Patch Hosts File

Adobe CC 2019 activation host block. GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

Block Adobe Photoshop CC activation outbound link using windows host file or firewall is a common question for everyone.

I am not a professional Graphic Designer, but sometimes I like to play with Adobe tools like Photoshop CC. As I dont use it for professional works, I decided to not purchase, instead just use the Trial version.

To access the hosts file in Windows 7 you can use the following command in the Run Line to open notepad and the file. Notepad c: windows system32 drivers etc hosts. Once notepad is open you can edit the file. In this example we will block Facebook. To do this just enter in the following after the # mark. 0.0.0.0 www.facebook.com.
Edit the hosts file. The file contains comments (lines that begin with the # symbol) and some default host name mappings (for example, 127.0.0.1 – local host). Add your new mappings after the default mappings. To save the hosts file, press Control+X.

But almost everyone know that Adobe allow 30 Days Trial, after then it will keep showing activation message.

So, as a hobbyist Designer, how I can use Adobe Photoshop CC without activation? Yes, there is a way. You can use either Windows firewall to block all outbound link from Adobe, or you may also use Windows host file to block those URL.

Today I am not going to share how to block any software outbound link using Firewall, because I dont want to write a very long article. You can search on Google about how to block any software or may be how to block Adobe Photoshop CC using Windows Firewall.

Host File Settings

Though its not a how to design using Adobe photoshop, but I am assuring you that this tricks will save your time.

Update Note: A lot of my readers asking solution to activate Adobe Photoshop and others adobe products like Adobe Premiere pro, After effects, illustrator etc. I know purchasing from original vendor is quite expensive for us, that’s why we use almost all premium software for free. I will share activation method bellow of this post very soon.

By the way, You can use this method to block windows host for all Adobe software such as:

Adobe Creative Cloud: Any Version
Adobe Premiere Pro CC/CS Any Version
Adobe After Effects CC/CS Any Version
Adobe Photoshop CC/CS Any Version
Adobe Lightroom CC/CS Any Version
Adobe Illustrator CC/CS Any Version
Adobe InDesign: CC/CS Any Version
Adobe Animate: CC/CS Any Version
Adobe Audition: CC/CS Any Version
And all of the Adobe software, off course Any Version.

And you are looking for a way to block using Windows host file, then this article is for your. Bellow you will get a proper way to block Adobe Photoshop CC activation using Windows host file.

STEP One: First open your notepad using Administration permission. Search for notepad and right click on it to see the option to run as Administration permission.

STEP Two: After opening Notepad window, click on file and Go to Windows > system32 > drivers > etc folder. Here you will see a file name host. If you don’t see, then please change file format from text to all files at the bottom. You can see bellow image for better understanding.

STEP Three: Now its time to edit host file using notepad. Copy link from bellow and paste at the bottom of your open host file in notepad. And after then don’t forget to save it.

Windows Host File Entries

Block Adobe Photoshop CC Activation

If you successfully did everything properly, then you can be relax about Photoshop CC activation blocking. Because from now you will be able to use Photoshop CC trial as many days you want.

Video Tutorial on Photoshop CC activation blocking

If you are like others, facing issues on blocking Photoshop CC activation blocking using host, then this video will be very helpfull got you.

Thanks and wishing you best of luck. And also, dont forget to comment or send me email if you need further assit to block Photoshop CC activation using host file on windows or mac.

HostsNews blog & Updates

Updating the HOSTS file in Windows 10/8

The below does not apply to Windows 10 ... seems Microsoft has finally corrected the issue ...
Before you can install a custom HOSTS file in Win8, you will need to make a change in Windows Defender ... otherwise Defender will automatically remove your custom file and replace it with the default from Microsoft.
Hosts file is detected as malware in Windows Defender (Win8)
'This issue occurs because Windows Defender may determine incorrectly that the Hosts file was changed by malware'
Hostsman even has a warning about this issue ...

The folks at Microsoft that write the code detection for Defender are just lazy or don't get it! ... There has never been a malware infection that only affected the HOSTS file ... so why if when nothing else is detected does Defender still determine that you are infected? So in order to avoid the false detection, follow the instructions in the above Microsoft article. Basically you will need to exclude the Hosts file from scanning in Windows Defender. Once you have done this installing/updating should no longer be an issue.

Next step
Simply locate the 'hosts.zip' file you downloaded, by default it should be located in your 'User' Download folder.
Highlight the file (single-click) then right-click and select > Extract All from the menu ...

Next: Make sure there is a check in the 'Show extracted files when complete' option [screenshot]

Next: right-click the installer (mvps.bat) and select: Run as Administrator (see below)

Ok the UAC prompt and the batch file will run ... which will backup the existing HOSTS file to HOSTS.MVP then copy the updated HOSTS file to the proper location. You should see a completed prompt (press any key) and that's it ...

If you were previously using the MVPS HOSTS and Windows 7 ... the process is exactly the same.

The below screenshot shows the 'MVPS HOSTS FILE IS NOW UPDATED' message ...

Editors Note: in most cases a large HOSTS file (over 135 kb) tends to slow down the machine.

