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Adobe Reader is the most popular software to read PDF documents and many people have them installed on their computers even without them knowing it. Some time ago, news surfaced about Adobe Reader having a security flaw that allows a hacker to infect computers when they try to read a PDF document. Here is a link to Adobe’s security bulletin where they explain what the flaw is, the best way to protect yourself from any vulnerability is to stay informed.

The security flaw is caused by the ability of Adobe Reader to run JavaScript, if you are worried about this you should know that you don’t need the JavaScript option for most PDF’s to be readable. In fact, I haven’t come across any document that takes useful advantage of JavaScript. If any of my readers know of a good a JavaScript implementation inside a PDF, please send some information to see what is that all about.

Time to protect yourself, other than having a good anti-virus, if you are on a PC, you can disable JavaScript globally in your Adobe Reader software to protect your computer. Head to your preferences pane of the Adobe Reader application and look for the JavaScript option and un-check it. You don’t need JavaScript to use Adobe Reader and while Adobe is saying that they fixed whatever was wrong with the Reader application you never know when the bad guys will have access to another security flaw in the JavaScript module.

A couple additional tips, make sure that your Adobe Reader has the updating function checked, and make sure your anti-virus is up-to-date too. If you have anything to say about this subject feel free to leave a comment on this article, also if you want you can follow me on twitter to stay up-to-date with more tips and tricks.