Photoshop CS3 activation issues [LOCKED CS3 is a dead product]

The advice was correct at the time, was perfectly legal, and would not have invited malware onto your system since the special activation-free installer came directly from Adobe! I obtained the relevant version for my edition of CS3 via this officially supported route at the time, and it still works for installation today. Unfortunately, Adobe (without warning) removed the site by which the special installer could be obtained.

You won't get anywhere with asking Adobe Customer Support about this. I don't know what the legality would be of obtaining the activation-free installer you were entitled to via some unofficial route (a new licence key was issued along with the new installer, but I believe everyone who requested the same edition got the same licence key). Your only other option is probably to write a strongly-worded letter to Adobe, requiring them to provide you with access to the software you paid for. I have seen previous posts on these forums (like this) where users claimed to have done this for a product that could no longer be activated, mentioning the possibility of taking legal action if Adobe declined to provide them with access. Adobe then reportedly gave them access to a more recent version that could still be activated. Your mileage may vary.

Using software of this age is not without issues. While CS3 could still be installed on W11 the last time I checked, there may be significant security holes (if you are using an OS contemporary with CS3, you probably have pretty big security issues already!). Old versions of Acrobat can make you particularly vulnerable to malware.

>just because you decide

This space is provided by Adobe, but this is not Adobe support

Other users here have nothing to do with Adobe policy, and can't help