According to a recent alert, phishing emails regarding updates to the Adobe Reader have been making the rounds.

This is where knowing a little something about software can help you avoid a scam, because Adobe doesn’t send out update information via email. In fact, I can’t think of a software company that does. This is one of those cases where people who might otherwise never click a link in an unexpected email might let their guard down. Don’t do it. There’s a reason I always say “never”.

When a new security patch for the Reader, or a whole new version becomes available, the program itself will detect it automatically. Or, if you want to download it manually, you can visit http://get.adobe.com/reader/. I would uncheck that “Free McAfee Security Scan Plus” box on the right, though. I’m not a fan of “bonus” software like toolbars and other junk when you download things, so that’s sort of a matter of principle. Plus, if you’ve got a different brand of security software installed, the McAfee download might fight with it. Virus scanners always seem to detect each other as viruses.

There is a possible security issue with the Adobe Reader that you should know about. For some reason, they decided to add JavaScript functionality to the Reader. This was later shown to be an easy avenue for hackers to access your computer. I’m pretty sure the latest versions have fixed this issue, but I still turn it off just in case.

All you have to do is click “Edit” at the top of the screen, then select “Preferences…” Find “JavaScript” in the menu on your left. Click that, and there will be a box that says “Enable Acrobat JavaScript.” UNcheck it, click “OK”, and you’re done.

Another alternative is to just use a different software altogether, which is what I do. I like the Foxit Reader, but I disable JavaScript there as well.

Don’t get me wrong—I love most of Adobe’s other products (Illustrator and Photoshop in particular). I just don’t quite grok why they put this functionality into the Reader.