Thread: Question About "hosts" file...

Hi there, I am doing some independent research about different methods pirates use to crack software and I was wondering if any sort of piracy-reporters released fake cracks in which you replace a file titled hosts and it reports that you tried to use pirated software, or is it "safe" for pirates to use these cracks? I have opened one of these "hosts" files (a crack for photoshop cs5) and it looked like this:

# Copyright (c) 1993-2006 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host



127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.1 activate.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 3dns-3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 adobe-dns-2.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 adobe-dns-3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 ereg.wip3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 activate-sea.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 wip3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 wwis-dubc1-vip60.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 activate-sjc0.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 practivate.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 ereg.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 activate.wip3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 3dns-2.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 adobe-dns.adobe.com

Is this a legitimate crack, or is it meant to trap pirates?

it looks like a legitimate crack to me.

That is a legitimate hosts file for a crack.

The purpose of the hosts file is to provide preferred routing to certain sites. In common use, it is used to block access to specified sites. In this case blocking your computer and accordingly the program in question from calling home. Which it would presumably do to verify whether it's serial number is whitelisted.

Thanks for the information!