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Adobe Acrobat & Reader Tips

All of the information, instructions, and recommendations on this Web site are offered on a strictly "as is" basis. Remember "Murphy's Law." Please take the proper precautions before attempting any of the tips or modifications listed here.

Contents

Block Possible Attacks in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader

Didier Stevens, has developed a proof-of-concept PDF file that launches an embedded executable. According to Stevens, PDF viewers like Adobe Reader and Foxit Software's Foxit Reader do not allow embedded executables to be extracted and run. In his proof-of-concept, however, he was able to execute the embedded executable using a launch action triggered when his PDF file is opened.

To Block Possible Attacks

• Go to Edit > Preferences...
• Click on "Trust Manager" in the left pane
• Untick the box that reads: "allow opening of non-PDF file attachments with external applications."

Registry Mods for Adobe Reader

• Set HKEY_Current_Users\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\(version being used)\Originals\bAllowOpenFile (DWORD) to 0.
• Block end-users from turning the capability on by setting HKEY_Current_Users\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\(version being used)\Originals\bSecureOpenFile (DWORD) to 1.
• For Adobe Acrobat, you would replace "Acrobat Reader" with "Adobe Acrobat"

References

• Escape From PDF by Didier Stevens (March 2010)
• Researcher Uncovers PDF Executable Vulnerability
• Adobe Issues Advice To Avoid PDF Security Attack
• PDF "/Launch" Social Engineering Attack

How to Get Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.x to Load Faster

1. Go to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\
2. Rename the plug_ins directory to Optional
3. Create a new directory called plug_ins
4. Copy the following files from Optional to plug_ins: EWH32.api and search.api

What do the Acrobat Reader plugins do?

1. Start Adobe Reader
2. Go to: Help > About Adobe Plug-Ins and Help > About Third-Party Plug-Ins

This tip works for both Adobe Acrobat Professional and Adobe Reader

Fix for "This document contains JavaScripts" message

If you've disabled JavaScript in Adobe Acrobat 7.x or Reader 7.x, you'll probably get an annoying message every time you exit the program, stating that, "This document contains JavaScripts," although the document did not contain any JavaScript code.

Here are the steps to disable that message in Windows XP, short of enabling JavaScript.

1. Find the location of Acrobat's "JavaScripts" directory.
   On Windows XP, this is C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Adobe\Acrobat\7.0\JavaScripts\.
   * Where <username> is the account that you've logged into Windows with.
   ** Where C: is the hard disc drive or partition that Windows XP is installed on.
   
2. Rename the JavaScripts directory to JavaScripts.old.
   
3. Create an empty text file named JavaScripts, using Notepad, in the same directory that the JavaScripts directory was in.
   On Windows XP, this is C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Adobe\Acrobat\7.0\.

Note: It appears that Adobe has corrected the above issue with the v7.0.5 update.

Disable JavaScript in Adobe Acrobat 7.x and Reader 7.x

1. Start Acrobat/Reader
2. Go to: Edit > Preferences...
3. Under Categories: choose JavaScript
4. Uncheck "Enable Acrobat JavaScript"
5. Click on the Ok button