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.
Ifyou’re an Adobe Reader and Acrobat user, you may have been on edge for the past month with the recent PDF attacks. Well, you’ll be happy to know that the patch is now available for Reader, Acrobat 9 Pro, Standard and Extended for both Windows and Macintosh versions.
Important information to know:
*Updates for Adobe Reader 7 and 8, and Acrobat 7 and 8 are slated for release by March 18.
*The Adobe Reader 9.1 update for Unix will be out by March 25.
*Users with versions 7 and 8 of Adobe Reader and Acrobat, who can’t update their software should more information on immediate protection for this issue from anti-virus and security vendors is available on the Adobe Product Security Incident Response Team blog.
Although the fix may secure your PDF software, it might not do anything to fix your failing sense of security in Adobe software.
December is one the most hectic months of the year.And if you’ve been busy this month preparing for Christmas, travelling to exotic lands or just tuning out for the holidays, you might have easily missed the entire month without noticing it.
For some time now, you could search for PDF files with Boolean terms or by using PDF specific search engines like, Data-Sheet, Pdf geni.com and pdf Search Engine. Sites like Scribd and the defunct DocuFarm have also taken steps, along with PDFoo.com, to make searching for PDF files a one-stop journey.
But despite this convenience and ease, PDF searches have been exclusive only to native PDF files, which have been made specifically from digitally created documents (as opposed to paper documents being scanned in to make a PDF file). Well, last week Google announced they were making scanned PDFs searchable by using OCR technology to make the text in the PDFs indexable.
Today we release a brand new version of our Able2Extract flagship product-- and have we got the features for you!
Able2Extract v.6.0 gives you more conversions, more control and more functionality. Here’s a peek at what the brand new features can do for you:
*Conversion to OpenOffice formats: If you’re a fan of software alternatives to Microsoft, this feature is exactly what you’re looking for. Able2Extract v.6.0 will let you convert your PDF to Open Office formats like Writer and Calc.
Just when you think PDF files are safe to use again, think again.
We all know that the PDF has had its share of PDF vulnerabilities. From UXSS to PDF spamming, the PDF has been targeted for its wide user base, compatibility across different systems and its reputation as a commonly deployed format for many of today’s enterprises.
Well, nothing’s changed--hacker’s are still targeting the format and users are still using it. As an unfortunate part of technological developments, toolkits which are used to help users gain better functionality with their applications, are also being developed by malicious users to help construct and launch their hacking codes on unsuspecting users.
Screenshot of PDF Xploit Pack in action
(Image from trustedsource.org)
A hacking toolkit called the “PDF Xploit Pack? is reportedly taking advantage of PDF vulnerabilities to gain access to the user information of infected computers. According to a blog posting on worldwide communications resource company, TrustedSource, the PDF Xploit Pack is a new toolkit that targets only PDF files.
In addition, a hacker toolkit called Neosploit, used earlier in 2007 attacks seems to be back in business after it’s “retirement? last July. In the past, the kit was reportedly enhanced to take advantage of Acrobat Pro and Reader vulnerabilities (detected around February 2008) that were launched via the browser, according to an article on the Symantec security blog. Its timely return undoubtedly adds more pressure to the investigation of how much invlovement this Neosploit toolkit has with the PDF exploits occurring.
Are you the PDF Master you claim to be? Put yourself to the test and take the challenge. AcrrobatUsers.com is holding a contest to see who can make the most creative and original PDF Portfolio with Acrobat 9.
Get ready to celebrate because the PDF industry has reached a major milestone.
If you haven’t heard the news yet, on July 2nd, 2008, after more than 10 years on the market as a de facto standard, the Portable Document Format (PDF) was approved for ISO certification as an international standard.
PDF standardization, as everyone knows, has been long overdue. In 15 years, 9 generations of technology have come and gone (we’re at Acrobat 9 now!). The fact that the PDF has made it through the long years and has improved steadily from version to version is a testament to its capabilities and uses as a format.
Major news in the PDF world this week is a mixed bag of releases and vulnerabilities.
First off,the Acrobat 9 family has now been officially released. The upgrade version everyone’s been waiting for is available for purchase and includes a number of buzz worthy goodies such as Flash integration and document synchronization. Acrobat 9 also has the ability to compare different versions of a single PDF and an enhanced webpage to PDF conversion feature.
The Investintech PDF Developer Tools team is going to be exhibiting live on location at the Microsoft Tech Ed 2008 Developer Conference in Orlando from June 2-6.
Will you be there? If so, come find us on the exhibition floor in Booth D1132 .
Microsoft made an announcement this week that the Office 2007 Service Pack 2, scheduled for early 2009, will finally provide users with native support for ODF and PDF.
Its own XPS OOXML format (aka “PDF Killer?), which caused so much controversy with ISO committees and users, has anticlimactically been put on the back burner. Native support for XPS will be included within the next version of the Office suite.
The PDF world this week is buzzing with the release of early details on the next version of Acrobat that were reported on eWeek.com.
With the recent onslaught of Adobe TV, Photoshop Express, the AMP media player and Adobe’s push for an open format for Digital Cinema files, Adobe has been busy. But they still haven’t lost sight of its hallmark product, Adobe Acrobat.
In news headlines last week Microsoft announced they were licensing Adobe’s Flash Lite and Reader LE technology for their Windows Mobile platform.
With both Flash Lite and Reader LE running on Windows Mobile, users can run Flash content and view PDF files respectively, both of which are common staples of mobile browsing.
On a larger scale, the deal also means that Adobe will have its technology installed on billions of mobile devices and Microsoft will be offering better user experiences for its mobile users.
However, underneath the headlines, news sources are saying that the Adobe-Microsoft deal is a response to the iPhone market and Steve Jobs’ rejection of Adobe’s Flash Lite technology, claiming that it performed too slowly on the iPhone.
It’s easy to forget the subset standards of the PDF, especially with the recent ISO certification of the PDF 1.7 specification.
You don’t usually hear about these subset standards unless you actually use them. Likewise, you probably don’t see many resources on the subset standards unless you actually look for them. Fortunately, there’s the PDF/A Competence Center (how could I have missed this site?).
Adobe CEO, Shantanu Narayen, talked 
For some time now, you could search for PDF files with Boolean terms or by using PDF specific search engines like, Data-Sheet, Pdf geni.com and pdf Search Engine. Sites like Scribd and the defunct DocuFarm have also taken steps, along with PDFoo.com, to make searching for PDF files a one-stop journey.
The Investintech PDF Developer Tools team is going to be exhibiting live on location at the Microsoft Tech Ed 2008 Developer Conference in Orlando from June 2-6. 
