As promised in late February, Adobe has released updates to Acrobat 9 and Reader 9. Both of the PDF-related applications are now at v9.1, fixing a critical security vulnerability which -- after a crash was triggered -- would allow a hacker to gain control of a computer. The vulnerability remains intact in versions 7 and 8 of Acrobat and Reader, though separate patches are scheduled to be released by March 18th.

Part of the delay in addressing the vulnerability may be connected to a host of other fixes, for aspects such as 3D, forms, hosted services and digital signatures. Adobe has also implemented a new full-screen mode when using the portfolio preview window, and Keychain support for compatibility with smartcards and USB tokens. The programs lastly recognize a new US Postal Service barcode which began use in January.