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anthonys86597994
Participating Frequently
August 29, 2018
Question

ACROBAT READER is the equivalent of malware

  • August 29, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 4122 views

When i came to print out some material on my Macbook Pro, I found that the printer would not work.  The problem was that the printing had to go through Adobe Acrobat Reader.  I investigated all available possibilities for getting the printer to function and came to the conclusion that uninstalling this piece of software was the only option.  However all the options to disable this software, or uninstall it, came to nothing.  This makes Acrobat Reader, from my point of view, MALWARE, and I think Adobe should be ashamed of themselves.

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    3 replies

    May 9, 2020

    I absolutely agree with the sentiment, the background software for Adobe creative cloud was using 2 GB of memory, decided to uninstall and had to fight it piecemeal after uninstall, manually stopping processes and deleting files while the processes were auto restarting.  Behaves just like the software that botnet and virus make.

    try67
    Adobe Expert
    August 30, 2018

    Actually, Preview comes much closer to the definition of malware: It installs itself on your computer without your consent (because it is "bundled" with the OS), performs badly and corrupts files it opens...

    anthonys86597994
    Participating Frequently
    August 30, 2018

    Hi try67,

    Thank you for responding. Up to now I have never found a need for Preview, or Acrobat Reader.  Life was so much simpler without having to bother about either.  I have tried to get rid of Acrobat Reader, but failed.  I am still convinced it is a form of malware.

    Tony Sims

    From: try67 <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

    To: Anthony Sims <tonysims32@yahoo.com>

    Sent: Thursday, 30 August 2018, 17:02

    Subject: ACROBAT READER is the equivalent of malware

    ACROBAT READER is the equivalent of malware

    created by try67 in Acrobat Reader - View the full discussionActually, Preview comes much closer to the definition of malware: It installs itself on your computer without your consent (because it is "bundled" with the OS), performs badly and corrupts files it opens... If the reply above answers your question, please take a moment to mark this answer as correct by visiting: https://forums.adobe.com/message/10591223#10591223 and clicking ‘Correct’ below the answer Replies to this message go to everyone subscribed to this thread, not directly to the person who posted the message. To post a reply, either reply to this email or visit the message page: Please note that the Adobe Forums do not accept email attachments. If you want to embed an image in your message please visit the thread in the forum and click the camera icon: https://forums.adobe.com/message/10591223#10591223 To unsubscribe from this thread, please visit the message page at , click "Following" at the top right, & "Stop Following" Start a new discussion in Acrobat Reader by email or at Adobe Community For more information about maintaining your forum email notifications please go to https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1516624. This email was sent by Adobe Community because you are a registered user.

    You may unsubscribe instantly from Adobe Community, or adjust email frequency in your email preferences

    ~graffiti
    Brainiac
    August 29, 2018

    anthonys86597994  wrote

    When i came to print out some material on my Macbook Pro, I found that the printer would not work.  The problem was that the printing had to go through Adobe Acrobat Reader.

    What exactly do you mean by "printer would not work" and "Had to go through Adobe Acrobat Reader"?

    anthonys86597994  wrote

    I investigated all available possibilities for getting the printer to function and came to the conclusion that uninstalling this piece of software was the only option.  However all the options to disable this software, or uninstall it, came to nothing. 

    What possibilities did you investigate? How are you trying to uninstall?

    Just asking questions so we can try to help. I'm not sure how Reader would be involved with the printer other than being a print option.

    anthonys86597994
    Participating Frequently
    August 29, 2018

    Hi Graffiti,Thank your for taking the trouble to email me.

    You ask what exactly do I mean by saying that the printer would not work.  Normally on my Macbook Pro I use Cmd+p, and this brings up an image of the thing to be printed, with the button 'Print'.  On this occasion, with Acrobat Reader showing in the task bar, on pressing 'Print' the printer did not respond.  That is my definition of a printer 'not working'. 

