Slashdot Mirror
Homemade PDF Patch Beats Adobe By Two Weeks
CWmike writes "Sourcefire security researcher Lurene Grenier has published a home-brewed patch for the critical Adobe Reader vulnerability that hackers are exploiting in the wild using malicious PDF files, beating Adobe Systems Inc. to the punch by more than two weeks. Grenier posted the patch on Sunday with the caveats that it applies only to the Windows version of Adobe Reader 9.0 and comes with no guarantees. Also, PhishLabs has created a batch file that resets a Windows registry key to de-fang the hack by disabling JavaScript in Adobe Reader 9.0, giving administrators a way to automate the process."
Uh, duh, to get on the front page of /.
Adobe to Lurene Grenier: You decompiled Acrobat in some way to create this fix, in violation of click-through license and DMCA (not to mention making us look incompetent.) We're suing you and we're going to make sure your government put you away in a pound-you-in-the-ass prison for a long long time.
ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?
You mean an individual who doesn't have a business to protect or any customers is able to come up with an un-QA'd version faster than the company that produced the product. Amazing!
I'll go for the secret third option, "because she's a feminist". Letting the world know what they find offensive is practically the feminists' national sport. Rather, it would be if they had their own country. And by God, I wish they did.
What i find more interesting is how slashdot is now able to tell the future!
The article boldly claims that something released yesterday has arrived two weeks before the official patch. Now, i know it's possible that the two weeks was taken from Adobe's projected patch fix date, but projections and fact are still different, and journalistic integrity requires a writer in this situation to indicate directly that this two weeks is not actually fact, as we couldn't know that yet. The headline is an outright lie, as far as i can tell, as it relies on future events being a certain way.
Can we not have articles started with lies on slashdot from now on? Maybe keep the lies towards the end?
-Taylor
Worldwide Military budgets: $2100 billion. Worldwide Space Exploration budgets: $38 billion. Really, world? Really?
Lurene Grenier has published a home-brewed patch for the critical Adobe Reader vulnerability ... beating Adobe Systems Inc. to the punch by more than two weeks.
What the fuck Adobe? What did you do for those extra two weeks?
it applies only to the Windows version of Adobe Reader 9.0 and comes with no guarantees.
Oh ... I guess you were trying to make it work on all systems, and checking to make sure that it didn't royally fuck up the user's computer, or introduce another, potentially more serious vulnerability.
"caveats that it applies only to the Windows version of Adobe Reader 9.0 and comes with no guarantees."
My boss will be pleased. I can push all my releases up at LEAST two weeks earlier now by adding this caveat on to all of my code. Thanks, Geritol.
Yeah, you're right. It's terrible when people use an apostrophe when they mean "your".
Q: How many feminists does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: That is NOT funny.
I actually used JavaScript in PDF to create interactive forms for the corporate intranet. It was pretty because I could use Photoshop to create the underlying image.
Then I quit drinking and realized Excel with tweaked permissions was far better suited to the task. It wasn't as smooth looking but it was easier for my staff to update.
I have something in common with Stephen Hawking...
Q: How many feminists does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Four. One to change the lightbulb, three to form a support group.
But really, it's a trick question because feminists can't change anything.
I'm not sure I understand the overwhelmingly negative reaction to javascript in pdf files.
...
There are great ways to include animations directly in the pdf that use javascript.
Hmm.... I think I see a connection here.
I put the 't' in electrical engineering.
An old saying goes "Programming is a race between programmers building better idiot-proof software, and the Universe building better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning."
Jesus loves me, he loves me a bunch, because he always puts Jiffy in my lunch.