy the crack file (the one with its name listed on the website) and REPLACE the original file of the same name. You don't actually have to use the patch tool.
If you're confused, let's do Photoshop as an example. So you've run the installer, and you now have Photoshop installed. Go to its Program Folder (on Windows it's usually "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2019\" but if you're ever unsure, you can install Everything Search then just search your whole computer for "photoshop.exe"). Delete the original photoshop.exe, and put the photoshop.exe that you downloaded in the exact same place.
DON'T OPEN IT YET. We need to block Adobe from verifying/updating these programs...
If you have any other genuine Adobe programs (e.g. Acrobat DC) make sure you've signed out of your Adobe account.
Block all these apps in your firewall (You can look up how to do that for your specific device). Also, if you're on Windows, you can open "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts" in a text editor and add the follow:
0.0.0.0 lmlicenses.wip4.adobe.com
0.0.0.0 lm.licenses.adobe.com
0.0.0.0 na1r.services.adobe.com
0.0.0.0 hlrcv.stage.adobe.com
0.0.0.0 practivate.adobe.com
0.0.0.0 activate.adobe.com
Next (on Windows), open Services.msc and set the following to Startup Type - Disabled:
Adobe Genuine Software Monitor
Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Service
AdobeUpdateService
(Mac has an equivalent called launchctl, so you can check there for things with similar names to disable.)
That's it! You're good to go!
Obviously if you get any requests in-app to sign in, check for updates, or access the internet or Adobe Cloud, deny that shit. If something does go wrong with the install, the worst-case scenario is that you'll be on a free trial that will expire, and you'll have to FULLY UNINSTALL everything discussed above and try to repeat the steps fresh.
There's another way to get free Adobe CC called CCMaker. It uses AmtEmu, which emulates the amt files that Adobe used to verify these programs up through CS6. I didn't think AmtEmu still worked though. I've also heard CCMaker is faster and more lightweight, but I haven't tried it out so I can't confirm any of that. Try at your own risk.
Speaking of risks: I'm a stranger on the internet. There's no reason you should trust things I tell you to download (hell, I didn't trust these things when I was downloading them). I did run them through virus checkers (VirusTotal, Kaspersky, and Comodo), and apart from a few false-positives that are common with cracked software, it looked clean. I always recommend having a robust antivirus running. If you notice any suspicious behavior, try to isolate it and delete it. When in doubt, rollback to a system restore point made before you did any risky installations. Kaspersky is a very good free antivirus.
Lastly, if you found this guide useful, PLEASE REBLOG AND TAG THIS POST (and my other post linking to this one) so other people can benefit just the same!
And remember, piracy is cool! ✌
