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Adobe on Wednesday released a revamped version of its Acrobat document creation software that includes built-in support for Flash and multimedia content.

Acrobat 9 lets users convert MOV and WMV files to Flash content that can be embedded within PDFs alongside audio content and even 3D models. The free Acrobat Reader 9 will play the movies, eliminating the need to open other media players.

Adobe released a beta test version of Acrobat 9 earlier this month, along with a new online service called Acrobat.com that includes a Web-based word processor, conferencing and remote access, PDF creation, and 5 gigabytes of file storage.

In combination with the Acrobat.com service, Acrobat 9 lets multiple users collaborate in real-time online to share documents.

The new PDF Portfolios feature in Acrobat 9 lets users drag and drop documents and multimedia content into a single PDF document, then choose from myriad layout and presentation options.

Acrobat Pro Extended 9 will enable maps to be marked up, preserving latitude and longitude.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Mapping features only in Acrobat Pro Extended 9 preserve geospatial coordinates and enable users to mark locations and measure distances.

The new Acrobat will take snapshots of Web pages and convert entire pages or chunks of them to a PDF that preserves links and animation.

Developers can tweak layouts with Flex Builder 3 or Flash CS3.

Acrobat 9 comes in three flavors: Standard at $299 (or $99 to upgrade), Pro for $449 (or $159 to upgrade), and Pro Extended for $699 (or $229 to upgrade). Pro Extended also comes with Adobe Presenter, which plugs into Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 for adding interactivity to presentations.

Adobe said that Adobe Reader 9, the free PDF document reader, will be available early next month.

CNET's Elsa Wenzel contributed to this report.

Adobe unveiled an online community Monday with a word processor; file storage and sharing; and deep tie-ins to a newly Flash-enabled Acrobat 9.

The online push for Acrobat is a bold move for a brand perhaps best associated with the free and nearly ubiquitous Acrobat Reader, which opens print-ready Portable Document Format, or PDF, files. Now, PDFs will play movies.

The announcement comes in advance of the release of Acrobat 9 document-creation software, which adds dynamic features such as integration of animation, dynamic maps, 256-bit encryption, and improved forms.

The free Acrobat.com beta includes the Buzzword word processor. Its ConnectNow Web conferencing and desktop sharing tool enables chatting via text, video, and voice. The hosted services invite file storage and sharing with the capability to convert up to five documents to PDF.

Buzzword and companion tools would provide interactivity lacking in leading online word processors such as Google Docs.

The free Acrobat.com launched in beta mode on Monday.

(Credit: Adobe Systems)

Users can store files on Acrobat.com and join each other in virtual meeting rooms to share identical document views in real time. The site also can host data from forms created in Acrobat software.

Acrobat 9 document-creation software will arrive with a slew of support for creating interactive, secure documents and integration with Acrobat.com.

Acrobat users can convert MOV and WMV files to Flash content that can be embedded within PDFs alongside audio content and even 3D models. The free Acrobat Reader 9 will play the movies, eliminating the need to open other media players.

The new PDF Portfolios feature in Acrobat 9 lets users drag and drop content into a portfolio, then choose from myriad layout and presentation options.

Mapping features only in Acrobat Pro Extended 9 preserve geospatial coordinates and enable users to mark locations and measure distances.

The next Acrobat will take snapshots of Web pages and convert entire pages or chunks of them to a PDF that preserves links and animation.

Developers can tweak layouts with Flex Builder 3 or Flash CS3.

The new Acrobat.com will enable users to stash their work, edit documents, and collaborate with each other.

(Credit: Adobe Systems)

Adobe also tried to make it easier to for companies to make pages match visually with themes and custom logos, and it improved tools for comparing documents.

For creating online forms, Acrobat 9 adds intelligence to recognize content for conversion to fillable fields. And a forms tracking dashboard will show, for instance, the status of responses to a mass party invitation e-mail and let a user send reminders to guests. Responses can be sorted, filtered, and exported to spreadsheets.

Acrobat 9's security enhancements enable users to add 256-bit encryption, used by banks online, to PDFs.

