gHacks technology news » adobe reader

Adobe Reader Security Update

Martin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:56:03 +0000

Adobe has released a security patch for their Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat line of products that fix several security vulnerabilities that have been rated as critical. The vulnerabilities that have been discovered could cause Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat to crash which could potentially allow attackers to take control of the computer system. The security patch raises the version of Adobe Reader to 9.2 which is the version that users should install to protect their software programs from potential exploits.

Downloads are available for both Adobe Reader and Acrobat at the Adobe website for Windows, Mac and Unix. Acrobat users find download links for their product in the Adobe Security Bulletin which also contains details about the vulnerabilities that have been patched.

Our reader Paulus mentioned that the light version of Adobe Reader – called Adobe Reader Lite – is already available at various download sites including Major Geeks. Adobe Reader Lite is a third party project that removes several modules of Adobe Reader which are usually not needed by most users including popups and plugins.

Users who only want PDF reader capabilities can also take a look at Adobe Reader alternatives which are usually much faster than the original and more secure as well as they are not that targeted by hackers yet. Viable options include Foxit PDF Reader or muPDF.

Tags: adobe, adobe reader, adobe reader update, pdf reader

Expect A Massive Patch Day Tomorrow

Martin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:28:02 +0000

Tomorrow is a day that could force many system administrators into overtime as both Microsoft and Adobe plan to release security patches for several of their products. Microsoft alone plans to release 13 security patches and updates for various Microsoft operating system, Microsoft Office and other Microsoft products. The patch day is also the first to include a critical security patch for Microsoft’s upcoming operating system Windows 7.

Adobe on the other hand plans to release security patches for its popular PDF reader Adobe Reader that are also rated critical. The updates will all be released tomorrow and system administrators will certainly their hands full updating the computer systems that run the software and operating systems.

A closer look at the Microsoft Patch Day reveals eight critical security vulnerabilities and five important vulnerabilities that will get fixed with the patches that are released tomorrow. The majority of vulnerabilities affects the Windows operating system but it does also include one critical Internet Explorer vulnerability.

System administrators and Windows users are encouraged to visit the two websites linked above for further information. These websites will also contain the links to patch the security vulnerabilities. Windows users can also use Windows Update, Microsoft Update or Automatic Updates to update their operating system.

Tags: adobe, adobe reader, microsoft, patch day, patches, security vulnerabilities, windows-update

Adobe Reader Security Vulnerabilities

Martin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:06:39 +0000

Adobe has posted information about a known critical security vulnerability affecting Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat on Windows, Mac and Unix operating systems. According to Adobe there are reports about a limited attack on the Windows versions of Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat 9.1.3 (and most likely earlier). A patch that is fixing the issue will be released by Adobe on October 13 for all operating systems as part of the Adobe Reader and Acrobat quarterly security update.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 who have DEP enabled (that’s Data Execution Prevention) are protected from the exploit. Users who work with different operating systems are encouraged to disable JavaScript to protect against the specific known exploit. Adobe mentions that it is on the other hand possible to create an exploit that does not rely on JavaScript.

Adobe plans to resolve this issue as part of the upcoming Adobe Reader and Acrobat quarterly security update, scheduled for release on October 13. Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.1.3 customers with DEP enabled on Windows Vista will be protected from this exploit. Disabling JavaScript also mitigates against this specific exploit, although a variant that does not rely on JavaScript could be possible. In the meantime, Adobe is also in contact with Antivirus and Security vendors regarding the issue and recommends users keep their anti-virus definitions up to date.

Probably the best protection at this point is to uninstall Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat and install a third party pdf viewer like Foxit Reader, muPDF or STDU Viewer. Additional information are available at the Adobe website.

Tags: adobe, adobe acrobat, adobe reader, adobe reader exploit, adobe reader vulnerability, pdf

Fastest PDF File Viewer

Martin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:12:06 +0000

Adobe PDF is not the fastest pdf reader that is available these days even with programs like Adobe Reader Speedup which remove some of the unneeded features. There are quite a few popular alternatives like Foxit PDF Reader which provide a similar functionality but offer faster startup and loading times.

