<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
<!-- Parent-Version: 1.79 1.96 -->
<!--#set var="DISABLE_TOP_ADDENDUM" value="yes" -->
<!-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  Please do not edit <ul class="blurbs">!
    Instead, edit /proprietary/workshop/mal.rec, then regenerate pages.
           See explanations in /proprietary/workshop/README.md.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-->
<title>Adobe's Software Is Malware
- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/side-menu.css" media="screen,print" />
 <!--#include virtual="/proprietary/po/malware-adobe.translist" -->
<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
<div class="nav">
<a id="side-menu-button" class="switch" href="#navlinks">
 <img id="side-menu-icon" height="32"
      src="/graphics/icons/side-menu.png"
      title="Section contents"
      alt=" [Section contents] " />
</a>

<p class="breadcrumb">
 <a href="/"><img src="/graphics/icons/home.png" height="24"
    alt="GNU Home" title="GNU Home" /></a> /
 <a href="/proprietary/proprietary.html">Malware</a> /
 By company /
</p>
</div>
<!--GNUN: OUT-OF-DATE NOTICE-->
<!--#include virtual="/server/top-addendum.html" -->
<div style="clear: both"></div>
<div id="last-div" class="reduced-width">
<h2>Adobe's Software is Malware</h2>

<p><a href="/proprietary/proprietary.html">Other examples of proprietary
malware</a></p>

<div class="highlight-para">
<p>
<em>Malware</em> means class="infobox">
<hr class="full-width" />
<p>Nonfree (proprietary) software designed is very often malware (designed to function in ways that
mistreat or harm the user.  (This does not include accidental errors.)
This page explains how Adobe software is malware.
</p>

<p>Malware and nonfree software are two different issues.  The
difference between <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.html">free
software</a> and nonfree user). Nonfree software is controlled by its developers,
which puts them in a position of power over the users; <a href="/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html">
whether
href="/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html">that is the
basic injustice</a>. The developers and manufacturers often exercise
that power to the detriment of the users have control they ought to serve.</p>

<p>This typically takes the form of malicious functionalities.</p>
<hr class="full-width" />
</div>

<div class="article">
<div class="important">
<p>If you know of an example that ought to be in this page but isn't
here, please write
to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>
to inform us. Please include the program URL of a trustworthy reference or vice versa</a>.  It's two
to serve as specific substantiation.</p>
</div>

<div class="column-limit" id="malware-adobe"></div>

<ul class="blurbs">
<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not directly a question edit in malware-adobe.html. -->
  <li id="M202406100">
    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2024-06</small>'
    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
    <p>In its terms of what service, Adobe gives itself permission to <a
    href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/adobe-defends-changes-in-its-terms-of-service-amid-gen-ai-explosion/">
    spy on material that people upload to its servers</a>, supposedly for
    moderation purposes. In spite of Adobe's denial, we can expect
    that sooner or later it will use this material to train its so-called
    “artificial intelligence,” and will claim that by agreeing
    to the program <em>does</em> when terms of service users gave it
runs.  However, the right to do so.</p>
  </li>

<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in practice nonfree malware-adobe.html. -->
  <li id="M201910071">
    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2019-10</small>'
    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
    <p>Adobe has <a
    href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/adobe-to-ban-users-from-venezuela-due-to-us-executive-order/">
    cancelled the software is often malware,
because subscriptions of all users in
    Venezuela</a>. This demonstrates how a requirement for subscription can be
    turned into a tool for sabotage.</p>
  </li>

<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in malware-adobe.html. -->
  <li id="M201905140">
    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2019-05</small>'
    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
    <p>Adobe <a
    href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/a3xk3p/adobe-tells-users-they-can-get-sued-for-using-old-versions-of-photoshop">
    revoked the developer's awareness license of some older versions</a> of its applications,
    and warned customers that they can get sued for using them.</p>

    <p>This is further proof that the users would be powerless to fix
any malicious functionalities tempts of nonfree software are in the developer to impose some.
</p>
</div>

<ul>
<li>
    hands of its developer.</p>
  </li>

<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in malware-adobe.html. -->
  <li id="M201701110">
    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2017-01</small>'
    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
    <p>An upgrade package for Acrobat Reader <a
    href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/adobe-acrobat-reader-dc-update-installs-chrome-browser-extension/">silently
    alters Chrome</a>.</p>
  </li>

<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in malware-adobe.html. -->
  <li id="M201510220">
    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2015-10</small>'
    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
    <p>Adobe applications nonfree software may halt
    all other work and freeze a computer <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160308062844/http://www.wired.com/2013/05/adobe-creative-cloud-petition/">require
periodic connection
    href="https://shallowsky.com/blog/gimp/non-free-software-surprises.html">
    to perform a server</a>.</p> license check</a>, at a random time every 30 days.</p>
  </li>

