Adobe Reader Updates

Hello
I've been noticing that in the last few months or so Adobe Reader is updating itself rather frequently, once a week or sooner. Why would this be?
I've had Adobe Reader for a few years and never have I seen updates this often. I have version 9.3.3.
Anybody else noticing this?

My AV/AS are up to date. I use Fix It Utilities reg cleaner about every three weeks.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

It's due to it having a multitude of security vulnerabilities.

http://secunia.com/advisories/search/?search=adobe+reader

 

Hmm sure does.. Thanks

 

Maybe try Foxit Reader 4.0.0619 instead?
From http://majorgeeks.com/Foxit_Reader_d4763.html

My note: I gave Adobe the flick for Foxit years ago.
No problems since, that I can remember.

Bazza

 

Recent Adobe Reader updates:

• 9.3.0: 2010-01-12 (http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb10-02.html)
• 9.3.1: 2010-02-16 (http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb10-07.html)
• 9.3.2: 2010-04-13 (http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb10-09.html)
• 9.3.3: 2010-06-29 (http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb10-15.html)

If you get more frequent updates than these, then something is wrong with your automatic updater. Please post details when you get another out-of-date update.

As for Foxit Reader that was recommended in the previous post; my personal experience with that software when I tried it: during the installation I was offered some 3rd-party software, which I know is spyware (Ask Toolbar). Naturally I unchecked it and went ahead with the installation. The spyware was installed anyway!
I then uninstalled Foxit Reader, but the spyware was left behind with no uninstaller!
I cannot possibly trust a company who practices such methods!

 

I just updated Foxit Reader from 3.3.1 to 4.0.0. I found that, as you say, the Foxit toolbar, actually an Ask toolbar, got installed even though I unchecked the box for it during installation. It's hard to believe they would do this but it your experience and mine confirm it to be true.

However, I was able to uninstall the Foxit (Ask) toolbar via Programs and Features in Windows 7. I just uninstalled it and left Foxit Reader installed. The toolbar is gone and Foxit Reader works fine.

I think I'll keep an eye open for more forum comments on Foxit Reader and this issue of the Foxit (Ask) toolbar being installed even though the user unselects it during installation. If they don't fix this, I believe it could have a seriously negative impact on their reputation and the number of users using Foxit Reader.

 

I now realize I made a mistake when installing Foxit Reader and you may have made the same mistake. On the screen shown below, did you click on Accept or I Decline?

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y256/farmpond/FoxitReaderInstallation.png

If you click on Accept, the Ask toolbar gets installed; leaving the two boxes unchecked does not prevent the toolbar from getting installed. The screen is very misleading, IMO.

By the way, can you cite some reference confirming that the Ask toolbar is spyware? I'm skeptical of that point.

 

Thank you for the clarification regarding the Foxit installer; it is certainly confusing!

My own experience with installing Foxit Reader was a long time ago; perhaps with an early 1.x version. I cannot recall if there was also an Accept/Decline button beside the checkbox. But it appears as if they are still using dubious methods to trick users into installing the Ask Toolbar (now renamed "Foxit Toolbar" - I wonder why?).

Is the Ask Toolbar spyware? That is a very controversial subject, and I don't know if I want to go into details - certainly not in this topic.

Go to the Google search website and start typing "ask toolbar" - the autocomplete will pretty soon suggest "ask toolbar removal", "ask toolbar spyware", "ask toolbar malware", "ask toolbar virus", etc - not much good on that list!

If you go ahead and search for "ask toolbar spyware", you get some 187,000 hits. Read a few of them - some are pretty informative.

Mind you, the Ask Toolbar comes bundled with quite a few well-known softwares: ZoneAlarm firewall (free), Comodo firewall (free), and others. But it seems that all these companies try to hide the fact by renaming it to something else.

See also the following topics in the CoU forums

• http://www.calendarofupdates.com/updates/index.php?showtopic=16109
• http://www.calendarofupdates.com/updates/index.php?showtopic=16253

 

Some info about Adobe Reader: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20011015-245.html
Excerpt:

Mind you I dont' use Foxit for the reasons mentioned already by other members, even though it can be installed without the toolbar. I use PDF-XChange Viewer.