Normal service is resumed as Windows 7's growth once again.....

seriously?

Interesting.

Adobe anything has always been a major source of attack. There are countless articles on it. Adobe reader being a main source of the attacks. Google some up. Adobe reader was the number 1 attacked software in 2012, until java got even worse. There have been countless zero day exploits on adobe reader. The software can also be easily tricked to run a malicious pdf.

By default, it is preinstalled on most pcs just like flash, so it makes it an easy target. Anything adobe is a huge security risk and better to be avoided just like java. If I could get rid of flash entirely I would. Right now I prevent it from running automatically and only allowing it to run when I click the video.

It also is bloatware. Seeing as you hate bloatware I am surprised you install it. And when it auto updates it throws itself back into starting with your pc again.

Most web browsers (firefox, chrome, opera, pale moon, etc.) can open pdfs so there is usually never any reason to install adobe reader.

Adobe Reader, as well as Acrobat, has had numerous security issues in the past but no more so than M$ programs. Adobe is usually right on top of it with an update being released very shortly after the defect is known instead of waiting to do a monthly set of updates like M$ does for all but the very most serious security breaches. The number of security issues have declined in the past year or few.

Foxit PDF Reader had a security issue several years ago that Foxit didn't fix for several months. A lot of people dropped Foxit PDF Reader in favor of Sumatra Reader.

One clarification: Adobe make more PDF products than just their free reader. They are used for PDF creation and editing in addition to reading PDFs. I initially (and still do) used Adobe Acrobat Standard (not a cheap program) because my ADF (Automatic Document Feed) scanner requires it to create PDFs directly from scans, however, after using it to create PDFs, including searchable PDFs, and edit PDFs, I've come to depend on it. A virtual printer can create PDFs (and I still use one for simple and small PDFs, such as online receipts, since its a bit faster and easier to use) but you have little to no control over page size and orientation.

Very true lady F.

Everyone always states how important it is to keep your software up to date to avoid attacks. The thing is, if the program is not installed, it cannot be attacked. A operating system will have updates, and yes adobe has gotten better at patching flaws quicker.

But I would rather not have the program, and drop the chance of having a security risk with it, then have the program installed. Especially when I do not need it.

The average user does not need adobe reader. Most web browsers can open pdfs just fine with no additional software.

gregrocker said:

Hmm. I could easily recommend Firefox for its reader since most users ask me which they should use. That would save a reader install. But IE11 does have the pretty cool spelling correction that is luring me over. I need to find a new way to drag my 270 bookmarks into posts easily before I can even leave Firefox 12 though, since any other browser/version converts their name in the text box.

Until a year ago I installed Reader 9 because I thought it was less bloated, but had nagging doubts about whether something so old was secure even though I've never heard before of Reader security issues (but I'm not a Security guy).

Since then I've been installing Reader 11 and I don't really sense it is bloated, at least not once turned off in msconfig. If it infringed on performance at all I would do everything under the sun to be rid of it.

Yeah firefox has a great built in pdf reader. I like the fact that chrome has grammar as well as spell check. You can always get addons in firefox though to improve it. But then you would have to deal with the privacy implications. It is actually possible to use chrome and not send anything back to google which you can adjust in the settings of the browser. There are also things like comodo dragon browser which is like/based off chrome, but without all the scary send everything to google stuff.

Internet Explorer 11 is okay. It has gotten a lot better honestly. It still crashes sometimes on pages that are filled with heavy scripts. Though that could be the websites fault. I would just rather use a web browser that does not crash-no matter how many addons it has. Personally I like addons and I find internet explorer to be lacking there. I use to be a big firefox guy, but now I use Chrome. -ish. :)

As for your bookmarking transfer issues, I had no problems transferring my bookmarks to chrome-ish and I tested it with chrome and IE alike. It did not rename anything, and it kept my bookmarks unchanged. Which I was honestly surprised and quite happy with.

If all a person needs is a reader (which means most people other than office type workers), I would strongly recommend Sumatra PDF (apparently, they only make a reader) or (not so strongly) Foxit PDF reader. Adobe reader is too bloated for use just as a reader.

For making simple PDFs, the kind most people will make, a virtual printer, such as PDF Creator (the one I use) is all that is needed (Cute PDF is another one that is popular; it's simpler to use but has less control than PDF Creator). A virtual printer installs as a printer. To create a PDF, just select the virtual printer as one's printer and hit print. The virtual printer will take the data that normally goes to a physical printer and use it to make the PDF.

In my case, I do (and have done even more in the past) a lot of work with PDFs. My needs are anything but simple, ranging from mixed page sizes and orientation to indexing to searchable PDFs, not to mention support for my ADF scanner. I haven't done so yet, but I need to look into working with PDF Portfolios to simplify searching through the searchable PDFs I make when scanning my magazines (using and scanning paper magazines is actually easier for me than trying to use online and downloadable magazines).

Why not use post templates?

And your using firefox 9?!

I've for the most part used doc files for assets,
I do however used quite a few post templates for canned responses which can have images from onedrive or prior attachments you/ I posted in the past included,
Hyperlinks can be created with custom descriptions just like in the reply editor or word docs,

But for the most part word docs are more versatile because not all questions are the same and post templates can lean away from the actual content of the question a tad or too much information for the issue,

I don't see any difference between dragging a hyperlink from favorites or bookmarks than copy and paste from word except word would have to be open

But yea using an out of date browser is whack

@Andrew what the heck is Chrome-ish

ThrashZone said:

@Andrew what the heck is Chrome-ish

It's chrome, ish lol. It is chrome, but is stripped of a lot of things. Chrome without google basically. Its a very quiet project in a dark corner of the internet. I am testing it :)

Comdos dragon chrome browser is good for the public that are worried about the whole google thing.

As I said though, you can disable all the settings in chrome so it will not call out to google.