Adobe Software Integrity Service

[ducttape45]

I don't know if anyone else has been hit with this, but lately I've been getting a message every time I use Adobe Acrobat 10. It says,

"Acrobat detected that it is not properly licensed. You may have unknowingly bought a counterfeit copy."

Then it tells me to visit Adobe or call them. One problem with this error message. I BOUGHT THE SOFTWARE FROM ADOBE! Now they're telling me it's counterfeit. Just wow. I wondered if anyone else has had this happen to them, and if so how do I get this stupid popup message to stop appearing.

Thank you.

[ducttape45]

If I may ask, what version of Adobe Acrobat did you have?

I think you found the bugger causing all the hoopla so kudos to you. This is something that needs to get out there to more people, and it's something that bears watching because it could always get reinstalled during an update/upgrade. Adobe is good for that.

[DaveInAustin]

Thanks for running this down. I wasted almost an hour with Adobe’s worthless India helpdesk on this yesterday because I had not actually screen captured the offending message. Their useless suggestion was to reinstall the software.

I have been working on getting rid of Adobe products for several years now.
- I switched from Photoshop to GIMP and now like it better.
- There were a few publishing things I had to do with InDesign, but I figured out how to make Inkscape handle them.
- DreamWeaver was worthless from the start. I now use WAMPServer to debug websites
- Have not figured out how to get rid of Premier yet, but I don’t use it that often.

Acrobat is the only remaining thing that seems to be hard to entirely get rid of. None of the 3rd party clones I have tried so far are even close. It is particularly hard because I need to produce camera-ready files for commercial printing which entails generating PDF/X format files (CMYK colors instead of RGB) and nothing open source is even close.

At any rate, intentionally putting out this sort of deceptive harassment-ware shows to what depths Adobe has sunk. Ethics?...?

Would love to hear suggestions.

[ducttape45]

Did you get the red box to go away as I and Johnny Cakes was able to do?

[ducttape45]

I don't use many Adobe products, just Photoshop and Acrobat.

They are the same programs I use at work so I have to have them here at home. However, I will go as far as Photoshop CS4. I won't go any higher and I absolutely refuse to use their subscription based software. I have tried GIMP a time or two but wasn't really happy with it.

[ducttape45]

I think I found the registry key, and I also found the program file that corresponds with it.

Johnny Cakes was right about the program file. It's a directory buried within the Adobe program directory in the Program Files (x86) directory. Check these two out:

c:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat 10.0\

c:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat 10.0\Acrobat\

The directory it's in is called "GC," and the file name is "AdobeGCClient.exe" and there could also be a file name called "AdobeGCUpdater.dll." I even found a file named "dispatchtable.xml" there as well.

DELETE THE ENTIRE DIRECTORY!

The registry key where I found "AdobeGCClient.exe" was called:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Components\1B8DC4840EADDB343B2D25158713B3C0\68AB67CA330100007706000000000050

however, you'll probably want to do a search on the "AdobeGCClient.exe" file name because it could be a slightly different location.

DELETE THIS ENTIRE ENTRY

Sorry this took so long. I realized just this morning that this offending program could also be on my laptop computer which also has Acrobat 10 on it. When I searched for it I found it and copied this information to share with you all.

ShadowAce, I wanted to get this to you too so you could get it out to everyone on your ping list.

Thanks for your patience!

[Johnny Cakes]

Adobe Acrobat X Pro.
And all props go to you — I just followed your clues to locate the program.

I am a very good Google searcher and I think this is the only thread on the Internet with this solution. There is a post on an Adobe site asking what the the program does because it triggered a virus warning for the poster, and the Adobe response was very opaque and vague.

When I first spoke to Adobe customer service, they indicated that if I did nothing, no action would be taken (e.g. program shutdown, etc.), I would just have to keep dismissing the dialog. Whether that is accurate or not (customer support often knows nothing), I have no idea.

There is also no way I am going to permit Adobe to “upgrade” although I get pop-ups to do so. It would be a very easy thing for Adobe to make this more Draconian than simply dismissing a box.

Hopefully, this has fixed it. I didn’t get the pop-up that often (wonder if the interval between pop-ups decreases over time?), so I can’t say I am out of the woods, but so far so good.

[ducttape45]

Maybe I missed my calling huh?

:-))

I appreciate the kudos. I wish I knew of a way to get this information out to websites that specialize in this kind of thing but I do not. If you do, more power to you, get it out there.

The only thing I saw on the Internet was on the Adobe website under their FAQ section, and it basically said the same thing, "just put up with it, it won't cause any problems." Yeah right, and we can keep our doctors under Obamacare.

I'm with you on this. No more updates, no more upgrades. Adobe has shown that they can't be trusted to just provide software. They have to find some way to spy on people, just like Microsoft.

I'm glad to see that it's "so far, so good" for you. Hopefully word of this fix can get out there to the thousands of other folks it's affected Adobe can be stopped in its tracks.

