June 10 - 9:15am EDT   In keeping with a scheduled plan, Adobe has released the first of its quarterly patch collections for Reader and Acrobat. Both programs have been upgraded to v9.1.2, addressing "critical vulnerabilities" which could trigger a crash and allow hackers to assume control of a computer. Mac and Windows editions are equally affected. [full story]

May 21 - 11:15am EDT   Adobe will be adopting a quarterly patch cycle, at least with regard to Reader and Acrobat, explains the company's security and privacy director, Brad Arkin. Patches for the PDF tools should now be released every three months, and on the second Tuesday of said month. The timing is meant to coincide with Microsoft's famous "Patch Tuesdays," Arkin notes, thereby giving IT workers an opportunity to test updates from both companies before propagating them across a network. [full story]

March 11 - 10:55am EDT   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. [full story]

February 20 - 1:45pm EST   Several versions of Adobe's Reader and Acrobat utilities are presently exposed to a "critical" security vulnerability, the company writes. In a special alert, Adobe notes that the vulnerability -- the details of which are not being made public -- could be used to cause one of its applications to crash, and in turn gain control of a targeted computer. Some hackers may already be exploiting the flaw, Adobe says. [full story]

December 3 - 5:45pm EST   Callas software has released pdfToolbox 4 and pdfToolbox Server 4, the latest version of its PDF preflighting and automated correction tools. The updates are fully compliant with the latest Ghent PDF Workgroup standards. The server version can be used for fully-automated PDF correction, page manipulation, presentation preparation or imposition. The standard Adobe Acrobat plug-in version features enhanced metadata functionality, allowing the embedded information to be exported for creating custom reports in XML or tab delimited formats. [full story]

June 25 - 10:20am EDT   Adobe has released Acrobat 9, the latest version of its PDF document tool. Updates to the software primarily revolve around Flash support, as users can now insert videos and applications built with the technology directly into a document. Users can also however take advantage of a new PDF Portfolios option, which gathers multiple filetypes, including audio and 3D objects, into a compressed PDF file using custom or preset layouts. [full story]

June 25 - 2:25am EDT  Adobe on Monday released patches for Acrobat and its free Reader equivalent to fix a security hole that could leave Mac and Windows computers susceptible to control at the hands of a malicious remote user. Computerworld writes that the "critical" vulnerability has existed in several incarnations of the v8.x.x Acrobat software, but does not apply to users of Acrobat 7.1.0. The patch comes after criticism over Adobe's vague mention of vulnerability fixes in a recent update, as several past JavaScript bugs resurfaced, leaving many users affected. [full story]

June 2 - 12:00pm EDT   Adobe has announced Acrobat 9, a forthcoming version of its PDF creation and distribution tool. The update concentrates on Flash support, and will let users insert Flash videos and applications directly into PDF documents; Adobe's dedicated Flash Player may be required to view the results. Adobe is also introducing its PDF Portfolios feature, which will let users gather multiple filetypes -- including audio, video and 3D objects -- together into one compressed PDF file, with custom or preset layouts. [full story]

May 20 - 10:20am EDT   Adobe has launched a new online service, Acrobat Connect Pro. The platform is intended as a tool for professional web conferencing and teaching, and is primarily Flash-based, requiring no extra software and making it platform-independent. Hosts can delegate roles such as presenters, and the service supports not just slides and text chat but streaming audio and video, as well as software simulations. [full story]

March 4 - 11:35am EST   Print specialist Apago has announced ONEticket 3.0, the next iteration of software formerly known as Acrosuite PRO. A set of plug-ins for Adobe Acrobat, ONEticket helps manage commercial printers, including those from the likes of Canon, Kodak, IKON and Océ. One major upgrade since AcrosuitePRO 2.6 is the addition of tray mapping; this lets print shops define paper exceptions, in theory making it easier to work with different printers. A given example is mapping paper to both a printer that supports paper catalogs and one equipped with paper drawers. [full story]