Where does FNPLicensingService.exe come from?

[BryanChung]

Does anyone knows where does FNPLicensingService.exe comes from?

[GhostAlpha]

go with foxit you wont get this kinda stuff with it,adobe is very big apps and very hungry too ffor resources.

Huh???

I guess that'd be fine...for people only wishing to >view< PDFs.

It's been said before: Acrobat is not just a reader, whereis Acrobat Reader >is< just a reader.

[tryptofan]

I have Acrobat Pro 8 and Photoshop CS2

I do not like at all the idea that such a silent service could spy us...

It is against private rights to not explicitly indicate to the user what kind of services will run with the installed software

so, it is essential to crack such a service

I am not a specialist in computer, but I block connexion of FNPLicensingService.exe with internet throught the Vista firewall options

It seems that Acrobat is running ok, but I am not sure that the FLEXnet service can not much communicate with the outside...

also, is there no way to indicate to Acrobat (via the the registry or a patch) that the FLEXnet service is on whereas the service would be turn off?

bye

Seb

[Merecumb]

How exactly can I block a program (eg. FNPLicensingService.exe) from accessing the Internet. Is a Firewall indispensable for this?

Thx in advance

Sandro aka Merecumb?

[earthsound]

CutePDF Writer is a free PDF writer.

How exactly can I block a program (eg. FNPLicensingService.exe) from accessing the Internet. Is a Firewall indispensable for this?

Thx in advance

Sandro aka Merecumb?

Yes, a firewall is what you would use to block an application from accessing the internet.

My problem with FNPLicensingService.exe is not the activation spying or accessing the internet, but with the buffer overflows I see associated with its use.

Though I am not personally aware of any exploit(s) that take advantage of a bug in the application, it is certainly probable that someone has looked into it:(:(

For what it's worth, this PDF from Macrovision is the FLEXnet licensing end user guide.

For those looking to keep FNPLicensingService.exe from running again, you can try this:

1) make sure you're not running any application that relies on the service

2) make sure the service is not running...you can either stop it via the services control panel app or by killing it in task manager, etc.

3) search your HD for FNP_Act_Installer.dll and rename it (i.e. FNP_Act_Installer.dll.OLD)

Apparently, that's the only way to keep the service from getting restarted. As you know, disabling in the Services Control Panel Applet does not actually disable it as Adobe utilizes svchost.exe to re-enable it.disclaimer: if you stop/disable FNPLicensingService.exe and rename all instances of FNP_Act_Installer.dll, your Adobe products may not function properly or may even crash. If you run into problems, simply rename the file back to its original name. I provide this information for educational purposes, only. I do not advocate attempting to circumvent licensing schemesb>

[edited to add PDF url & add suggestion on how to keep FNPLicensingService.exe from running again]

Edited September 18, 2007 by earthsound

[BryanChung]

So far aftr disabling it .. it's running well. My CS3 Photoshop that is.

[earthsound]

So far aftr disabling it .. it's running well. My CS3 Photoshop that is.

Are you referring to disabling the FLEXnet service via the Services Control Panel app? If you do that and do not rename FNP_Act_Installer.dll, then Adobe will re-enable it eventually via svchost.exe. I don't have Photoshop CS3 to confirm what it does, but I know that Acrobat Pro 8 will do this.

If you didn't rename the .dll, then check your running processes again after a while & see if FNPLicensingService.exe is running. :|

[BryanChung]

Nope I did not rename the .dll. And been for months and I do not see FNPLicensingService.exe again.

I'm using CS3 Photoshop and Dreamweaver.

[Tarawa]

Thanks for the help Mike..it worked!

[Tarawa]

I see what keeps putting it back in play. The Acrobat Assistant seems to be the problem. Here is how I stopped it from showing up anymore.

First kill Acrobat Assistant from your HKLM / Run registry entry.

Then stop and disable the FLEXnet Licensing Service.

Or, I've included a reg file that will remove the Acrobat Assistant autorun entry and disable the FLEXnet Licensing Service in case you aren't registry or services savvy. Run that file and kill the FNPLicensingService.exe from Windows Task Manager and you shouldn't see it anymore.

Thanks Mike!

[PsiKnife]

Came across this thread scouring google for answers to my dilemma. The FNPLicensingService has been recently seemingly out of the blue (when not using Acrobat or reading PDF's) trying to access my Kaspersky Anti-Virus security settings. Kaspersky pops up with a warning that this service is trying to change KAV. The problem is, when I block it, it keeps trying at an alarming rate of what seems like hundreds of times per minute (I checked after 10 minutes and it was at roughly a hundred thousand and counting) This process was slowing down my system considerably.

Stopping it in Administrative Tools, Services, didn't work for me, and the Task manager didn't work either. So this is for anyone that has my issue and wants to just stop it cold without uninstalling it. I used a program called IceSword, which is a Chinese Rootkit eliminator (the English version) and sort of like a more comprehensive version of Task Manager/Process Explorer (I've yet to run in to a program/dll/exe that it couldn't stop cold). It can see everything on your computer (even under the API). With that open I just looked in current processes and found FLexNetLicensingService and killed it dead with Terminate.

