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Adobe Launches Sandboxed Reader X

Posted by Soulskill on from the barn-doors-and-horses dept.

CWmike writes "Adobe on Wednesday released Reader X, the next version of its popular software that includes a 'sandbox' designed to protect users from PDF attacks. Protected Mode is Adobe's response to experts' demands that the company beef up the security of Reader, which is aggressively targeted by attackers. Calling the sandbox a 'new advancement' in protective measures, Brad Arkin, Adobe's director of security and privacy, admitted it will not stymie every attack. But he argued it will help. 'Even if exploitable security vulnerabilities are found by an attacker, Adobe Reader Protected Mode will help prevent the attacker from writing files or installing malware on potential victims' computers,' Arkin said in a post to a company blog late on Thursday."

8 of 201 comments (clear)

  1. Not sure I like this idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is a terrible idea. The neighborhood cats are constantly shitting in my sandbox.

    1. Re:Not sure I like this idea by mcgrew · · Score: 5, Funny

      The sandbox is to prevent the cats from shitting in your laundry basket.

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
  2. soon by w00tz · · Score: 3, Funny

    soon to come: Virtualized Adobe Reader which runs in it's own kernel space, with GUI, multiuser and multitasking support!

    1. Re:soon by SLot · · Score: 4, Funny

      Adobe emacs?

  3. Re:Great Idea: Will it work? by CarpetShark · · Score: 2, Funny

    I downloaded and installed Reader X yesterday, but I haven't had a virus in a long time

    Well, you do now ;)

  4. Adbode pdf browser plugin by ZERO1ZERO · · Score: 2, Funny
    Doesn't anybody else find this to to be one of the most annoying design decisions ever made?

    I absolutely hate it when the PDF loads into the browser rather than the PDF software. All your menus mess up, you can't fully use the PDF software, you can't fully use your browser, the PDF software hogs your browser up.

    I blame Internet Explorer.

  5. Desktop Icon by dingen · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does the Windows installer still place a shortcut to the application on your desktop? Amazingly useful for people who would like to open the reader without any document in it, so you can stare at a grey window, right there on your desktop!

    --
    Pretty good is actually pretty bad.
  6. Re:Great Idea: Will it work? by Blue+Stone · · Score: 3, Funny

    The sandbox idea is great.

    Adobe couldn't fix all the security flaws in their program, so they wrote another program to put their program in.

    Fortunately the new porogram has no security flaws.

    --
    Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce