If viewing environment is not properly configured to use adobe what do I do?

dear when i duble click on adobe file so i get the given below message

The document you are trying to load requires Adobe Reader 8 or higher. You may not have the Adobe Reader installed or your viewing environment may not be properly configured to use Adobe Reader. For information on how to install Adobe Reader and configure your viewing environment please see http://www.adobe.com/go/pdf_forms_configure. This is the message I get when trying to open a simple document. What can I do?

I cannot believe that I am the only person on the planet to experience the configuration message. Today I spent 3 hours trying to get Adobe to work. It there an alternative to this abomination?

What OS, browser and version of Reader?