If speed is the main issue the relatively new pdf file viewer MuPDF could be an option. MuPDF is a bare-bones pdf file viewer with a low memory footprint and the fastest pdf loading times that we have experienced until now. The pdf reader is a portable Open-Source cross-platform program for Windows, Linux and Mac OS operating systems.

Users can either execute the program which will open a small file browser to pick a PDF document or link the pdf file extension to the program so that it will be automatically the viewer of choice for pdf files.

MuPDF is perfect for users who want a portable resource friendly pdf reader. It comes with a few keyboard shortcuts to navigate documents more easily but lacks the functionality of Foxit Reader or Adobe Reader.

L, R Rotate page in 90° increments
+, – Zoom in and out
W Shrink wrap window
N, space Next page
B, backspace Previous page
Shift-N Skip 10 pages forward
Shift-B Skip 10 pages backward
M Mark page for snap back
T Pop back to last mark
123G Go to page

Not everyone needs advanced functionality but some users might miss options to copy text, search for text or print a selection of the pdf file. MuPDF on the other hand is probably the best solution for users who want to view – and only view – pdf files on their computer system without having to download and install a software program. A Firefox add-on is provided by the developer as well to view pdf documents on the Internet.

Tags: adobe reader, firefox-add on, foxit reader, linux software, mac software, mupdf, pdf, pdf viewer, windows software

Adobe Reader, Acrobat and Flash Player Zero Day Vulnerability

Martin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:08:36 +0000

Adobe has issued a security advisory that describes a critical vulnerability in the current versions of Adobe Reader, Acrobat and Flash Player. The vulnerability “could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system”. Adobe’s Flash Player seems to be affected completely while the file authplay.dll is the reason for the vulnerability affecting Adobe Reader and Acrobat as well. Adobe mentioned that the vulnerability is already exploited in the wild via targeted attacks against users running a Windows operating system and Adobe Reader 9.

Apple Mac and Unix systems are affected by the vulnerability as well but the exploit that is currently in the wild is only affecting Windows. Adobe suggests to enable UAC in Windows Vista (and Windows 7). Windows XP users should consider moving or deleting authplay.dll to protect their computer system from the threat against Adobe Reader and Acrobat “but users will experience a non-exploitable crash or error message when opening a PDF that contains SWF content”.

An alternative would be to uninstall Adobe Reader or Acrobat and install one of the available third party pdf readers like Foxit Reader or Sumatra.

Adobe does not offer any advise on the Flash Player vulnerability. The only viable option seems to be to disable or even uninstall Flash and wait for the patch which is expected to be released on July 30 and July 31.

Tags: acrobat, adobe, adobe reader, adobe reader vulnerability, adobe vulnerability, flash player, flash player vulnerability

Adobe Reader and Acrobat Security Updates

Martin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:48:30 +0000

Adobe has released a set of security updates for their Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat software products that fix a variety of security vulnerabilities that could be used to crash the Adobe application and allow the attacker to take control of the computer system. The security vulnerabilities have been rated as critical and Adobe users are encouraged to update their versions of Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat as soon as possible.

The security updates are provided for Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat software products running on both Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh operating systems. The security bulletin that was issued yesterday contains links that point to downloads for all affected programs and operating systems.

The affected programs are:

Adobe Reader 9.1.1 and earlier versions
Adobe Acrobat Standard, Pro, and Pro Extended 9.1.1 and earlier versions

Adobe recommends users of Adobe Reader and Acrobat update their product installations to versions 9.1.2, 8.1.6, or 7.1.3 using the instructions above to protect themselves from potential vulnerabilities. The above updates apply to Windows and Macintosh. Security updates for Adobe Reader on the UNIX platform will be available on June 16, 2009; this Bulletin will be updated to reflect their availability on that date.

Security conscious users might want to consider switching from Adobe Reader to a third party application like Foxit Reader, Sumatra PDF or PDF-Xchange Viewer.

