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Participant
October 12, 2018
Answered

Wiould you like to open Adobe Acrobat Reader DC with protected mode disabled?

  • October 12, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 1394 views

too long; did not read question: Are there any unintended consequences from suggesting that end users select "always open with protected mode disabled"?

Hi, I am Help Desk Support Level 1, and I am having multiple end users report this dialog box when opening PDF from outlook 2016:

___________

*adobe reader protected mode*

Adobe Acrobat Reader cannot open in Protected Mode due to an incompatibility with your suystem configuration, Would you like to open Adobe Acrobat Reader D with Protected Mode disabled?

.

(radio button options:)

-Open with Protected Mode disabled

-Always open with Protected Mode disabled

-Do not open with Protected Mode disable

(hyperlink:)

Tell me more about Protected Mode and incompatible system configurations

OK CANCEL

___________

hyperlink says that protected mode protects against malicious files. I assume that means it is supposed to prevent malicious file operations that are attached to specific PDFs.

Are there any unintended consequences from suggesting that end users select "always open with protected mode disabled"?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Test Screen Name

No, the protection is not about attached file operations. It is not about anything specific. Instead, Reader gets run in a "sandbox". Sandboxes are big at the moment, lots of apps use them. The idea of a sandbox is: "suppose someone manages to find a way to hack this app - we don't know or care how. The sandbox means it can only work on files that the user chooses and its own files. So the hack can break only what's in the sandbox leaving the rest of your computer safe".

So it protects against unknown, unimagined, attacks. That's what you turn off.

1 reply

Test Screen NameCorrect answer
Legend
October 14, 2018

No, the protection is not about attached file operations. It is not about anything specific. Instead, Reader gets run in a "sandbox". Sandboxes are big at the moment, lots of apps use them. The idea of a sandbox is: "suppose someone manages to find a way to hack this app - we don't know or care how. The sandbox means it can only work on files that the user chooses and its own files. So the hack can break only what's in the sandbox leaving the rest of your computer safe".

So it protects against unknown, unimagined, attacks. That's what you turn off.