software issues
I got a heads-up email today that Foxit Reader — one of the most widely-used Adobe Reader alternatives — had released a new version. Curious, I headed over to the site to download and install the new version. After all, Foxit's popularity means our readers might be interested in reading about a major version update.
During the installer's first couple of screens, the Ask toolbar was offered — not a bit deal, really. It's included in plenty of apps nowadays. It does, however, default to being checked, so make sure you uncheck it (unless you're the type who likes to cram as many toolbars as possible into Internet Explorer).
After seeing the Ask toolbar offered, I chose to do a custom install — just in case Foxit defaulted to including anything else I didn't want. I noted eBay shortcuts and unchecked them, and then got a rather rude surprise (take the jump to see what):
This opens a can of worms and raises a question, how are Adobe Reader downloaders supposed to know that the version offered is not the latest? They apparently do not get that information on the Adobe Reader download page, nor are they informed about the insecure version on startup of the pdf reader.
Adobe seems to solely rely on the Adobe Reader and Acrobat Manager, Adobearm which is configured as a startup process to launch with the operating system. This in itself is problematic depending on the computer system. Adobe ARM does not get executed before the next startup, which means that systems that run 24/7 will be insecure for that time, unless the administrator updates the program manually.
It is also inefficient if the computer user decided to block the program from being started automatically with the operating system. That’s highly understandable considering that Adobe does not provide local information about the startup item. A quick search on the Internet confirms the confusion as many users thought that the process was for ARM processors only.
Lastly, users who do not allow automatic updates on their system will also be left with an insecure version of Adobe Reader.
How to update Adobe Reader
There are two possibilities to update Adobe Reader. The first is to use the Help > Check For Updates option in the program itself. That’s obviously only an option if the computer is connected to the Internet as it will query Adobe servers to retrieve the latest version.
Метки: software