tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11573761.post6414499784667976869..comments2023-09-23T07:38:46.925-07:00Comments on Chris Quirke's Blog: SARS Tax Returns vs. Acrobat ReaderChris Quirkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05538828571660803875noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11573761.post-33746918137986746442009-11-19T01:18:58.522-08:002009-11-19T01:18:58.522-08:00Good question, and there are other problems with t...Good question, and there are other problems with the knee-jerk "use Foxit instead" approach to .PDF<br /><br />Specifically, I've seen comments that the sort of exploits possible against Acrobat Reader are quite likely to apply to the alternatives.<br /><br />If that's the case, you lose the safety of obscurity that you'd have where a small-vendor, seldom-patched alternative had its own exploitable defects (that didn't attract attention due to small market share).<br /><br />Modern Acrobat (Adobe) Reader also waves Flash around to exploited, too.<br /><br />What makes all this worse, is that several accounting apps etc. build .PDF files and then automate the sending of these as emaul attackments, attached to generic (and thus malware-forgeable) messages.Chris Quirkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05538828571660803875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11573761.post-65394095081496839202009-11-18T06:07:36.266-08:002009-11-18T06:07:36.266-08:00So has anyone found a non-adobe bloatware reader t...So has <b><i>anyone</i></b> found a non-adobe bloatware reader that can actually handle what SARS did to their PDF output ?<br />The file header says PDF1.7 but none of the alternative freeware readers get past the insistence on installing the monster shyteware.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11573761.post-30442089133627917052008-01-17T15:19:00.000-08:002008-01-17T15:19:00.000-08:00Yes, I was at UCT in that time frame. Does Privat...Yes, I was at UCT in that time frame. <BR/><BR/>Does Private File ring a bell?Chris Quirkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05538828571660803875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11573761.post-34747869097592068432008-01-16T14:15:00.000-08:002008-01-16T14:15:00.000-08:00Chris were you at UCT 1970-80's ?Chris were you at UCT 1970-80's ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11573761.post-2043296342991203682007-12-11T15:07:00.000-08:002007-12-11T15:07:00.000-08:00I hadn't heard of that HLP format before. Thanks f...I hadn't heard of that HLP format before. Thanks for that perspective! <BR/><BR/>On a related note, I was looking at moving out a bunch of the Adobe Reader plugins to cut the program's load time. If I can look forward to people (America's IRS?) using PDF and its advanced tracking and form submission features then I won't bother trying to streamline it.netjustinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08255962379052142169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11573761.post-36989180067837590172007-12-11T06:46:00.000-08:002007-12-11T06:46:00.000-08:00Using a different data format isn't your choice, i...Using a different data format isn't your choice, if you are "consuming" someone else's document (in this case, the tax service's submission form).<BR/><BR/>IMO, MS could have scooped .PDF by building .HLP authoring support into MS Word, back in the days before Windows 98 - though it's been stated that .HLP doesn't support text searching, which hurts.Chris Quirkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05538828571660803875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11573761.post-8598597325310673122007-12-10T10:21:00.000-08:002007-12-10T10:21:00.000-08:00Chris,You mention using something other than AcroR...Chris,<BR/><BR/>You mention using something other than AcroRead to open PDF documents; what about the idea of using another document format altogether? Microsoft is apparently serious about offering its PDF alternative. <BR/><BR/>Pardon the popups from ComputerWorld, but it is a very good article:<BR/><BR/>With XPS as PDF killer, Microsoft opens second front on Adobe <BR/>http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9017438netjustinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08255962379052142169noreply@blogger.com