<li>

<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in malware-adobe.html. -->
  <li id="M201410080">
    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2014-10</small>'
    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
    <p>Adobe made “Digital Editions,”
    the e-reader used by most US libraries, <a
    href="https://web.archive.org/web/20141220181015/http://www.computerworlduk.com/blogs/open-enterprise/drm-strikes-again-3575860/">
    send lots of data to Adobe</a>.  Adobe's “excuse”: it's
    needed to check DRM!</p>
  </li>

<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in malware-adobe.html. -->
  <li id="M201402200">
    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2014-02</small>'
    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
    <p><a
href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/adobe-software-subscription-model-means-you-cant-own-your-software/">
    href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/adobe-software-subscription-model-means-you-cant-own-your-software/">
    Adobe tools require a subscription</a>.  Adobe also tried to <a
    href="http://chocolateandvodka.com/2014/02/20/adobe-creative-cloud-subscription-warning/">
    rip people off by making the subscriptions annual</a>, but that is
    a secondary issue compared with the basic wrong of the time bomb.
    When a program proprietary, and even malware, don't get distracted
    by the secondary issues like price.</p>

<p>Please

    <p><small>(Please don't repeat the marketing term “Creative
    Cloud” except to express revulsion for it.  The <a
    href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#CloudComputing"> term
    “cloud” is designed to cloud users' minds</a>.</p> minds</a>.)</small></p>
  </li>

<li><p>Adobe nonfree software may halt all other work and freeze a
computer

<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in malware-adobe.html. -->
  <li id="M201305100">
    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2013-05</small>'
    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
    <p>Adobe applications <a
href="http://shallowsky.com/blog/gimp/non-free-software-surprises.html">
    href="https://www.wired.com/2013/05/adobe-creative-cloud-petition/">
    require periodic connection to perform a license check</a>, at a random time every 30
days.</p></li>

<li><p>Adobe server</a>.</p>
  </li>

<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in malware-adobe.html. -->
  <li id="M201305060">
    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2013-05</small>'
    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
    <p>Adobe applications have time bombs: they <a
href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/06/adobe-goes-all-in-with-subscription-based-creative-cloud-will-stop-selling-regular-cs-licenses-shrink-wrapped-boxes/">
    href="https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/06/adobe-goes-all-in-with-subscription-based-creative-cloud-will-stop-selling-regular-cs-licenses-shrink-wrapped-boxes/">
    stop working after a certain time</a>, after which the user
    must pay to extend the time.</p>

    <p>Once there was a problem with the servers
    that these programs use to check who has paid, and <a
href="http://www.macuser.co.uk/9015-adobe-creative-cloud-outage-leaves-adobe-users-locked-out">
    href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150120010845/http://www.macuser.co.uk/9015-adobe-creative-cloud-outage-leaves-adobe-users-locked-out">
    the applications refused to work for anyone</a>.</p></li>

<li><p>Adobe made “Digital Editions,” the e-reader used by
most US libraries, <a
href="http://www.computerworlduk.com/blogs/open-enterprise/drm-strikes-again-3575860/">
send lots of data to Adobe</a>.  Adobe's “excuse”: it's
needed to check DRM!</p></li> anyone</a>.</p>
  </li>
</ul>

</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above
</div>

</div>
<!--#include virtual="/proprietary/proprietary-menu.html" -->
<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
<div id="footer"> id="footer" role="contentinfo">
<div class="unprintable">

<p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to
<a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>.
There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a>
the FSF.  Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent
to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p>

<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph,
        replace it with the translation of these two:

        We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality
        translations.  However, we are not exempt from imperfection.
        Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard
        to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org">
        <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p>

        <p>For information on coordinating and submitting contributing translations of
        our web pages, see <a
        href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
        README</a>. -->
Please see the <a
href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting contributing translations
of this article.</p>
</div>

<!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to
     files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should
     be under CC BY-ND 4.0.  Please do NOT change or remove this
     without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first.
     Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the
     document.  For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the
     document was modified, or published.

     If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too.
     Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying
     years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable
     year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including
     being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system).

     There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers
     Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. -->

<p>Copyright © 2016 2016, 2018-2023, 2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc.</p>

<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative
Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>

<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" -->

<p class="unprintable">Updated:
<!-- timestamp start -->
$Date: 2025/03/03 09:04:58 $
<!-- timestamp end -->
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div><!-- for class="inner", starts in the banner include -->
</body>
</html>