Posted on 10/27/2007 5:40:16 PM PDT by holymoly
E-mails containing malicious PDF files have been putting computers at risk since Friday, Finnish security software firm F-Secure said on Saturday.
"The e-mails sent in bulk looked like credit card statements, and contained an attachment called 'report.pdf'," its Chief Research Officer Mikko Hypponen said in a statement.
When such PDF files are viewed on vulnerable machines, they start downloading software from servers in Malaysia or Sweden, which are now being cleaned, he said. "There will be more such attacks."
"We are worried about this case, as PDF attachments are typically not filtered at e-mail gateways."
A security update for Adobe Acrobat Reader, which opens PDF files, was made available a few days ago, but many users have not updated the program yet, Hypponen said.
I’ve been using Foxit since 2002 or 2003 and love it.
Good post. Hope this turns more folks onto Foxit.
Foxit Reader is great.
Slow on the uptake?
My filter service has been quarantining these things for months.
"Blah, blah, blah, and don't open attachments blather yakkity yak, blah...".
I know people who haven't updated their version of Adobe since before Y2K!
I did an Adobe update a few days ago. Maybe this was the reason.
I have read elsewhere, however, that the underlying problem is in Windows, not Adobe Reader. Adobe can do a fix for any particular attack, but Microsoft now admits that the basic vulnerability requires a change in one of their system files, I forget the exact details.
Free. Fast. Small (download & install). Doesn't scatter files all over your HD (at least, version 2.0 didn't).
IMO You can't go wrong with Foxit Reader.
Can I get rid of Adobe if I get Foxit Reader? I’m kinda ignernt of all things PDF. Thanks in advance.
Could this be it?
With Exploits Out, Microsoft's Urgency Grows
I only scanned it briefly, but apparently, IE7 is at the core of the problem.
Well, I don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader on any of my systems. I haven't for years. I've encountered no problems viewing any PDF file, using Foxit Reader.
As I recall, Foxit Reader does not include a browser plugin.
My advice would be to simply give it a "test run" for a few weeks. If you're happy with it, un-install Adobe.
BTW The Foxitsoftware site has a Foxit Reader User Manual you can download.
Yes. I saw it at BetaNews, from which it seems to have disappeared for some reason, but that’s pretty much what I read.
I have put IE7 on my computers, and enjoy the tabbed browsing ability, but it does seem to be considerably more bloated than IE6. I wonder if I should have stuck with that?
bookmark
An Adobe update screen tends to startup when I log on to secure websites using XP, anyone know why?
Firefox is better. I keep IE around, but I only use it on the rare site that doesn't work in Firefox.
My understanding is that Foxit is also vulnerable to this exploit. The vulnerability is in Microsoft’s handling of the mailto: protocol. If you open a hacked document and click a mailto: link on an unpatched system, you are hosed. If Foxit has an advantage, it may be that it makes it a little harder to do that accidentally.
Well, Firefox, Seamonkey (formerly the Mozilla Suite) and Opera all support tabbed browsing.
Firefox is my browser of choice, primarily because of the add-ons.
Opera (9.24), seems easier on resources.
And, of course, they're all free.
The problem is the combination of Windows XP (or Windows Server 2003) and IE7. If you don’t have one or the other of them, you’re o.k. See this link:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1916936/posts?page=17#17
That's all I needed to read. Why didn't the headline say "PDF files used to attack computers--OF STUPID PEOPLE"?
Any idiot who opens an attachment they don't recognize--after a decade of such warnings--deserves what they get.
They introduced it with version 6, if I recall correctly, and once you've started Acrobat once, it holds a blank 24 meg copy of Acrobat in memory with it. This is to help speed up Acrobat.
I use Foxit now. Acrobat has become fat and annoying.
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