Redaction tools, a key selling point of Acrobat 8, will offer searches for numeric patterns in addition to multiple words and phrases. A company could, for example, find every accidental mention of a social security number or top-secret product being developed and black out the potential leaks from a PDF with one blow.

Business users could opt to access documents at Acrobat online or via SharePoint workspaces, network folders or WebDAV.

Acrobat Pro Extended 9 will enable maps to be marked up, preserving latitude and longitude.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Acrobat 9 comes in three flavors, set for stores in the coming weeks: Standard at $299 or $99 to upgrade, Pro for $449 or $159 to upgrade, and Pro Extended for $699 or $229 to upgrade. Pro Extended also comes with Adobe Presenter, which plugs into Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 for adding interactivity to presentations.

We'll have a review of Acrobat 9 software once we receive final code, and we'll share our experiences soon with Acrobat.com beta.

I still groan when I have to open a PDF file from the Web (my PCs make loud grinding noises), so I'm curious to see how the new tools might make PDFs faster to open as well as more dynamic to explore.

PDF Portfolios in Acrobat 9 will package FLV and SWF content with the usual word processing files and more.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Foxit software just released a new version of its Adobe Acrobat PDF file reader. The previous version was 2.3 build 2825. The new version is still 2.3 but the build number is now 2923.

Although there is nothing about it on Foxit's Web site, the company confirmed on the phone that this is a bug-fix release.

On May 20, Secunia issued an advisory that pointed out what it called a "highly critical" bug in the prior version. Secunia expected a fix from Foxit in an upcoming version of the software, however, as of 12:15 p.m. EDT on Sunday May 25th (roughly two days after the software was released), Secunia still lists the bug as unpatched.
Update May 26, 2008: Secunia has confirmed that the bug they wrote about is fixed in this release.

If you use the portable version of Foxit, as I suggested back on May 6, then simply download the Zip file again and delete the older version. If you use the normally installed edition of Foxit, then you can check for updates with Help -> Check for Updates Now. The new version will show up as "Foxit Reader 2.3.2008.2923 Upgrade" if you are running the previous version. If you don't use Foxit at all, give it a try.

(Credit: Foxit)

The Foxit servers appear to be swamped. I experienced multiple failures both checking for updates from within the program and trying to download the Zip file.

See a summary of all my Defensive Computing postings.

Adobe Systems plans by the end of May to unveil the latest version of Acrobat Connect Pro, which can handle Web conferencing as well as conduct corporate trainings and manage academic courses.

Web conferencing is increasingly being touted as a "green" tool that reduces the costs and carbon emissions of business travel.

Users of Connect can chat during online meetings, which can be recorded and archived with audio, video, and transcripts of chats intact. Among the unique features are whiteboarding tools and the capability for groups of users to separate into virtual breakout rooms. There's also integration with third-party IM applications.

Audio recording options allow precise controls for presentations.

(Credit: Adobe)

Connect can work in any Flash-enabled Web browser. There's no need, for instance, to enable Java or to monkey with administrator privileges.

Adobe AIR enables Flash presentations from Connect to be played on the desktop away from the browser, which could come in handy for business travelers who fly frequently. The files can also be viewed on Flash-enabled mobile phones.

Adobe Presenter, also receiving an update, adds a tab of functions to Microsoft PowerPoint 2007. It lets users create presentations rich with audio, video, and animations, which can be integrated with Acrobat Connect.

Adobe says it has 72 percent of the market share for "eLearning". Among the competitors to Connect--which starts at $42 per month--are WebEx, which Cisco Systems bought last year, and LiveMeeting, which Microsoft is selling to direct retailers.

On Monday, Adobe released a patch for versions 8.1 and earlier of its Acrobat and Acrobat Reader. This patch affects Windows XP SP2 with IE7 and Adobe Reader 7 through 8.1 and addresses the flaws cited in CVE-2007-5020. If exploited, a criminal hacker could launch malicious code on an affected system.

Security researcher Petko D. Petkov first blogged about the vulnerablity in September and predicted that shortly after the patch's release there would be a flood of proof-of-concept exploits on the Internet. He was right. Because of the extremely high risk, Adobe is encouraging everyone to install the patch and update to Acrobat and Acrobat Reader version 8.1.1.

