Skip to main content
D
daniel123455456
Participating Frequently
August 7, 2014
Question

How do I stop adobe from harrassing me?

  • August 7, 2014
  • 2 replies
  • 1954 views

I am being harassed on a daily basis by Adobe.   I do not know why Adobe feels that it is a good idea to hack into my computer and then cause me to loose all current and previous information in my internet browser so that they can advertise for a product.      While browsing the internet or doing something, the page reload itself as the adobe reader advertisement and block me from pressing the back button or doing anything except installing Adobe software or closing the browser section.

My hope is that there is an Adobe representative who will read this and provide a solution to how I can prevent Adobe from costing me time and money by doing this. 

Has anyone else been able to resolve this type of issue with Adobe? And if so, what steps did you have to go through to get the issue resolved?

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    2 replies

    D
    daniel123455456Author
    Participating Frequently
    October 7, 2014

    So does anyone at Adobe have a solution for this?  If I am unable to get an answer on the forum and the phone personnel continue to ignore my calls, I will have to resort to something more radical.  I run my business from my computer and cannot have adobe deleting hours and hours of work at random times just because nobody will assist me.

    Please either have someone specifically address this issue for me or get it to stop from the back end because when I lose more work it will become an issue with Adobe attacking my business, which is unacceptable.

    jeromiec83223024
    jeromiec83223024
    Inspiring
    October 8, 2014

    What you've described is really strange, and while I believe that you're experiencing it, it's not a common or widespread issue.  At Flash Player distribution scales, a failure rate of 0.01% affects > 100,000 people.  We're not seeing a flood of complaints that would result from a common issue caused by Flash Player in the field.  The symptoms are super obnoxious, so we'd have a flood of complaints if that were the case.

    My gut feeling is that the first response to your question is the correct one.  Your system certainly isn't behaving normally.  The page you're seeing looks like the product download page for Adobe Reader, but it's also half-loaded and weird.

    FlashUtil_ActiveX.exe is a broker process that sits between Internet Explorer and Flash Player, and allows the parts of Flash Player that process untrusted content to execute with the least-possible set of privileges.  This process (and Flash Player) are actually built-in components of Internet Explorer and if you click through to the properties from the details pane of Task Manager, you should be able to verify that they're signed by Microsoft as Third Party Components.

    Long story short, I don't think this is Flash.  You *are* seeing a Flash process active on your system, but it's supposed to be there.  It also just a little shim communication layer, and isn't imbued with Acrobat installer logic.

    Do you have Adobe Reader installed on your system?  That's the download page that it appears that you're being driven to.  Reader doesn't come pre-installed, so you would have had to download it specifically.  Like Flash Player and Internet Explorer, Adobe Reader spends all of its time processing untrusted content.  It *is* a really good idea to keep it updated to the latest available version, as we're continually making security improvements in response to ongoing research and threat intelligence from our partners in academia, industry and government. 

    If it *is* installed, you should see it listed under Control Panel > Programs and Features > Adobe Reader XI (x.x.x)  -- the latest is 11.0.09.   In Acrobat Reader, you can choose Edit > Preferences >  Updater to change your update preferences.  If disabling updates or uninstalling Acrobat resolves the issue, I'd be happy to share this with the Acrobat team.  They may want to collect some data just to ensure that this isn't happening to other folks.

    jeromiec83223024
    jeromiec83223024
    Inspiring
    October 8, 2014

    On a side note, there's been this interesting self-replicating worm targeting consumer routers floating around for a while, and weaponized versions often tell people to install emergency Adobe updates:

    http://www.computerworld.com/article/2487778/malware-vulnerabilities/there-s-now-an-exploit-for--themoon--worm-targeting-linksys-routers.html

    If you haven't updated your router's firmware in a while, it might not be a bad idea to do that.  I have no evidence that indicates that's the issue, but depending on what they page you're working on does, if it's auto-saving or loading assets in the background, it might throw a full-page window in place of the existing window if malware on the router is injecting a fake update message.  Worst-case is that you've spent a little time and you've patched a potential future headache.

    ~graffiti
    ~graffiti
    Legend
    August 7, 2014

    I can't think of any reason Adobe would be doing that nor have I ever heard of them doing that. Can you be more descriptive about the "advertisement"? What exactly does it say? Does it have any links in it? If so, where do they go?

    The first thing I would do is check for malware.

    D
    daniel123455456Author
    Participating Frequently
    August 7, 2014

    Its this.... (I didn't realize that I can copy and paste it into the forum)

    Step: 1 of 3

    Adobe Reader

    Reader logo with screens

    71.2

    Version XI (11.0.07)

    System requirements

    Your system:

    Windows 8.1, English

    Do you have a different language or operating system?

    Are you an IT manager or OEM?

    About:

    Adobe® Reader® software is the free global standard for reliably viewing, printing, and commenting on PDF documents.

    It's the only PDF file viewer that can open and interact with all types of PDF content, including forms and multimedia.

    Optional offers

    Learn more | Install Option

    Learn more

    Google Toolbar and Google Chrome

    Google Toolbar lets you take the best of Google everywhere. See search results as you type, translate web pages instantly and share on Google+.

    Chrome is a fast, simple, and secure web browser, built for the modern web. It's quick to start up, loads web pages in a snap, and runs complex web applications lightning fast.

    Terms & conditions:

    By clicking the "Install now" button, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the  Adobe Software Licensing Agreement and the Google License Agreement & Privacy Policy.

    Note: Your antivirus software must allow you to install software.

    Install now   

    Total size: 115.75 MB

    ~graffiti
    ~graffiti
    Legend
    August 7, 2014

    Hmm. Odd. The links all definitely point to adobe.com.

    And you're just surfing along, clicking links and such and this takes over your open window? You're not clicking on a link to a pdf? What version of Reader do you have? What browser and version is this? Does it happen no matter where you are or are you doing something in particular when it comes up?

    Sorry for all the questions but I haven't seen this one before.

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices