license holders reinstall the software, they provided a version with a generic serial number. Legal Standing

While many internet users interpreted this as "Adobe is giving away Photoshop for free," Adobe officially stated that the download was intended only for those who had previously purchased a license. However, because the download link and serial key were public, CS2 became the go-to "legal-ish" free version of Photoshop for students, hobbyists, and those with older computers. Why People Still Look for "CS2 Repacks"