Privacy, Security & Virus Information

Adobe and Microsoft join forces to protect Reader against hacker attacks

If there ever was a more outstanding indication of how serious the constant threat of hacker attacks are is the news that software industry giants, Microsoft are working hand in hand with Adobe who are probably the World's second largest software development company after Microsoft. Adobe have strongly suggested that web surfers who use their widely distributed Acrobat Reader software to use Windows enterprise tools to block attacks against the PDF file viewer.

The joint announcement came after industry security experts discovered that a virus tainted PDF form was being distributed online. Careful analysis showed that surfers who had made sure that their computer was Microsoft EMET enabled would have had full protection against this particular attack.

Additionally industry experts are now stating that the Version one of Adobe's Sandbox tool will be capable of protect computers against viruses gaining access to the highly sensitive read access facility in to the file system, This means that if the access facility is compromised, there is a strong risk of data theft Adobe, increasingly conscious of virus risks, have hastened to point out that future versions of the Sandbox will include answers to this aspect of security.

While Microsoft and Adobe's efforts are worthy of praise, in the case of Adobe especially, the defence mechanisms they have put in place have not been designed to prevent viruses from attacking a computer, only to prevent their spread once they have done so. It is also worthy of note that Adobe are now issuing patches with almost the same regularity as Microsoft.

Computer owners and users whose computer security is as important to them as it should be, should be aware that the only full proof solution to total virus protection is to install the most powerful and update software available on the market today.

Leaving the back door open to virus attacks, which can come in hundreds of forms, and without warning is too big a risk to take. If a computer is compromised by a virus the damage that can be caused can be catastrophic.

With almost every computer in the World carrying at least one piece of software from either Microsoft or Adobe and probably both, it is encouraging and even heart - warming that they are taking their share of responsibility in keeping the hackers at bay. So should you!

 

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