F-Secure, a  global company specializing in online software services for securing digital content, has crunched the numbers and has announced the results: Adobe Reader is the most exploited application of 2009, ousting Microsoft Word from the top spot.

It’s sometimes taken for granted that the default.docx format can be used by all. Simply clicking on the Save icon, or pinky-middle fingering CTRL + S on the keyboard comes naturally and on instinct.

However, without the Office 2007 plug-in or viewer, you’re at a loss for opening, editing—or heck, even simply viewing, a .docx file on the fly. A real problem indeed if you’re at a public computer or on the go with a mobile device.

Well, no need to look any further for a solution because we’ve been hard at work and have developed a fully functional .Docx to .Doc converter. 

Aspiring webmasters beware. . . .Creating your own website can be appealing, but it’s also a major undertaking.  Having done some preliminary research, you may have already learned that maintaining it alone can be difficult.

Yet, never fear—there are efficient ways of doing it.

Wordpress is one of the major blogging platforms online. This is because Wordpress is not only free, but it can also be catered to the individual needs of its users.

As a result of continuous efforts of the large community of Wordpress developers, there is a huge collection of Wordpress plugins from which you can choose and embed on your blog.  You can customize your own personal space according to your own personal taste.

Moreover, Wordpress developers have created many plugins that can also take advantage and integrate the features of other digital documents, like the PDF, right on your blog. If you’re looking for some handy PDF plugins, here they are.

Let’s have a look at the top 10 PDF plugins for Wordpress blogs.

Security issues are at the center of tech news this week.

First, great news for Adobe Reader and Acrobat users everywhere: security patches for the vulnerabilities that surfaced near the end of 2009 is now available.

Looking to keep up with PDFs in 2010?

With the speed at which documents are making their way online— file hosts, document search engines, online processing, and real-time collaboration, you might want to get your PDFs browser-friendly. 

Admittedly, the PDF format isn’t well received when it comes to viewing it in a browser.  Download times, a heavy GUI, and an overly long scrolling document are the top 3 turn-offs users are looking to avoid. If you need a quick solution to any one of these, here’s a neat tool that’ll take your PDFs and turn them into viewer-friendly file.

Unfortunately, it looks like there’s bad news for PDF users over the holidays.

After patching 7 vulnerabilities for its Flash Player on December 8^th, Adobe still has 2 more exploitable vulnerabilities affecting its software line.

It’s that time again. Every year, from around late November to the end of December, I usually start getting that “rushed” feeling where everything gets busier.  

You’re trying to fit in some extra Christmas shopping on your lunch break, trying to research the perfect itinerary for your upcoming holiday, or scheduling family events around the city.  

So I usually find that a speedlinking post is the best way to get readers—and myself, updated on the PDF world in one quick go.  I’ve come across a few noteworthy PDF-related links which I think can summarize the past few weeks quite well.    

Last year, PDF search engines were just breaking ground on the Internet.  Back then, we were only able to find and review 3 PDF search engines—and all three were in beta. Needless to say, you couldn't be particular about your tools or your search habits when there wasn't much to choose from.

Fortunately, more than a year later, that has changed. Thanks to the continued development of online document management, essential tools, like document search engines, are gaining ground.

Now you can find more than just 3 PDF search engines.  Here are a few more that we reviewed to add to the list.

Your daily online habits can be hard to break.  

This is especially true when it comes to checking in on your Gmail. Gmail’s huge storage space and integration with Google Docs and Spreadsheets have made  it one of the most popular email clients online.

Gmail has become such a big part of everyday life that most users can’t imagine life without it anymore. If you have a Gmail account, then you already know that all it takes is one habitual click here, an automatic sign-in there, and one memorized password in a box. 

But as all Gmail users know, Google Mail isn’t infallible. There are rare times when the server is down and other times when there is a technical glitch in the system.  And when that happens, Gmail withdrawal symptoms can be difficult to endure.

So how can YOU survive the day without checking in on Gmail? Believe it or not, it is possible.

Here are some ways in which you can survive the day without checking in on Gmail.

No one can deny the importance of digital documents, and in particular, the PDF format.  It has effectively replaced paper in the most dramatic way possible and is still gaining mainstream popularity among web surfers, office workers and students alike.  

So it comes as no surprise to see a growing trend of PDF plug-ins, tools and services popping up on the Internet. PDF tools are now letting users interact with the format more freely and cheaply without tying them down to a specific software application. It’s just as easy to find a hassle-free PDF solution online as it is to find an MP3 file or a YouTube video.

If you’re looking for one, here are 12 cool PDF plug-ins, tools and services that are setting the latest PDF trends online.

Big news this week as Adobe issued a security update on Tuesday that patched up 29 vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat.  

According to a Computerworld.com article, most of these bugs, which affected the latest versions of both applications, were used to take remote control of personal computers. Affected versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat include 9.1.3 and earlier across the Windows, Mac OS and Linux platforms.

Now for the most part, Adobe had only one sure fire way to staunch previously exploited PDF vulnerabilities: disable JavaScript.  Well after the fourth exploit this year, Adobe is doing something about it. The PDF innovators are tightening up their applications with a few defensive tweaks.

Let’s say you’re searching for something online in the PDF format.  You type in the title (if you knew the file you were looking for) or the subject (if you had no clue what was out there on the subject) and perhaps, even type in “filetype:pdf” (for those who are seasoned Google users). 

Then, depending on the popularity of your search topic, you’d get over 10 billion relevant results, each listed by title. When combing through the actual PDF file results, you would essentially have 2 options: click on the “View as HTML” button or download the PDF to view it. 

While the former stripped out the PDF’s formatting that left gaping holes in the text, the latter was something akin to buying a car without test driving it. You had to blindly download the file (sans scanning, sans security) before previewing just exactly what was in the file. Neither option was ideal, but they were  good enough for getting the job done.

Cue in Google’s new third option: “Quick View”.

For those of you needing a few tools to add to your list of online apps, Acrobat.com, Adobe’s online document sharing and processing service, is offering both presentation and spreadsheet applications.

The services, as of this writing, are still in Adobe Labs, so some features and functionalities are still limited. But they can still get the job done when in a tight situation.

Here’s a rundown of what you can find.