Today I received an e-mail directing me to [URL=]this site .
Photoshop for $90? I don’t see how. Is it pirated software. Or maybe just a scam to hook in the suckers into sending money?
How can they? They can’t.
This guy runs multiple websites that track back to his postal address (ie, iBackups.net). It’s near impossible to say without going through the ordering process, but it looks totally fradulent.
Scam. Probably selling pirated copies of software. If it’s too good to be true, it’s bogus. Besides, you got the page in a spam email. That should say it all.
From their Terms of Sevice;
In other words, they’re selling full copies of the software, but not with a license key. It’s only for people who want back-ups for already owned software who don’t know that the manufacturer will usually send you new discs at a nominal charge if you provide them with a legit key.
So yeah, it is a scam. You get what you paid for (a full copy), but not what you assumed (a full, useable copy)
Peace - DESK
[Naive]
Or maybe the company got a concsience (sic) and decided to sell at a reasonable price once they had recovered R&D costs?
[/Naive] 
And who are these people that pay $90 for backups? I certainly don’t know of anyone. If you want a backup you buy a CD burner and do it yourself for a fraction of the price.
The whole ‘buying for a backup’ disclaimer is a transparent attempt at shifting the legal obligation off the seller onto the buyer. No-one really believes that the transaction has anything to do with backups. It’s piracy. Plain and simple.
Now, you all do realise that the OP’s link has a tracking code on it and we’ve ensured galen gets lots more spam and the spammer picks up a healthy referal fee?
I don’t follow your logic. Do you work for half your wage once you have covered your living costs?
yes, it is called marginal tax rates 
I saw that when I hovered over the link, so I didn’t click it. Maybe that link should be removed?
I wondered about this too, so a while ago I called Adobe about it. They say that it is not illegal to sell “back ups.” But obviously, these type of sellers are shady because they give people the impression they are buying the license to Photoshop, which they are not. They’re just buying the right to get a copy of the actual application. The Adobe representative I talked to said that they frequently get calls from customers who “bought” software from one of these places, and they now want to register it (or, they want a serial number). Adobe can only tell them that they’re out of luck.
The person I talked to also said that sometimes these places will not officially give the customer a serial number–i.e. license–since that would be illegal, but they’ll slip one to the customer’s email address, or somehow furtively give them a “lead” on where to get a serial number.
Also, a few years ago I bought a “back up” CD from Adobe itself. I’d bought Photoshop on eBay, and they gave me a fully legit, fully registerable license for the current version of Photoshop. But the CD was for an older version (I don’t know why the eBay vendor did that). I called Adobe, told them everything, and they said that there was no reason why I shouldn’t register the Photoshop serial number in my own name. However, I had no CD. They said if I could get a copy of the software from a friend, that would be fine, but they could send me out a replacement CD for $25. They did. I used the serial number that I registered and everything worked fine.
The representative also said that they never sell a “downloadable” version of their software, so if you find a place that sells “downloads,” it’s not sanctioned by Adobe. However, if you truly have lost your CD to Photoshop and you just need a backup, then I guess you can give these people $80 and buy a backup through them. (Of course, if a replacement copy is all that you are looking for, you can easily get a friend to burn a copy of their software, and then you can use your own serial number–you know, the number that you have legally registered with Adobe.)
I hope you’re wrong. I hit the link to see what the OP was talking about. (I already own the programs I would want from the site) but don’t know about the “hover” to see that it’s a scam site. I went back to the OP and hovered the cursor, but didn’t see anything that would make it an obvious scam.
What am I missing? Or more important, what should I look for? And can any mod shutting this down make a sticky for us drones not knowing what to look for?
I’m going to be very careful in this response. (And very vague). Mods, if this is overstepping the boundaries, I’ll accept the warning. But keep in mind I’m doing everything I can to avoid a banning as I’m not offering a way to break any laws. Just a way to let those breaking the law a way to get legal.
yosemite, e-Bay is a haven for illegitimate and pirated software. It’s the online warehouse for P2P-burned software sold cheap. Most of it requires registration within a certain time frame. Key-generaters? Not so good when the computer tries to access the site to register it. (full disclosure, my copy of Win XP is the 3rd on my comp, first I paid for)
The best bet for software gotten this way is to call the company help line, tell them you were “given” the software and ask how you can make it right with the company. They’ll require some sort of payment, but it will be likely to be much less than what you’d pay if you had bought it retail. This gets you legal, plus full tech support, plus no chance of getting nailed by the FBI. And if they refuse to work with you, eh, they won’t. It’s money in thier pockets. Lost money if they won’t give you a key number after paying them.
For the majority of pirates, if you call the company and offer to pay for registration, you’re going to get a deal.
Keep in mind, if they don’t want to give a deal for some honesty, they’ll lose a shitload more money with pissed off people spreading even more pirated copies.
Do not attempt this again. You have been warned.
This thread is asked, answered, and closed.
-xash
General Questions Moderator