Adobe Reader XI Released, Updated With Windows 8 Support, Direct Download Adobe Reader XI Offline Installer
Adobe has released the latest Adobe Reader version, Adobe Reader XI. Adobe Reader is one of the most popular PDF reader which lets you view, print, sign, and comment on PDF documents. The latest Adobe Reader version comes with Windows 8 support, new features to improve productivity, security, and deployment of the program.
The latest version now allows you to save filled PDF forms to your hard disk. If you need to sign on a PDF document, you now have the option to do it either by typing your name or scribbling your signature or use scanned image. You can get access to the new sign button from the View menu. Commenting tools present in Adobe Reader XI lets you easily highlight, strike through, add comments or sticky notes to your PDF documents. You can directly send a PDF file from within the program to your friends or colleagues. Protected Mode, first introduced in Adobe Reader X, has been enhanced with data theft prevention capabilities.
Adobe has also upgraded the security capabilities of the program. It extended the functionality of the sandbox and added a feature that forces all the DLLs loaded by the applications to use Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), regardless of whether they originally were compiled with ASLR enabled.
“To provide an additional layer of defense and strengthen the sandbox protection in Adobe Reader and Acrobat even further, we have implemented a separate desktop and WinStation in Adobe Reader and Acrobat XI, which will block, for instance, screen scraping attacks,” said Priyank Choudhury, a security researcher at Adobe, in a blog post at the Adobe Secure Software Engineering Team (ASSET) Blog.
He further said, “Adobe Reader and Acrobat leverage platform mitigations such as Data Execution Prevention (DEP), Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), etc. In Adobe Reader and Acrobat XI, we have enabled support for Force ASLR on Windows 7 and Windows 8. Force ASLR improves the effectiveness of existing ASLR implementations by ensuring that all DLLs loaded by Adobe Reader or Acrobat XI, including legacy DLLs without ASLR enabled, are randomized. By enabling Force ASLR in Adobe Reader and Acrobat XI, we are making it even more difficult for an attacker to exploit vulnerabilities”.
Adobe Reader XI Features:
- Full support for latest operating systems, Windows 8 and OS X Mountain Lion, including “touch-mode” for touch-based devices
- Improved PDF form filling, signing, saving and sending
- Create PDF or export PDF files to Word or Excel online
- Commenting features includes stamps, attachments, audio recordings
- Protected View provides an additional layer of defense by implementing a separate desktop for the user interface
- Enhanced Protected Mode now improved with data theft prevention capabilities
Adobe Reader XI is available as free download from the official Adobe website. You can download either the web installer (downloads required files from the Internet during installation) or the offline installer (useful when deploying on multiple computers) of the PDF reader. If you have Adobe Reader already installed, you can use its in-built updater accessible from Help > Check for Updates to update to the latest version.
You can download the Adobe Reader XI or Adobe Reader 11 offline installer (all languages) from here (Windows) or here (OS X). Simply click on the language you want Adobe Reader XI to be in and download it. If you don’t want to go through all the hassle, simply go to this page, select your operating system (Step 1) from the list, language (Step 2), and Reader 11.0 (Step 3) and then on the download button. Don’t forget to uncheck the option which offers you additional programs like toolbars, security scanners, etc.
Source: Adobe