Tags: acrobat, adobe, adobe acrobat, adobe reader, adobe reader vulnerability, adobe security

Adobe Reader 9.1 Lite

Martin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:58:17 +0000

Software programs usually grow with every release. Some of the remarkable products that made it from a tiny resource friendly application are Nero Burning Rom and Adobe Reader. Users who are fed up with those overweight programs usually flock to third party applications that provide a balance between resource usage and functionality. An alternatives for Adobe Reader is for example the popular pdf reader Foxit Reader.

Another possibility are so called lite versions of software suites. Both Nero Burning Rom (Nero Lite) and Adobe Reader have been modified by developers to reduce the program’s load times and storage requirements. Adobe Reader Lite has been recently updated to version 9.1 to catch up with the official Adobe Reader 9.1 release. Several plugins and other features that are usually not needed by the majority of users have been reduced from Adobe Reader Lite to make the software program more resource friendly. The basic functionality of working with pdf files has been retained.

The result is size decrease of more than 140 Megabytes compared to the official version of Adobe Reader 9.1 which uses 204 Megabytes of storage space after installation. Downloads are available for the English and other localized editions of Adobe Reader 9.1.

Adobe Reader 9.1 Lite speeds up the startup of Adobe Reader tremendously. It is a good alternative for users who prefer to use the original products instead of third party solutions.

Tags: adobe, adobe reader, adobe reader 9.1, adobe reader lite, foxit reader, pdf reader, windows software

Unofficial Adobe Reader Patch Released

Martin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:22:29 +0000

You might have read about a new vulnerability in Adobe Reader 9 and previous versions that is affecting all platforms and rated critical. The vulnerability can be used to crash an application and allow an attacker to take control of the computer system. Adobe announced plans to release the official patch for all affected products on March 11. That’s more than two weeks after the patch has been acknowledged by them and a serious problem considering that there are reports that the vulnerability is already exploited.

Lurene Grenier, a security researcher at Sourcefire, has published an unofficial patch for Adobe Reader 9 that is installed on a computer running the Microsoft Windows operating system. The patch comes with no guarantees and involves the replacement of a dll file in the Adobe Reader directory. Users should make sure to backup the dll before replacing it to be prepared for eventualities. Windows users with previous Adobe Reader versions will have to upgrade to Adobe Reader 9 before they can apply the patch.

There is another recommendation (by US-CERT)which is helpful for users of other operating systems or Windows users who do not like the idea of replacing a dll on the computer system:

Disabling Javascript in Adobe Reader by going to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript and unchecking enable Acrobat JavaScript.
Preventing IE from automatically displaying PDFs. This can be done via a Registry tweak described on the US-CERT notification.
Disable rendering of PDFs within web pages. This can be done from the Edit-Preferences menu in Adobe Reader.

It is recommended to act swiftly to prevent that the vulnerability can get exploited on the computer system. Users of third party PDF software programs are not affected by the vulnerability.

Tags: adobe, adobe reader, adobe reader 9, adobe reader fix, adobe reader patch, adobe reader vulnerability, pdf, pdf vulnerability

Of Cracks, Hacks And Jailbreaks

Martin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:11:37 +0000

What a day. It started with news that hackers managed to circumvent controls in the T-Mobile G1 Android mobile phone that allowed them to install new programs and even a new operating system. A step by step tutorial has been posted on an Android developer forum. Applied incorrectly the hack could render the mobile phone completely useless and void the warranty leaving the user with a bricked phone and no way of getting a free repair or replacement for it. The hack is giving the user root access to the phone.

Then there was the news that Adobe issued a security patch for both Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat that fixed several security issues which would allow attackers to remotely execute code on the target machine. The patch can be downloaded from the official Adobe website and should be applied by users who work with Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat.

Lastly PC World published an article claiming that WPA Wi-FI encryption was cracked. (Thanks to Lee Mathews for sending this in via email). Security researcher Erik Tews is said to demonstrate how he was able to crack any WPA encryption in around 15 minutes at the PacSec conference in Tokyo next week.

