Update Foxit Reader now!

We’re big fans of alternatives to Adobe Reader here at Softonic, partially because we like to champion software alternatives, and partially because Adobe has a long history of security scares that we’d prefer to avoid. Foxit Reader is one alternative PDF reader that has always come out on top, but sure enough, a security vulnerability seems to have hit this application too.

Foxit discovered the problem in March 2010 – older versions of the program were allowing executable programs embedded in PDFs to be run without permission from the user.  3.2.0.0303 fixed this and version 3.3, the very newest release, backs Foxit Reader up with another layer of protection: it now gives the user the option to disable all external commands – the Trust Manager.

Foxit Reader found a problem and solved it, and credit has to be given for that. But it just goes to show that just because you dump your big name for a promising underdog, you can’t guarantee that you’ll be leaving all your problems behind. Make sure you have the latest version – download Foxit Reader here!