Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Reader and Acrobat XI (11.0.02) and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh, and Adobe Reader 9.5.4 and earlier 9.x versions for Linux. You can update your system to the latest versions from the built-in updater or by downloading the patch from the Adobe website. IT professionals can get more details on the update and deploying it from the Enterprise Toolkit for Acrobat products.

For more details please review the official security bulletin.

One of our favorite things about storing documents in Acrobat.com is how easy they are to access from any device. Whether you’re at your desk, using your tablet in a waiting room somewhere, or trying to teach your mother how to use her computer, you can find your files waiting for you in the cloud. Now, we’re extending that access for you: if you want others to be able to access certain files you’ve uploaded to Acrobat.com (from wherever they are), you can use the new sharing feature we’ve added. Just select the file or files that you want to publicize and click the “Share” button in the toolbar.

Once you’ve done that, you can share that document’s publicly-accessible link with anyone you’d like to show the file to. Email it directly from the Share dialog box, post it to Facebook, or put it on your website; that link can get around however you choose to share it. If you want to unshare the file, simply toggle the switch from “Public” to “Unshare File”; it will then be marked as private so only you can view it.

 Sounds good, right? Just log in or create a free Acrobat.com account to get started.

We all deserve a little treat once in a while: maybe you’re the type to indulge in a little chocolate every so often, or maybe you’ll take a weekend getaway at the end of a big work project. In any case, there’s nothing wrong with being good to yourself; and if being good to yourself is also good for others, well, that’s a bonus!

If you’re in a self-indulgent mood, check out the latest offer from the ExportPDF team: starting today, you can refer friends to ExportPDF to earn cold, hard cash (to help you afford that getaway, perhaps?). Not only are you getting a little boost, your friends will be introduced to the ExportPDF service to help edit PDF content in their day-to-day work life. You’ll be doing them (and yourself) a favor.

Here’s how it works: For every one of your friends who signs up for a new ExportPDF subscription, you’ll be rewarded with a cool $5.00; signing up one friend will get you a tasty treat from the bakery next door, and signing up 20 friends will get you to go out to dinner at that new restaurant you’ve been dying to try. Why hold back? You’ve earned this. Learn more and get started at https://www.acrobat.com/exportpdf/en/referral/epdf_referral_landing.html

Look, it’s time we were honest with each other: we know we’re not your only blog. We know you’ve got plenty of other feeds popping up in your RSS reader of choice (which, by the way, can’t be Google Reader anymore – what are you all using instead?). Today, in the interest of full disclosure, we thought we’d share a few of the online resources we look at when we open up our laptops first thing in the morning. Check out our top 5 sites for techy news, reviews, and events:

1. ZDNet- This blog is one of the best resources for IT professionals to find information about products, trends, optimization tips and more.  ZDNet has editions for 13 different geographic regions, providing you with important news from around the world, as well as local information most relevant to you.
2. Tech Republic- This website is not just a single blog; the blogging section covers a wide scope of topics including everything from a Tech Sanity Check to CIO Insights. Definitely worth a look!
3. The Next Web- A leading publication on internet technology, business and culture.  Their conference information alone is enough of a reason to check them out. Every two weeks they update the site with a list with all of the best conferences from around the world.
4. CIO- Here’s another site that hosts multiple blogs; beyond that, they’ve also got a section for whitepapers, a job board, and plenty of extensive research and analysis.
5. CNET- This is one of the top places to get extensive product reviews and the latest tech news.  Should you buy that gadget now, or wait for the new one? Odds are you’ll find an answer here.

We could go on and on about all the useful resources online for IT and tech news, but we’d rather hear from you: help us finish this list with your own favorite go-to sites. Let us know in the comments section which blogs and publications you read for up-to-date information that helps you stay ahead of the curve. We promise not to be jealous.

Cyber attackers today are intent on not only stealing data, but also crashing systems, damaging reputations, or just simply showing off their hacking prowess. As a result, businesses, schools and government agencies have to spend more resources to battle those attacks. It’s not only expensive from an IT perspective, but also in the potential loss of trust in that organization by their customers and constituents. A recent survey by PWC found that 28.6% of respondents claim their company suffered financial loss due to a security breach incident. That’s a worrying statistic for sure.

Universally-accepted file types – including PDF, unfortunately – are one of many ways these hackers gain entry to systems by embedding malicious code into the files. So choosing a PDF software application that fully uses modern mitigation techniques to reduce risk is obviously important. To help you understand the risks and evaluate a vendor’s approach to security, we have recently updated and published the white paper PDF Application Security – How to minimize your risk. It’s available for free from Adobe’s web site.