One of the exploits has been traced to the Russian Business Network (RBN). According to iSight Partners, the exploit installs two rootkit files from the UrSnif family. "Servers (81.95.146.1xx and 81.95.147.1xx) used in the attack have a history of malicious abuse including VML UrSnif attacks, animated cursor exploitation (ANI), and CoolWebSearch installations," says Ken Dunham of iSight Partners.

Dunham adds that the RBN attack arrives through e-mails with the subject of "STATEMET indigene" and attachments "YOUR_BILL.PDF" and "INVOICE.PDF".

Adobe Systems is trying to find a way out of a thorny fix--a deal with FedEx Kinko's that outraged other printing companies--and part of the strategy is a public mea culpa by a senior executive.

Bruce Chizen, Adobe's chief executive, and John Loiacono, head of the company's creative products division, met Tuesday with a group of print industry leaders, Loiacono said on his blog after the meeting. "They were tough on us. Big-time tough," he said Wednesday. "At the end of the discussion, we committed to coming back to them within two weeks with a decision on how we will move forward. We are going to do everything possible to find a way to deliver a win-win situation on all sides."

The ruckus began in June when the design software powerhouse announced the deal, which prominently perched a "Send to FedEx Kinko's" print-on-demand button in version 8.1 of the Adobe Reader and Acrobat Professional packages for handling PDF files. With it, software users could send print jobs to FedEx Kinko's print centers.

The move didn't sit well with other printing establishments, though, many of which rely on Adobe fonts, software and file formats for their businesses and didn't welcome the San Jose, Calif.-based company promoting one of their competitors.

For example, Joseph Truncale, chief executive of the National Association of Printing Leadership, and Steve Johnson, CEO of the National Association of Quick Printers, stated their objections in a letter to Chizen.

"We fully understand Adobe's wish to make document production as efficient as possible...However, by aligning with only one provider as a means of offering these efficiencies, Adobe has, in our view, provided an unfair competitive advantage to FedEx Kinko's," they said in the letter.

Adobe's actions hurt partners who directly helped Adobe accomplish its business ends, they added. "The advantage gained by FedEx Kinko's through this agreement with Adobe comes at the expense of the many other printers--including many of our members--who have played such a pivotal role in establishing Adobe as the de facto standard among many end users for reading documents and printing file submission," the letter said.

Loiacono said Adobe learned from its missteps--first in using a "flawed" process to evaluate the FedEx Kinko's deal, then in the company's response to the resulting wrath.

Loiacono's didn't suggest it will be easy to find a "win-win" solution--I'm guessing that a new contract with Kinko's is just one of the challenges. Meanwhile, at least some affected parties remain incensed.

"Count Kahne Printing as another business Adobe has lost until the Kinko's link is removed," said Miahcel Kahny, an employee at the company. "Don't muddy the waters with talk of added features or future partnerships. You have a simple singular 'next step': remove the link."

With Acrobat 8.1 installed, a new tab appears in Word 2007.

Adobe Acrobat 8, which shipped two months before the January release of Windows Vista, can now run on Vista and Citrix 64-bit systems. Acrobat and Reader version 8.1 enhancements will download with Adobe update notifications and can be found at Adobe's Web site.

There's also new integration with Microsoft Office 2007, such as the capability to create a PDF file by right-clicking the mouse from within supported applications. Microsoft Outlook 2007 can now preview multipage PDF files within e-mail messages, just as it already displays Office documents. And Mac users will be able to view Flash movies within Adobe Acrobat and Reader 8.1 instead of using QuickTime.

In addition, a "Send to FedEx Kinko's" button for remote printing is being added to Acrobat Reader 8.1 this month. This feature would allow, say, a business traveler en route from the airport to a client meeting to send a PDF file to Kinko's while waiting at baggage claim, and then pick up the printed pages at the shop nearest the destination.

The file menu in Reader 8.1 has a Kinko's printing option.

Hopefully Adobe's updates will fix some bugs and make the software run more smoothly. Acrobat Reader may display some lovely looking documents, but opening the program can still be a clunky and intrusive interruption to Web surfing.