Hope that helps anyone that has my issue.. IceSword is quite powerful.

Edited October 29, 2007 by PsiKnife

[Nicholas-c Veteran]

i think its the adobe licensing service (if that hasn't been said yet :p)

[lostinlodos]

i think its the adobe licensing service (if that hasn't been said yet :p)

To answer/solve the entire topic (bump)!

About:

This is the running process of a security lock-out program distributed by Macrovision

It creates/recreates a hardware spicific key to lock a serial number/access number for software to a spicific computer

It "phones home" every time the locked program is loaded to verify that the software is being used on the correct computer.

What installs it:

As said before, mainly high end software AND MOST current Adobe products, (ALL current Adobe multi-program packages)

The licensing fee for the software is astronomical so you probably won't find it on anything costing less than a few hundred dollars, nor from a non-party company that has a small intended user base.

Why remove:

It "phones home"

It falls into the liberal (free from spying) definition of spyware, as it sends a complete list of installed hardware and software information in a low-encryption translation to the licensee.

On Acrobat alternatives; Foxit Pro is a PDF CREATOR, a fraction of the cost (pricing that matches the task, not ego inflated), NO spyware included, and includes all the functions that the vast majority of PDF readers/creators would need.

[CelticWhisper]

If you've got the time and the savvy, I would think that another way to stop it would be to run Ethereal/Wireshark and find out where it's trying to connect to, and then kill access to that IP at your router/firewall.

[tabm0de]

On Acrobat alternatives; Foxit Pro is a PDF CREATOR, a fraction of the cost (pricing that matches the task, not ego inflated), NO spyware included, and includes all the functions that the vast majority of PDF readers/creators would need.

Thread is dead but..

Acrobat still does allot more then just making pdf file. believe it or not.

[kaffra]

thanks for the tips. this may be old news but i didnt realise adobe was responsible for this service.

[BryanChung]

Woah I'm surprised to still see this :D

[rjascott121]

I just found this thread, doing a search as to how to disable this as well, and was VERY HAPPY to have found it.

Thanks.

might be old, but it's great information!

Russ

[BryanChung]

Welcome to Neowin rjascott121! :D

Glad you used the Search funtion well!

[tommslick]

i have the same problem, FNPLicensingServer, after i installed adobe acrobat pro 8.

my solution is:

1. kill the process "FNPLicensingService.exe" from the Task Manager

2. go to \Program Files\Common Files\Macrovision Shared\FLEXnet Publisher\ and delete the 2 files "FNPLicensingService.exe" and "fnp_registrations.xml" and instead create 2 folders with the same name/extension.

when you start acrobat now it wont be able to create those 2 files which you have deleted and replaced with the folders, so FNP service wont be able to start.

i hope this helps for everyone.

:whistle:

Yes this works on "killing the process" however all other Adobe programs wont start...I get an error message stating "this program can not be used at this time. Please uninstall and reinstall to correct the problem" after I follow this procedure all it does recreate the FNPLicensingService.exe and fnp_registration.xml all over again.

[BryanChung]

Tommslick, welcome to Neowin :D

[malamute]

I have deleted all reference to flexnet in my registry,started up Acrobat and it DID run.But i knew this anyway but just wanted to check and it didn't recreate the flexnet service

[ubicuo]

so whats the deal??

if you got CS3 or Captivate 3? getting rid of flexnet service or anything else mentioned CS3 wont work niether will captivate 3

whats the fix people!!!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

[orangeworx]

I've been living with this service hogging my resources for some time, never really found a way to kill it as I had covered every way mentionned in this thread.

My trick is not a hack or patch or anything like that, I blocked the service from accessing the net and i just kill it everytime i use any adobe product. I think you should get used to this because, IMO, I really doubt there will ever be a way to circumvent this spying aptely named licensing.

Cheers!

[certa]

I see what keeps putting it back in play. The Acrobat Assistant seems to be the problem. Here is how I stopped it from showing up anymore.

First kill Acrobat Assistant from your HKLM / Run registry entry.

Then stop and disable the FLEXnet Licensing Service.

Or, I've included a reg file that will remove the Acrobat Assistant autorun entry and disable the FLEXnet Licensing Service in case you aren't registry or services savvy. Run that file and kill the FNPLicensingService.exe from Windows Task Manager and you shouldn't see it anymore.

If you install this guys regedit like me all of your adobe aps will quit working, jsut try opening different programs by adobe untill one works then go back and open your other one (photoshop and flash for me) it will be fixed.

Edited July 30, 2008 by certa

[Cadaveryne]

Hi. I'm facing the same problem as all of you are. I installed photoshop CS3 and the mentioned process appeared. I am a bit frightened about the "calling home". I have taken all of it's rights to access internet in zonealarm pro, but still, maybe someone with good programming skills should make a dll injection which would kill the process everytime the product runs?

Cheers

Cadaveryne