The white paper contains results of independent third-­party testing on the entire Acrobat family of products, specifically related to security. Adobe Reader X and Adobe Acrobat X produced excellent results in security testing by implementing what security experts call a “defense-in-depth” approach within the software and as offered by the operating system. Adobe Reader XI and Adobe Acrobat XI have improved security and sandboxing even further, and Adobe continues to invest in security. This investment has helped reduce the need for out-­of-­cycle security updates. Note in the diagram below, Adobe Acrobat X only had two out-­of-­cycle security updates, while Adobe Acrobat 9 had seven. Deploying a software patch is a timely and expensive process, so we want to help IT professionals minimize those costs by reducing the number of out-of-cycle patches for the Adobe Acrobat family of products.

If you are considering PDF software based on the licensing cost, please be careful. The days of making software choices based on the quoted price alone – without thorough consideration of security – are long gone. You should be asking vendors about operating system mitigations built into their PDF software, processes in place for addressing security threats, and even how involved the vendor is with the broader security community. To get more details about all the ways the Adobe Acrobat family helps organizations do more with PDF, while also providing advanced security, lower costs, and easier software management, download and read the free white paper, PDF Application Security – How to minimize your risk.

Printers, overnight mail, scanners, and fax machines are killing business productivity. More and more organizations are moving away from paper-based approaches to their critical business processes to reduce costs, improve security, and limit environmental impact.  According to a recent Adobe study, “Paper: An Endangered Species?” the majority of managers surveyed had overwhelmingly negative attitudes toward paper-based processes and cited productivity, security, attracting talent and going green as the benefits of a completely digital workflow. The research is based on interviews with 1,051 U.S. managers in small, medium and large businesses that are responsible for creating or working with contracts.

Below are a few stats from the report, but to view the full report Click Here: Paper: An Endangered Species?

• 51% of respondents said that a digital workflow makes filing and managing documents easier

• More than two-thirds believe that paper-based contracts are prone to defacing

• 76% of respondents said they are impressed by companies that have a strong digital presence

• 98% of respondents noted they still use paper in their transactions involving contracts

Organizations that use eSignatures are seeing a dramatic decrease in the time needed to close deals, reduced contract negotiation times, faster “quote-to-cash”, and a safer, more secure way to track and store some of their most critical business documents.   And all eSignatures are backed by the federal ESIGN Act, ensuring the legality of the contract, which should put the customer at ease.

Mac OS has been one of a very widely used platform by Adobe customers. But recently, with a Safari upgrade the compatibility of Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat applications to open PDFs inside browser has again come to a hold.

As you install an Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat application on a Mac machine, the installer additionally installs a NAPI plugin inside Library -> Internet Plugins Folder, so that Mac users can open PDFs inside Safari using Adobe Reader/Acrobat app seamlessly (instead of using the conventional Preview which only supports a small set of PDFs).

But For Mac Snow Leopard users, the upgrade of Safari to 5.1.9 has proven fatal. Till Safari 5.1.8, users will be able to still open PDFs inside Safari without any issues. But post upgrading Safari to 5.1.9, Adobe Reader do not opens PDFs inside Safari.

As of now many users have reported this issue on Apple Blogs: https://discussions.apple.com/message/21880385?ac_cid=tw123456#21880385

Some users have reported this issue via Bug to Apple as well (rdar://13694491)

To resolve the issue, I hereby give our Adobe users a quick workaround:-

Basically, the earlier versions of Safari used to have an entry in the com.apple.Safari.plist for WebKitOmitPDFSupport which now do not exist anymore. So we just go and add it.

To add the entry:

1.)    Go to Library -> Preferences

2.)    Open “com.apple.Safari.plist” in Property List Editor or any Text Editor like TextWrangler.

3.)    Add a new key with the name “WebKitOmitPDFSupport” of type Boolean and define its value as True (checked). i.e.:

<key>WebKitOmitPDFSupport</key>

<true/>

4.)    Save the plist.

5.)    Restart Safari.

After applying the above workaround, users will be able to open PDFs inside Safari again. Note that, in case if you don’t have Adobe Reader / Adobe Acrobat installed on your Mac, then the above workaround will simply download the PDF onto your system.

Just for reference, Adobe fixed the same issue earlier in 2011 for Safari 5.1.0 : http://blogs.adobe.com/acrobat/compatibility-advisory-regarding-adobe-reader-plug-in-and-acrobat-plug-in-with-safari-5-1/

http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/pdf-plug-doesnt-load-safari.html