I think you are confusing ripping off someone's creation and stealing a tool used to create. Photoshop is no different from stealing paint, paper, paintbrushes,

I think you are confusing ripping off someone's creation and stealing a tool used to create. Photoshop is no different from stealing paint, paper, paintbrushes, woodworking tools, pencils, pens, and so on. People might be able to tell what tool you used to create the work, but they won't be able to tell if the copy was legal, illegal, or if you used a borrowed computer - just like the physical tools. Besides, not all the tools are good enough. Not everyone can buy tools. Hence the listing of the free tools, including the fairly common practice of having an illegal copy of photoshop (or other creative software). It is a commonly known issue to Adobe itself.