One of the main reasons people don't like using Acrobat Reader for viewing PDFs is that it has historically been a popular target for hackers (and the updates that might prevent attacks are often slow and intrusive). However, according to Adobe itself, since the release of version 10 last year the number of vulnerabilities identified and exploited has dropped dramatically. The bad news? Those hackers are now looking towards Flash.
Dear Lifehacker, I wanted to know if there was a way to stop all the annoying Acrobat Reader and Flash updates on Windows. It seems every day there is a new update! Thanks, Flash Forward
Ed. note: If you do extensive reading on a computer screen you know how quickly start black-on-white text can strain your eyes. One Lifehacker reader, tired of straining his eyes, changed the default background colour with pleasing results.
Acrobat Reader can often be a source of annoyance, and one challenge is getting it to work on 64-bit systems -- but you can get the job done with a simple registry fix.
Windows only: PDF Download, the previously mentioned Firefox extension that improves web-page-to-PDF saving, is out with a version for Internet Explorer. Along with the features offered in the Firefox extension, the newest version for both browsers adds control over the margins of any PDFs you create from your browser. A screenshot at the developers' page shows Evernote functionality, but I couldn't find the option in my installation. Firefox users have a wider range of PDF tools than Internet Explorer through the add-on community, of course, so the Internet Explorer extension is a valuable tool for anyone who feels chained to a slow-loading, multi-nagging Adobe Acrobat installation. PDF Download is a free download for Firefox (all platforms) and Internet Explorer (Windows only). PDF Download 2.1
