Viruses in PDF files.

[Devan]

Hello,

I've been recently reading scientific publications, ebooks and other material that comes in the pdf file. Curiosity got the best of me and I looked up "virus + pdf" in Google; a few news reports were saying that this particular format may not be safe.

Has anything changed since the publication of this in 2001? Also, does anyone know if they install directly from Acrobat reader or if a prompt is shown.

Thank you.

[tashi]

Hello Devan.

PDF malware crashes into October 2007's top virus charts (http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2007/11/toptenoct07.html)

It is important to keep Adobe Acrobat updated, and one program that is useful to check for software updates is Secunia Software Inspector (http://secunia.com/software_inspector/).

Run it in Internet Explorer. Hope that helps. :)

[Devan]

Would you happen to know any other way to, in a sense, force disable all hidden scripts or any other measures I could take to ensure a higher level of security? Such as the integrated Firefox based viewing or the desktop program.

To say the least: I am a bit paranoid regarding this stuff.