Key Steps To Protecting PDF Data From A Security Flaw in Adobe Acrobat Reader

Although the benefits of using Portable File Formats or PDF files had been known for some time, only recently has its popularity really exploded. This is partly because of the growing importance of the Internet as a medium to distribute information and the ability of the PDF file to convey information in the same structure across all browsers and platforms. Secondly, more and more companies are looking towards a paperless office and PDF files are ideal for such document management purposes. Only the Adobe Acrobat Reader - a freely downloadable software - is required to view, save or print a PDF file and powerful third party tools make it easy to quickly recover pdf files even if they are corrupted by software or hardware failures.

However, one of the more commonly used versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader, version 7.0.8, has been detected with a security flaw, called a cross-site scripting susceptibility. This flaw apparently allows outsiders with malicious intent to blend the link to a PDF file with a harmful JavaScript file with the purpose of hacking into the computer that uses the PDF file. Apparently spammers can use this flaw and this technique of cross-site scripting to send a harmful link that can infect the recipients computer, causing great damage to existing files and possibly to the hard drive too. Such an attack can not only make it difficult to recover pdf files but almost all other data on the computer may be lost as well.

Let us first understand what is meant by cross-site scripting. These are essentially vulnerabilities in the software, in this case, web applications that allow malicious users to somehow side step all the security mechanisms put in place on the client-side to check web content being displayed by modern browsers. These vulnerabilities allow them to inject harmful scripts into webpages by means of which the attacker can actually access confidential page content, manipulate session cookies and access other sensitive information that is maintained securely by the browser on the user's behalf. Not to mention the possible damage that this could cause to the PDF files and to other files on the computer.

Since detecting this security flaw, Adobe Acrobat Reader has of course made it easy for all its users to quickly fix this flaw. The easiest thing to do is to update to the newer Adobe Reader 8.0 version. If you have trouble in doing so because of operating system or other hardware limitations, you could upgrade only to 7.0.9, which should also help you in fixing this security flaw.

Unfortunately though, if your PDF files have been badly corrupted due to the malicious attacks prior to your fixing your Adobe Reader, you may be afraid of losing most of your valuable PDF data. One of the simplest ways in which you could recover pdf data effortlessly and with just a click of a button is by using specialized software such as Advanced PDF Repair from DataNumen. You can recover entire batches of PDF file and even those from damaged storage devices using Advanced PDF Repair.