Non-genuine photoshop.

[Kell]

So I bought a stand-alone copy of Photoshop a while back - the last of the perpetual license versions - and have been using it with no problems.

Fired it up this weekend only to get a non-genuine alert pop up.

Now I got it through Amazon, so I thought I was buying genuine software.

Adobe say to contact them and they'll chase down the seller, but if I do that. Where does it leave me?

I don't use it often enough to warrant the tenner a month which is why I bought a stand-alone copy.

Anyone else in this boat? And what did you (or are you going to) do?

 

[f/1.2]

So I bought a stand-alone copy of Photoshop a while back - the last of the perpetual license versions - and have been using it with no problems.

Fired it up this weekend only to get a non-genuine alert pop up.

Now I got it through Amazon, so I thought I was buying genuine software.

Adobe say to contact them and they'll chase down the seller, but if I do that. Where does it leave me?

I don't use it often enough to warrant the tenner a month which is why I bought a stand-alone copy.

Anyone else in this boat? And what did you (or are you going to) do?

There is loads of hooky stuff on Amazon. Unfortunately when it comes to software if something looks too good to be true it usually is.

It's sensible to not buy from Amazon market place and only from Amazon themselves especially with easily counterfeited items like software.

Creative cloud can be bought for a years sub from Amazon and is often on offer when they have promotions on, so works out usually a decent saving against the normal monthly sub route.

Photoshop elements is also cheap and might cover what you need.

 

[YoshiK1]

How far back was it? Contact Amazon and tell them on chat. They might give you a refund etc. You don't ask then you don't get!

Otherwise I'd tell Adobe. You can't use it anyway can you? So either way you'll not be using it. I'd chase Amazon first though before telling Adobe. Also you could try contacting the seller first.

 

[Kell]

I can still use it.

There are workarounds to kill the pop-ups.

But i’m more concerned that if it is hooky, it could be full of malicious spyware or other rubbish.

And it wasn’t THAT much cheaper - I thought it was On offer because it wasn’t the latest.

 

[swanseamale47]

Can you contact the seller? They have have a proper version they can replace your with.

 

[droj]

But i’m more concerned that if it is hooky, it could be full of malicious spyware or other rubbish.

Run Malwarebytes on it?

 

[beachblue23]

Have had a similar experience with the heartbreakingly 'real genuine fake' software, I was apprehensive to contact for the same reasons. Would be interested to hear what you find!

 

[IanD]

I'd contact Amazon. They are very good with complaints. I bought Microsoft Office a few years back for the missus and it stopped working after about 6 months.

I contacted the seller and nothing back, so Amazon ended up refunding the full amount to me

 

[TG.]

There are workarounds to kill the pop-ups.

What sort of pop-ups are you getting ?

 

[Kell]

What sort of pop-ups are you getting ?

It’s an Adobe window which says something along the lines of “It looks like you’re using a non-genuine version of an Adobe product”

Has some blurb about why it’s important to use genuine stuff and has a find out more button.

You can’t close it by hitting the x in the corner.

I did wonder whether that pop up was genuine.

 

[petersmart]

It’s an Adobe window which says something along the lines of “It looks like you’re using a non-genuine version of an Adobe product”

Has some blurb about why it’s important to use genuine stuff and has a find out more button.

You can’t close it by hitting the x in the corner.

I did wonder whether that pop up was genuine.

If you can't close it it may be malware - if you have windows go into system then open windows defender and run it.

But definitely DON't press the "find out more" button!

 

[YoshiK1]

I can still use it.

There are workarounds to kill the pop-ups.

But i’m more concerned that if it is hooky, it could be full of malicious spyware or other rubbish.

And it wasn’t THAT much cheaper - I thought it was On offer because it wasn’t the latest.

Was it a CD you bought or did you download the software directly from Adobe? Does the disc look genuine if it's a disc? Has a silver back?

What you can do is put a firewall exception into whatever firewall you have and block it from talking to the internet. Do a scan on your full machine will Malware Bytes or Superantispyware to ensure there's nothing malicious on it and you'll be all good.

 

[Kell]

I believe it was a code that was emailed to me.

But it may have been an empty DVD case with the code in.

I don't remember now as I upgraded Lightroom at around the same time.

