Adobe had malware problems in the past but I use Linux with a small ( non popular ) PDF reader and I have javascript disabled on my browsers and Thunderbird seems to do a quite good job of stopping malware .
For those worried about this check with-
VirusTotal
I have yet to be caught with a PDF malware problem --so far.
90 % of the ones that get through are so amateurish ( bad spelling /English ) that they are easy to spot , the other 10 % have pretty good computer programming but even here they are not perfect incomplete knowledge of the organization they are trying to represent.
For those worried about this check with-
VirusTotal
I have yet to be caught with a PDF malware problem --so far.
90 % of the ones that get through are so amateurish ( bad spelling /English ) that they are easy to spot , the other 10 % have pretty good computer programming but even here they are not perfect incomplete knowledge of the organization they are trying to represent.
as Duncan2 said, PDFs can have scripts that can run when you open them.
SANS Institute
As long as you know the sender and why they sent it, I don't see any reason not to open one.
SANS Institute
As long as you know the sender and why they sent it, I don't see any reason not to open one.
This is a good method for avoiding your garden variety malware and viruses.
I heard somewhere that MS Outlook was once over-zealous on the scary messages.
I received yesterday a Pdf from the USA IRS to fill in a form as non resident alien and return it by fax.
Funny is I don't own an old-fashioned fax machine.
Why the heck is the IRS interested in me since I don't have any business or revenue in the USA ?
Now I am going to be afraid of opening Pdfs...
Funny is I don't own an old-fashioned fax machine.
Why the heck is the IRS interested in me since I don't have any business or revenue in the USA ?
Now I am going to be afraid of opening Pdfs...
I used to use the fax function of a dial-up modem. It gave my business an edge, as I would fax mostly technical drawings.. there was no scanning needed and the output quality was high.
An anazing amount of governmental beaurcracy has not yet graduated from the FAX. Our local medical tests have just switched from FAX to email, it needs some work to be as effective (before the doc could fax the test to the LifeLabs and you could go in and get tested. Or yo could take the hard-copy in. Now you have to wait 24-48 hrs while it percolates thru the system.
dave
dave
Attachments
Email by itself is inherently insecure. You don't want personal medical information send by email.
Sending .pdf ( and opening them) is many times safer and infinitely more convenient that sending ( and opening) various word/MS formats). A lot of clueless folk in both industry and governmental sectors is spreading their MS junk accelerating this misbehavior.
Some folks even send simple e-mail messages as word documents. Didn't their mother tech them basics ??
Some folks even send simple e-mail messages as word documents. Didn't their mother tech them basics ??
Maaco---
The US IRS DOESN'T initiate contact via-email text or social media--read-
Tax Scams / Consumer Alerts | Internal Revenue Service
The US IRS DOESN'T initiate contact via-email text or social media--read-
Tax Scams / Consumer Alerts | Internal Revenue Service
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