    When it comes to the matter of trying to deal with the problem I tried 'Force Quit', dragging Adobe Reader to trash, and various other options I came across online.  None worked.  If you can suggest a means of (a) getting Acrobat Reader to work, in the sense that I can print out material, or (b) getting rid of Acrobat Reader from my computer altogether, I should be more than happy.  Until thenI shall continue to believe that Acrobat Reader is a form of Malware.

    anthonys86597994
    Participating Frequently
    August 30, 2018

    anthonys86597994  wrote

    HiI could not find 'Preview' on the webpage with Acrobat Reader in the task bar,or anywhere else.

    Many thanks,

    Tony Sims

    "Preview" is the default application for viewing pdf files on Mac computers. Try using it to open your pdf files. If you can't find it, you may want to ask in a Mac forum what to do next. It's been a while since I was on a Mac but at that time, you couldn't install the OS without "Preview". At least not easily.


    Hi graffiti,Thank you for taking thetrouble to look into this problem. I found Preview in Applicationson my Macbook Pro, and with Preview in the Menu bar and a file pageon screen, I tried to execute the Print command. The moment I didthis Acrobat Reader appeared in the Menu Bar, and printing out wasnot possible. It looks though that if I could get my head roundPreview, all it would do is covert documents to PDF. As I have donewithout this facility up to now there doesn't seem much point. Before Acrobat Reader came on the scene, uninvited, printingdocuments was not a problem.

    What I would reallyappreciate is if you could advise me on how to uninstall AcrobatReader. I went to Applications on my Macbook then >Utilities>and found Adobe Flash Player. I assumed Flash Player incorporatedAcrobat Reader and decided to choose the option to uninstall. Onclicking Done I was advised that Adobe Flash had been removed.

    I tried printing out butAcrobat Reader still appeared in the Menu Bar, and a printout was notpossible.

    On returning to UtilitiesI found that Adobe Flash Player was still there so I tried theuninstall procedure again, and again was advised that it had beenremoved. This time, on checking, I found that Adobe Flash Player didnot appear in Utilities. I tried printing out, but Acrobat Readerstill appeared on the Menu Bar, and again printing was not possible.

    So I am now more convincedthan ever Acrobat Reader is a form of malware that should not befoisted on computer users. If you have any ideas on how to removeAcrobat Reader I shall be more than happy to try them out.

    Many thanks,

    Tony Sims

    From: ~graffiti <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

    To: Anthony Sims <tonysims32@yahoo.com>

    Sent: Wednesday, 29 August 2018, 21:31

    Subject: ACROBAT READER is the equivalent of malware

    ACROBAT READER is the equivalent of malware

    created by ~graffiti in Acrobat Reader - View the full discussion

    anthonys86597994  wrote HiI could not find 'Preview' on the webpage with Acrobat Reader in the task bar,or anywhere else.Many thanks,Tony Sims

    "Preview" is the default application for viewing pdf files on Mac computers. Try using it to open your pdf files. If you can't find it, you may want to ask in a Mac forum what to do next. It's been a while since I was on a Mac but at that time, you couldn't install the OS without "Preview". At least not easily. If the reply above answers your question, please take a moment to mark this answer as correct by visiting: https://forums.adobe.com/message/10589485#10589485 and clicking ‘Correct’ below the answer Replies to this message go to everyone subscribed to this thread, not directly to the person who posted the message. To post a reply, either reply to this email or visit the message page: Please note that the Adobe Forums do not accept email attachments. If you want to embed an image in your message please visit the thread in the forum and click the camera icon: https://forums.adobe.com/message/10589485#10589485 To unsubscribe from this thread, please visit the message page at , click "Following" at the top right, & "Stop Following" Start a new discussion in Acrobat Reader by email or at Adobe Community For more information about maintaining your forum email notifications please go to https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1516624. This email was sent by Adobe Community because you are a registered user.

    You may unsubscribe instantly from Adobe Community, or adjust email frequency in your email preferences