To resolve this issue (manually) open the 'Services Editor'

Start | Run (type) 'services.msc' (no quotes)
Win8 users - Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services
Scroll down to 'DNS Client', Right-click and select: Properties - click Stop [screenshot]
Click the drop-down arrow for 'Startup type'
Select: Manual (recommended) or Disabled click Apply/Ok and restart.

Either Hostsman or Hosts File Editor includes the option to turn off the DNS Service [screenshot]

When set to Manual you can see that the above 'Service' is not needed (after a little browsing - when set to Manual) by opening the Services Editor again, scroll down to DNS Client and check the 'Status' column. It should be blank, if it was needed it would show 'Started' in that column. There are several Utilities that can reset the DNS Client for you ... [more info]

Editors Note: The above instructions are intended for a single (home-user) PC. If your machine is part of a 'Domain', check with your IT Dept. before applying this work-around. This especially applies to Laptop users who travel or bring their work machines home. Make sure to reset the Service (if needed) prior to connecting (reboot required) to your work Domain ...

Important! If you are using Network Discovery then the DNS Client service is required and should not be set to either Manual or Disabled.

Workaround for using the MVPS HOSTS file and leaving the DNS Client service enabled (set to: Automatic)

If you find after a period of time that your browser seems sluggish with the DNS Client service enabled you can manually flush the DNS cache
Close all browser windows ... Win8 users - Charms Bar > Search > (type) command prompt > Select: Command Promt (left pane) Ok the UAC prompt
(type) ipconfig /flushdns (press Enter) Then close the Command Prompt ...

A better Win8 workaround would be to add two Registry entries to control the amount of time the DNS cache is saved. (KB318803)

Flush the existing DNS cache (see above)
Win8 users - from the Charms Bar, select: Search (type) run and select Run (left pane) and (type) 'regedit' (no quotes)
Navigate to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesDnscacheParameters
Click Edit > New > DWORD Value (type) MaxCacheTtl
Click Edit > New > DWORD Value (type) MaxNegativeCacheTtl
Next right-click on the MaxCacheTtl entry (right pane) and select: Modify and change the value to 1
The MaxNegativeCacheTtl entry should already have a value of 0 (leave it that way - see screenshot)
Close Regedit and reboot ...
As usual you should always backup your Registry before editing ... see Regedit Help under 'Exporting Registry files'

Editing the HOSTS file

In the event you need to edit the HOSTS file and are unable (system message) it may be due to the 'permissions' preventing you from editing the file.

Right click the Hosts file and select > Properties
Click the Security tab
Highlight your user account in the list
Press the Edit button
Select (place a check in) Full control
Press OK in the various dialogue boxes to confirm the changes.

You can also Add 'Take Ownership' to Context Menu (recommended)

SendTo Tip: if you add Notepad to your SendTo menu, then you can View/Edit the HOSTS file that way.

Win8 users > Charms Bar > Search (type) run > Select: Run (left pane) (type) shell:sendto (press Ok)
Right-click a blank space in the right pane and select: > New > Shortcut then click Browse and navigate to the Windows folder, highlight 'notepad.exe'
Name your shortcut: Notepad and Ok
Right-click the Notepad shortcut and select: Properties > click Advanced and place a check in 'Run as Administrator'. click Ok and then Apply.

The actual location of the HOSTS file is defined in the following Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipParametersDataBasePath

Other strange quirks

I've seen the HOSTS file 'Attributes' set to an value of N or I ... as much as I can find it stands for:

FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NOT_CONTENT_INDEXED

On Windows NTFS volumes, the attribute FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NOT_CONTENT_INDEXED can be set for directories and files, so that the directories and files are not indexed by the Windows Indexing Service.

This occurs when (one or more) of the Advanced File attributes are unchecked = File > Properties > Advanced button
Note: to view the 'Attributes' you need to add that option in Windows Explorer ... right-click the Header bar and select: More > Attributes

Programs are unable to access the HOSTS file message

Windows may detect that the HOSTS file was updated and it assigns a new Security setting to the HOSTS file.
Right-click the HOSTS file and select: Properties ... if you see the following message (at the bottom)
'This file came from another computer and might be blocked to protect this computer'
Click Unblock, click Apply, click the Security tab (up top) and take 'Full Control' of the file (see above)

To view Hidden Files

To allow yourself to view all file types, open File Explorer > View > Options > View tab
or Organize > Folder and search options > View tab [screenshot]

Scroll down to the Hidden Files and Folders section
Select: 'Show hidden files and folders'
Uncheck: 'Hide file extensions for known file types'
Uncheck: ' Hide protected operating system files'
Ok the Prompt, click Apply, Ok [screenshot]

Editors Note: general users should reverse the above when not in need as this exposes all system files, including several on the Desktop (desktop.ini) which you do not want to mess with ...

Related Utilities

Hosts File Editor ... great little freeware program with all the features of Hostsman ...

HostsMan can Edit, Update and Enable/Disable the HOSTS file ... make sure to 'Run as Administrator'.
Right-click the Hostsman shortcut and select: Properties ... click Advanced

To contribute a listing for our resources, or any other comments: Contact

Keygen.exe Patch Hosts File

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