Acrobat Reader Annoyance (1 Viewer)

[Bluetail]

Every time I open Acrobat Reader 6.0 I get an alert telling me it's trying to access the internet. I've just tried it twice and the first time it tried to use port 2675; the second time it was 2684. It's driving me round the bend. Is this normal or have I got a trojan?

I update and run Ad-aware, Spybot and Spyware Blaster regularly and my virus checker (McAfee) can't find anything either.

 

[Andrew]

Ah, try clicking a small tick box next time telling SpyBot to remember the 'yes' in future and allow Acroat access in future without asking.

If you have done that then it beats me!

 

[Bluetail]

Thanks, Andrew, but I don't want Acrobat Reader - or anything else for that matter - accessing the internet without my say-so. It's already become bloatware in my opinion.

 

[Andrew Rowlands]

Or go to the preferences in Reader and untick 'update....'.

Andy.

 

[Andrew Rowlands]

Jason, if you would like to speedup the loading of Reader http://www.tnk-bootblock.co.uk/ look down the right side for 'Adobe Reader Speed-up' (it can be done manually by 'removing' most of the plugins).

Andy.

 

[Bluetail]

I already had it set to manual updating. I've unchecked the "Show auto-update confirmation dialogue" and "Display notification dialogue at startup" boxes, but the damned programme is still trying to get out - ports 2892 and 2900 this time.

 

[Mickymouse]

I think Acrobat reader is a pain anyway, I can't think of any reason for using the format.

Mick

 

[Bluetail]

Jason, if you would like to speedup the loading of Reader http://www.tnk-bootblock.co.uk/ look down the right side for 'Adobe Reader Speed-up' (it can be done manually by 'removing' most of the plugins).

Andy.

Hey, Andy, that seems to have done the trick! Downloaded it and ran it in the recommended mode and AR is now as quiet as a sleeping baby. Brilliant! Thanks for your help.

 

[Bluetail]

I think Acrobat reader is a pain anyway, I can't think of any reason for using the format.

Mick

Quite agree. Unfortunately other people will insist on producing pdf files! The utility that Andy mentions really does improve things, though.

 

[Andrew]

Many of the pdf files I have downloaded so far are just a gobbledegook series of squares instead of letters. I lose my rag when that happens after watching it download for a while!

 

[RecoveringScot]

Every time I open Acrobat Reader 6.0 I get an alert telling me it's trying to access the internet. I've just tried it twice and the first time it tried to use port 2675; the second time it was 2684. It's driving me round the bend. Is this normal or have I got a trojan?

I update and run Ad-aware, Spybot and Spyware Blaster regularly and my virus checker (McAfee) can't find anything either.

Jason,

You don't mention whether you have a firewall running. If not, can I recommend Zone Alarm Free edition (available from www.nonags.com - I use the German mirror site). This will stop applications trying to connect to the internet (unless you give permission) and is basically self-configuring, although you can tweak it easily if you want. It gets regularly updated. I've been running it for about eight months without incident.

Phil

 

[Bluetail]

Hi Phil. Thanks for that suggestion. My fault. I should have made it clear that it was my Firewall (McAfee) that was doing the alerting. It must have been one of the Acrobat plug-ins that was causing the problem because the utility Andy recommended fixed it instantly. In fact I've just spent an hour or so browsing pdf files on the net with no hassle whatsoever. Bliss!

Talking about security, the "Shields Up" facility on http://grc.com/ (which I found this evening) seems useful for checking how securely your firewall is proctecting you from outside interference.

 

[RecoveringScot]

Hi Phil. Thanks for that suggestion. My fault. I should have made it clear that it was my Firewall (McAfee) that was doing the alerting. It must have been one of the Acrobat plug-ins that was causing the problem because the utility Andy recommended fixed it instantly. In fact I've just spent an hour or so browsing pdf files on the net with no hassle whatsoever. Bliss!

Talking about security, the "Shields Up" facility on http://grc.com/ (which I found this evening) seems useful for checking how securely your firewall is proctecting you from outside interference.

I shall give that a look. Nice to see you're still around. Your occasional posts to uk.rec.birdwatching are missed, along with quite a few others. Since I've now got broadband I decided to join here. Now I can make an idiot of myself in two places.

Phil

 

[Jampots]

problem getting pdf files

I'm not sure if this is connected with an Acrobat Reader problem but I think it maybe, hence my post here. In the last few weeks I don't seem to be able to open pdf files on Internet pages - I just get a little red circle, blue square & green triangle (if I remember correctly) and message at bottom of page says 'done'. How do I open these files? I certainly used to be able to get them without problem, they just 'appeared' without me doing anything, just had to wait for Acrobat reader to open or download or whatever each time. Any suggestions?
Jampots

 

[Bluetail]

Thanks for that, Phil. I'm quite touched (as everyone else here realised long ago!) Must admit since coming here I've never looked back. There were some damn fine people on ukrb - still are - but after Chris Mead died there seemed a lot less reason to stay. There's a lot to be said for having moderators!

 

[saluki]

I think Acrobat reader is a pain anyway, I can't think of any reason for using the format.

Mick

Mick,

If I sent you a document created in InDesign or QuarkXpress for instance, you wouldn't be able to open them unless you had the relative software. If I sent you a document that I'd created on a Mac it's doubtful you could open it on your PC. But if I created .pdf's from the above files you would then be able to open them in Acrobat Reader. Acrobat enables people to send files to anyone, using any system, in a format they can view. You can also embed fonts, so the document will look exactly as it was created, unlike other software where - unless you have the same fonts on your system as were used to create it - the document may look entirely different. I use it every day (the full program that is, not the Reader) and it's a vital tool for me. I could go on extolling the virtues of Adobe Acrobat but I'll not bore you any more!

saluki