What I might do, as I now have CC at work, is use my corporate account for Photoshop and remove the other one entirely.

It was July 2017 according to my Amazon orders and from what I remember, i went to the Adobe site to log in then use the code i was sent.

But I wouldn't swear to that.

Anyway, I've now reported the seller to Amazon so I'll see what happens.

As it transpires, now looking through the seller's other reviews, it does look like they sell 'fake' software. But I know I did the due diligence when buying and those reviews either didn't appear, or weren't yet written.

 

[petersmart]

You can find copies of Photoshop 7 online with activation codes - and they work.
I actually bought a copy off Ebay for about £3.00 and that worked too.
However I find that I still prefer my old, genuine copy of PhotPlus X2 and X3.
I did read somewhere that P7 was "abandonware" in that Adobe just didn't care if they were copied or not - don't know if that's true.

 

[Brian G]

It’s an Adobe window which says something along the lines of “It looks like you’re using a non-genuine version of an Adobe product”

Has some blurb about why it’s important to use genuine stuff and has a find out more button.

You can’t close it by hitting the x in the corner.

I did wonder whether that pop up was genuine.

I've had exactly the same problem.
I bought a stand-alone version of CS6 from a UK on-line discount retailer several years ago.
The software company supplied me with a download link to Adobe and also an activation code.
I downloaded and installed the software and duly registered and applied the activation code without any problems.
Some time later I suffered a hard drive failure on my PC and had to install all of my software again on a new "C" drive.
Again, no problems with installing and registering the software with Adobe.
Like the OP, I rarely use Photoshop, but about a year ago I started getting these "Non Genuine" messages when I opened the program.

Unfortunately the on-line retailer I bought the software from has now disappeared, so I'm not going to get any help from them.
Since I already installed and registered the program twice, why wasn't it recognised as non-genuine at the time?
I'm certain that this is just a scam by Adobe to get you to sign up for CC and the only way I can resolve it with Adobe is by paying them money, which I'm reluctant to do.
It's also somewhat worrying to know that Adobe is "looking over your shoulder" every time you use their software.
Because of my very infrequent use of Photoshop, Adobe CC represents extremely poor value for me.
I have resolved the problem by purchasing "Affinity Photo" which for me, does the same things I used PS for, and also seems to be a lot more "user friendly."
Although I was also a Lightroom user, I've also switched to On1 for raw development, so Adobe have now lost me completely as a customer and I no longer use any Adobe products.

With On1 and Affinity I can do everything I used Lightroom and Photoshop for, and don't have to pay a monthly rental fee.
In fact, with layers and masks, On1 alone does most of what I needed LR and Photoshop for.

 

[petersmart]

Since I already installed and registered the program twice, why wasn't it recognised as non-genuine at the time?

This is quite common with a lot of software using activation codes because if the company is less than honest it may sell the same code a lot of times.

This is usually no problem because the programs often don't have a single code per program - they may have multiple copies with the same code and a strict limit of the number of times that code can be issued.

If that total number is never exceeded then no problems, but if it is then all the copies with that code may be declared invalid.

Which is why I'm quite happy with my old editing programs and only pay for new ones when I really want them.

 

[YoshiK1]

I believe it was a code that was emailed to me.

But it may have been an empty DVD case with the code in.

I don't remember now as I upgraded Lightroom at around the same time.

What I might do, as I now have CC at work, is use my corporate account for Photoshop and remove the other one entirely.

It was July 2017 according to my Amazon orders and from what I remember, i went to the Adobe site to log in then use the code i was sent.

But I wouldn't swear to that.

Anyway, I've now reported the seller to Amazon so I'll see what happens.

As it transpires, now looking through the seller's other reviews, it does look like they sell 'fake' software. But I know I did the due diligence when buying and those reviews either didn't appear, or weren't yet written.

If it didn't come on a CD or you downloaded software from and unknown source .i.e. Adobe then you've nothing to worry about with them being in your computer maliciously as they wouldn't have that access. What you do now have is invalid software.

 

[bulldog5988]

It's also somewhat worrying to know that Adobe is "looking over your shoulder" every time you use their software.

Microsoft, Google, Amazon and many other software houses do the same.