[ShadowAce]

Ping to Post #45

[catbertz]

I second the vote for foxit pdf program. I’ve been using it for maybe six+ years. Fast, effective and free.

[GeronL]

Adobe is having all kinds of issues lately, aren’t they

[debwarr]

Hey I just joined because I got hit with this exact same issue today. Getting warnings every 15 minutes and can barely work. Problem is, I’ve been legally purchasing ever stitch of adobe software since 1995! I have CS6 and will not be going to CC. I’m a solo business... I’ve probably spent $15k with adobe in the last 30 years, so I’m completely offended and can find no help.

I’ve been calling multiple adobe support numbers today and no one at adobe will answer the pone unless i pay money for a service contract. i’ve then tried to email them at various support addresses and they all bounceback to me. finally had to call sales to get a person (in india) and they want me to buy CC versions of everything. They say CS6 is not supported anymore, so there’s the gist of what adobe is doing... trying to force everyone into monthly subscription programs for all pieces of software they use. What to do!!

[ducttape45]

Check out Post #45. That should do the trick.

[debwarr]

gosh, so the solution is to do nothing but keep dismissing the alert? anyone know of a way to get the alerts from popping up?

i use indesign most of the day but also need adobe acrobat most of that time. so dismissing alerts every 15 minutes is totally distracting. i spent 3 hours trying to resolve this and will now be working much of the night to catch up.

this sort of corporate interference should be illegal, shouldln’t it?

[ducttape45]

Did you read what the post said to do?

Find a directory buried within the Adobe program directory in the Program Files (x86) directory.

c:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat 10.0\Acrobat\

Then find the directory called "GC," and the file name is "AdobeGCClient.exe" and there could also be a file name called "AdobeGCUpdater.dll." I even found a file named "dispatchtable.xml" there as well.

DELETE THE ENTIRE DIRECTORY!

Next, go to your registry and find an entry called "AdobeGCClient.exe". Delete that as well.

You'll probably want to do a search on the "AdobeGCClient.exe" file name because it could be a slightly different location.

DELETE THIS ENTIRE ENTRY

That should do the trick.

[waltherppq]

Many thanks for the solution to a real problem, and the precisely detailed instructions.

In addition, I have opened Acrobat X Pro and went to Edit > Preferences > Updater and put a tick in the last option to prevent automatic updating from causing the same problem to reappear through that open door that the application uses to “call home” to Adobe corporate. Adobe is IMO the unethical inventor of this problem that is a ploy to sell the “fix” that is an “upgrade” to their subscription service. I believe Adobe is simply blacklisting bona fide serials on their older permanent license software to force “upgrades” to be made to their subscription service Acrobat DC version. It is a greed motivated “security alert” that your Acrobat is not genuine more than a fact, IMO.

[ducttape45]

I also feel the same way about Adobe, which is why I plan on continue to use Acrobat 10 Pro for the foreseeable future. Adobe also said the that message would appear for only 3 months, but has continued for well over 1-2 years. You are right, it's all an effort to make the user upgrade to a subscription service, one which takes away options that used to come with 10 or 11.

Glad you found the information useful. If you know of others having the same problem please share that information with them.

Good luck my friend!

[waltherppq]

I wasted more time with faux Acrobat support having Indian names than the sealed retail Acrobat X Pro software was worth. The software installed and activated fine 4 years ago. I never could get a straight answer why it would take Adobe 4 years to flag a bad serial,(which I do NOT believe). I was run in circles and told to seek a refund 4 years after a sale of bona fide software that Adobe has suspiciously decided 4 years later is somehow not genuine. Once years ago I ran across a high quality counterfeit of XP and Microsoft had me send it to them for physical examination, and in return MS gave me a free replacement bona fide genuine software for my trouble. Why doesn’t Adobe offer the same consideration? Because that doesn’t sell subscription upgrades. I advised Adobe support that if the problem was not resolved by Adobe, nag screen deactivation would be accomplished by user intervention and the regedit would be published far and wide. A similar intervention had to be done as a workaround when Windows Update malfunctioned and crashed over half a billion XP computers world wide, which was a 100% Microsoft EPIC FAIL. There is a hubris about big corporate entities that never ceases to amaze, with endless tasking of consumers at bug fixes for crappy resource hogging “improved” user profiling spyware / software that isn’t always any real upgrade. It is frustrating, and “cloud computing” is not my cup of tea. I buy zero “subscription software”. And “automatic updates” are eventually a proven security risk any place they are allowed in my experience.

[ducttape45]

I’m of the same mind regarding subscription software. I simply won’t do it. I’ll stick with my Windows 7 and Office 2010. When Microsoft makes those obsolete and tries to get me to upgrade, I simply won’t do it. I don’t trust “the cloud” and I don’t trust any corporation that tries to push me in that direction.

[waltherppq]

There is a parallel issue involving or likely to affect Acrobat XI Pro the same way. Is there any information about the fix for Acrobat XI Pro, and is the updater block and folder deletion and regedit a general fix for other Adobe products?