To do this, Tews and his co-researcher Martin Beck found a way to break the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) key, used by WPA, in a relatively short amount of time: 12 to 15 minutes, according to Dragos Ruiu, the PacSec conference’s organizer.

Users who use wireless connections should make sure that they are using WPA2 encryption. If their router is not supporting that kind of encryption it could mean to check the Internet for firmware updates that add that possibility or to purchase a new wireless router that supports it.

Tags: adobe, adobe reader, android, android phone, g1 jailbreak, g1 phone, google phone, t-mobile g1, wpa, wpa cracked

Adobe Reader 9 Lite

Martin — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:16:10 +0000

Adobe just released a new version of the Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat. Mostly with features that end users like you and me will never use. Or does any of you really need Improved CAD and geospatial functionality, Native Adobe Flash® support or PDF Portfolios. The new version does load faster than the previous one but the loading time pales in comparison to third party alternatives like Foxit Reader, Sumatra or even Adobe Reader 9 Lite.

The creator of the Windows Vista Codec package created a lite version of Adobe Reader that got rid of most of the stuff that bloated the PDF reader but was not used by most users anyway. The lite version does not load as fast as Foxit Reader for instance but makes up for it by still being the official Adobe product, something that a few users probably prefer.

Adobe Reader 9 Lite uses roughly 6 Megabytes of memory and 18 Megabytes of Swap space when running which is extremely well for that kind of applications. I can definitely recommend using Adobe Reader 9 Lite if you have no use for most Adobe Reader features. Foxit Reader and others are still excellent alternatives that come with an even lower memory footprint and faster load times.

Tags: adobe, adobe reader, adobe reader lite, foxit reader, pdf, pdf reader

Adobe Reader and Acrobat Critical Security Update

Martin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:48:51 +0000

Adobe has released a security update for its products Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat for both Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh that closes one critical security vulnerability. Affected versions are Adobe Reader 8.0 through 8.1.2, Adobe Reader 7.0.9 and earlier, Adobe Acrobat Professional, 3D and Standard 8.0 through 8.1.2 and Adobe Acrobat Professional, 3D and Standard 7.0.9 and earlier.

Adobe Reader 9 and Acrobat 9 as well as Adobe Reader 7.1.0 and Acrobat 7.1.0 are not affected by the security vulnerability. The vulnerability causes the applications to crash which can allow an attacker to take control of the host system.

Downloads are available that fix the security vulnerability in Adobe Reader 8 for Windows and Macintosh computers. Take a look at the security bulletin issued by Adobe if you are using Adobe Acrobat or a previous version of one of the products to find the links pointing to updates for your product.

Tags: adobe, adobe acrobat, adobe reader, adobe security, adobe vulnerability

Foxit Reader 2.3

Martin — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 07:54:48 +0000

Foxit Reader 2.3 supports tabs, that was the headline on many blogs that I read regularly, for instance at Cybernet News and Download Squad. My first thought was that surely no one but die hard pdf users would need tabs in a pdf reader. I don’t need tabs, I need a fast tool that displays the pdf document correctly. I rarely open more than one pdf document in a day, maybe that’s why it is so hard for me to find this new feature useful.

But tabs are fortunately not the only new feature that has been introduced in Foxit Reader 2.3. The list of new functions in comparison to older versions of Foxit Reader is indeed impressive. The good news first, Foxit Reader is still starting blazingly fast. I was a bit worried about the multimedia player that was integrated in the pdf reader, this could be the first step to a bloated player. As of know this fear is not justified.

Among the new features are a magnifier, rulers & guides, automatic scrolling, font information, select all behavior with CTRL + A, a commenting text tool, bookmark design, callout and textbox tool and the option to print only portion of a page. The search can be moved into a separate window that floats above the contents. This is extremely nice if you need more screen space for the pdf document.

Foxit Reader 2.3 is a great new version of the popular pdf reader. It adds several new functions that are an improvement and some that might be interesting to users who do work with pdf documents all day.

