Participant

Question

Adobe Reader DC download says it is infected with a Trojan

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
March 20, 2023
14 replies
18811 views

Hello,

We are March 20, 2023, around 4:00 PM ETC

So I downloaded and tried to install Adobe Reader. I made sure it was from the official website, as I already have a story with a third-party one. So it was no doubt from get.adobe.com. Halfway through installation, Windows Defender blocked it because it found the Wacatac B, a serious threat, attached to the .exe file. The affected file was rooted in: C:/PRogramData/Adobe/Temp/7682/installer.bin. It was deleted at that moment.

Just in case, I went back and double-checked my browsing history. And again, that was get.adobe.com.

Did that happen to anyone, how could this be?

I think the threat was blocked, but I'm running a full scan through my laptop at the moment, with Windows Defender again, and with Malware Bytes later. I will edit if further detail is found.

D

diego_lzn

Participating Frequently

I discontinued the use of Acrobat Reader almost a year ago. Good luck!

S

seyuh

Participant

I don't know much about viruses or threats in general, but one night I decided to download Adobe Reader as well, to listen to a document without reading it. I also trusted the site, but now I am encountering problems with a certain virus, a trojan, the W32/Tedy.7918!tr that Microsoft Defender has detected. From what I understand, it is a malware within some Adobe Acrobat files. I am not an expert in this kind of thing, but I have been researching for days, and no, I don't think you're alone.

E

Editor Joy

Participant

Definitely something going on here. An item named Adobe Reader DC appeared on my external flash drive and then dissapeared.

J

jannik_7397

Participant

Same for me (Gen:Trojan.Heur.TP.kp2@b8na4Udi). Why does Adobe do not care?

A

alistair_1333

Participant

Same issue here, BitDefender blocks it with the message below. Adobe, any ideas when this will be resolved as I am going to have to buy an alternative if not resolved very soon. \Downloads\Acrobat_Set-Up.exe tried to load a malicious resource detected as Gen:Trojan.Heur.TP.kp2@bGbaVthi and was blocked. Your device is safe.

Tai la Mar

Participant

I also had the same thing happen to me not too long ago. It was downloaded directly from the Adobe webpage. I took a look at Bitdefender, and this is the message that shows in my notification.

Suspicious activity blocked

19 minutes ago

Feature: Antivirus

C:\Users\MYPCNAME\Downloads\Acrobat_Set-Up.exe tried to load a malicious resource detected as Gen: Trojan.Heur.TP.kp2@byxzjxai and was blocked. Your device is safe.

I don't feel comfortable downloading the app anymore because Adobe sees that it is necessary to attach other unwanted features and apps, such as McAfee and their Creative Pro App, to the download without being able to refuse. I will be canceling my subscription.
We should be able to download the stand-alone Adobe Reader app AND receive ALL the necessary updates, INCLUDING security updates, without also having to download an app that is not needed.

D

diego_lzn

Participating Frequently

I decided to cancel my susbscription too.

D

diego_lzn

Participating Frequently

It is November 2, 2024, and my antivirus is sending the next messages:

I tried to contact an online agent, but despite Adobe offers 24/7 support, no one was available to assist.

radzmar

Community Expert

The name Acrobat_Set-Up.exe already is suspicious. Where are you downloading from. Looks not official to me.

radzmar

Community Expert

1) I wento to the official website of Adobe Acrobat in Spanish

2) Then I clicked on the button "Get the Apps" to download Adobe Acrobat Pro

And I get the message from my antivirus I previously mentioned.

Ahh, ok. You're not really downloading Acrobat but a helper app that will download and install Acrobat. This app is just about 3 MB in size and does want to download more things form the internet, since normal installation package for Acrobat is about 1 GB. So it's propably a false positive from your Antivirus.

You can download it directly here: https://helpx.adobe.com/es/acrobat/kb/acrobat-dc-downloads.html

L

Lawrence37320882mj0t

Participant

I've downloaded Acrobat and then later adobe premiere pro and both times malware followed. The worst was when I got premier pro and got a Trojan malware

C

Casey5C57

Participant

We had the same issue. Adobe does not seem to think the problem is on their end, despite several isolated cases with the same problem. I am also using Defender for Endpoint and it was also labeled as 'Wacatac.'

Amal.

Community Manager

Hi there

This issue is known to our engineering team and is being worked upon.

We will share more details as soon as we get any updates.

Regards

Amal

F

Fernando29084139zh8h

Participant

same situation, 27/03/2023, 2 AM.

I can survive without the reader from adobe. Some risks are not worth taking.

I dont really care if its a false positive or not. Both big companies, sort it out between yourselves. Until that, lost clients.

Amal.

Community Manager

Hi @maryamira @Fernando29084139zh8h @Carlo290789449nky @Miguel29033044y8k3 @Sergio29030100bdrq

Hope you are doing well, and thanks for reporting this issue. I will get it checked internally with our team.

Please remove the application using the Acrobat cleaner tool https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/cleaner.html , reboot the computer once, and reinstall the application using the direct link https://get.adobe.com/reader/enterprise/ and see if that helps.

Let us know if you experience any trouble and need more help.

Regards

Amal

C

Carlo290789449nky

Participant

Exact same problem here.

Not installing Acrobat Reader until this issue will be explained by Adobe.

Participant

Participant

Ciao sei italiano? Comunque penso di avere il tuo stesso virus, anzi trojan, che dovrebbe essere questo W32/Tedy.7918!tr, io non sono esperta in questo ambito, ma vorrei capire se è grave o meno. Siccome è da un po' che faccio ricerche su questo virus maligno e a quanto pare è all'interno do qualche file di adobe acrobat, o forse di adobe reader, che installai ad aprile, il problema è che microsoft defender me lo ha rilevato il 08/07/2025, non riesco a capire come ha fatto a manifestarsi poprio quel giorno lì.

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