Free Photoshop giveaway?

Question

I'm friends with a few layout sites on Myspace, and a couple of them are posting bulletins about giving away "free Photoshop."

I'm purely curious, as I'm already using Photofiltre and I'm saving up for Adobe Premiere/Adobe Photoshop CS3.

But, can they actually do this/does this actually work?

Also, if you're a Photoshop CS3 user, do you like it/is it worth the cost?

Answer 1

Most of those offers are either a scam (illegal) or a crock (lies, bait and switch, deceptive advertising.) I've investigated many of these "you've qualified for free Photoshop/free laptop/free [fill in the blank]". If you go to the site, you will find out the offer is highly suspect. It may be from a questionable business, it may also (most commonly) be a form of bait and switch or deceptive advertising. Often you can get the "free" item only after you have signed up for a bunch of other "offers" that require you to (1) waste a ton of time going through ads (2) sign up for programs such as credit cards and purchase plans that require you to spend so much over a certain amount of time (3) direct you to other marketing sites, so you will never get the free item because it would take you months to complete everything they require.

Another thing to watch out for with these is they can be phishing sites, trying to get your personal information and credit card/bank account info. While some of them are legitimate, most are on the bare edge of legal and not worth the time.

Instead of falling for these things, I would go ahead and save up for Photoshop. Do note that if you are a student, you can legally purchase the student license, and it might be worthwhile to buy the license for the Creative Suite (you have several options of which one you want; there's the Master Suite that includes everything Adobe makes, or smaller suites focused on certain purposes, such as graphic design, web design, and video production.) If you are a student, check with your school about possibly helping you make the purchase. And even if the school you attend does not offer a program, you can still legally purchase the student license version from legal academic resellers such as JourneyEd.com and Academic Superstore. Another option is if you have a college or university near you, they often have a bookstore where you can purchase the software at the student price. In either of these cases, you just have to prove you are a student (which is something your school can help you with).

Hope that helps. And yes, Photoshop CS3 is a HUGE advance over Photofiltre and other such free or cheap programs.

Answer 2

It depends if they own the rights to Photoshop. The company that created it have the rights to give it away. If this is not the company than it is highly illegal and for downloading it, you can be sent to prison.

Answer 3

CS3 is best photo editor out there period its worth the money, but see if the giveaway is genuine i have CS3 and its great wouldnt trade for anything

Answer 4

This would be totally illegal. Photoshop is never free.