Tags: adobe reader, foxit reader, pdf, pdf documents, pdf reader

Critical Adobe Reader Update

Martin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:34:54 +0000

Adobe has released the version 8.1.2 of Adobe Reader which is a critical update that patches a security vulnerability. Adobe recommends that users patch their version of Adobe Reader to the newest as soon as possible to close the security hole. The strange thing about this update is that only 26 of the 27 fixes of this update are listed in the release notes and that the security vulnerability that has been fixed is not listed on that page.

Adobe just mentioned that “the Adobe Reader 8.1.2 update addresses a number of customer workflow issues and security vulnerabilities while providing more stability.” Either they have forgotten to include the information in the release notes or they did not want to publish them officially.

It does not really matter for us end users anyway. If you use Adobe Reader head out now and download the latest version of Adobe Reader to be on the safe side.

Tags: adobe, adobe reader, adobe reader vulnerability, Security

Adobe Reader Lite

Martin — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 09:07:03 +0000

I think we can all agree on the fact that the Adobe Reader is bloated if you only use it for opening PDF documents. It comes with so many plugins that the loading time is sometimes longer than the reading time of the document that you opened. I have been using a software called Adobe Reader Speedup to speed up loading times by disabling plugins that I did not need. This had the result that the Adobe Reader would open almost instantly just like his alternative Foxit PDF Reader.

I discovered another alternative by accident today which is called Adobe Reader Lite. You might already know similar products, such as Quicktime Lite or Real Player lite, that strip advertisement and unnecessary plugins and features from those applications to make them more responsive, faster loading and lower their memory usage.

Adobe Reader Lite can only be installed on the system if prior versions of Adobe Reader have been removed. I did remove the 175 Megabyte Adobe Reader 8 installation from my system and began the installation of Adobe Reader Lite. After the installation finished – with no option to choose a directory to install to – it occupied 45 Megabytes of space on my hard drive. That’ 130 Megabytes less, a good start.

The Adobe Reader Lite interface opens almost instantly just as I was used to after using Adobe Reader Speedup. The main advantage in my opinion is that you save disk space and that advertisement was removed from the product as well. Here is a list of what the author did remove:

I removed autorun and desktop shortcuts.
I converted the startmenu shortcut to non-advertised.
I removed several features and plugins that the average user has no need for. (Lite version)
I removed Beyond Adobe and Lic. Agreement popups.

The lack of information is something that I do not like that much. He is not telling us which plugins were removed and the above solution with Adobe Reader Speedup gives the user more flexibility but disables the plugins only while Adobe Reader Lite does not even install them.

Tags: adobe reader, speedup adobe reader, windows software

Adobe Reader Speedup

Martin — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:17:52 +0000

Many users do not like to use the Adobe Reader because of its slow loading time which is mainly caused by the many plugins that are loaded. It seems to take ages until Adobe Reader initializes itself and displays the pdf document that one wanted to view.

Several freeware alternatives – like the Foxit Reader – are able to display pdf files as well and do that a lot faster than the Adobe Reader. I would like to introduce another possibility and that is to use the software Adobe Reader SpeedUp which speeds up loading time of the Adobe Reader tremendously.

It scans your system automatically for Adobe Reader versions and has the option to speed up the pdf viewer by removing some of the plugins that are loaded during startup. It is possible to either uncheck plugins manually or select one out of four different templates.

I decided to try the Turbo template which loads only a handful of plugins. This had the effect that the Adobe Reader was starting instantly, almost as fast as if you would be starting Notepad. This is a huge difference to the time it took to start before.

You might want to make sure that you do not need the plugins that are deactivated in this process. The Plugin Help button explains what each plugin does which means that you can now make a decision based on those information.

I’m using the Adobe Reader to view pdf documents which works well with the Turbo setting. If you use it for instance to view ebooks protected with DRM you would need the eBook Adobe DRM plugin.

download: Adobe Reader Speedup
via: Technospot

Tags: adobe, adobe reader, pdf, pdf viewer, speedup adobe reader

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