Go ahead and open up your browser and go to the main download page at: http://www.adobe.com/go/reader. At that page, in order to make things as easy as possible, we'll automatically try and offer you the most appropriate version of Reader. But, if you're after a different version, in the middle of that page, just click Different language or operating system?. You will be taken to a new page where you can specify which operating system and language you are interested in. Then, we'll offer you a list of supported Readers for that configuration. That's it!

The program is similar to those run by others in the software industry. Initially, it will be available to people using the Windows version of Adobe Reader 9. It’s completely anonymous and strictly "opt-in", which means you must make the choice to participate. It will be offered to a small percentage of Adobe Reader 9 Windows users automatically, but you can always enable it manually through the product if you’d like to participate. If you choose to participate, information about how you use Adobe Reader 9, such as how you use certain features and functions of the software, are sent to Adobe. But, again, no personal information is collected. Also, it won’t affect your experience with the product or its performance. It will just help us build a better Adobe Reader for you moving forward.

For more information, check out Lori's Blog Posting. You can also read our APIP FAQ.

1. Determining if Adobe Acrobat or Reader 8.1.2 is Installed

Windows
There are multiple ways to determine if Adobe Acrobat or Reader 8.1.2 is installed. First, both will display the 8.1.2 version number in their splash screens. To check, simply click Help >> About... Another method is to check the registry settings. For Acrobat, search for: SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\8.0\Installer\Updates\812 and with Reader, search for: SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\8.0\Installer\Updates\812. Lastly, you can also check Add and Remove Programs in the Control Panel.

Macintosh
There are two ways to determine if Adobe Acrobat or Reader 8.1.2 is installed on a Macintosh system. First, both will display the 8.1.2 version number in their splash screens. Simply click Acrobat >> About Acrobat or Reader >> About Reader. Second, check the CFBundleVersion String in the Info.plist for “8.1.2”. For Acrobat, open up the package contents for the Acrobat application file, open the the Info.plist, and look for the value associated with CFBundleVersion. For Reader, open up the package contents for the Reader application file, open the the Info.plist, and look for the value associated with CFBundleVersion.

2. Determining if Adobe Acrobat or Reader 8.1.2 Security Update 1 is Installed

Windows
There are several ways to determine if Adobe Acrobat or Reader 8.1.2 Security Update 1 is installed. First, check Add and Remove Programs in the Control Panel, but make sure you to enable the “Show Updates” check box. Then, Adobe Acrobat or Reader 8.1.2 Security Update 1 will show up as a child entry underneath 8.1.2. Another way is to click Help >> Adobe Plug-Ins. Click on “Comments”. The API should be dated 6/7/2008. The last way to check for the update is to query the registry setting, which is HKLM\Software\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\8.0\Installer\VersionSU= ”1” for Acrobat, and SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\8.0\Installer\VersionSU= ”1” for Reader.

Macintosh
There are two ways to determine if Adobe Acrobat or Reader 8.1.2 Security Update 1 is installed. First, simply click Acrobat >> Adobe Plug-Ins or Reader >> Adobe Plug-Ins, then click on “Comments”. The API should be dated 6/7/2008. The other way, is to look for the following files: /Library/ApplicationSupport/Adobe/AcrobatProPatch812su1.txt AND AdobeAcrobatProfessional.app/Contents/MacOS/SelfHealFiles/SecurityPatchStamps/APP_Adobe/AcrobatProPatch812su1.txt for Acrobat, and /Library/ApplicationSupport/Adobe/ReaderPatch812su1.txt AND AdobeReader.app/Contents/MacOS/SelfHealFiles/SecurityPatchStamps/APP_Adobe/ReaderPatch812su1.txt for Reader.

In the United States, the revenue collection branch of the United States Treasury is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Since 1996, the IRS has offered taxpayers Web access to tax return forms and publications in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), a move that yielded impressive results: the agency saves millions of dollars annually by decreasing the money it spends on printing, storing, and mailing tax materials.

Have you ever noticed that you can go directly to www.irs.gov, download a form, fill it out and save it locally using Adobe Reader? If you’re interested in providing this kind of service to your customers, check out: Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions ES.  You can even enable digital signatures and collaborative features using this solution.

Also at RSA, we often get questions around our security practices when building our products. To find out more, just check out Adobe Security Software Engineering.

Interested in Beta testing the latest Reader? We're still accepting participants. Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

We're accepting participants now. Just CLICK HERE to sign up. Thanks!