ml> the problem, though, is that those old versions have security holes so   
    ml> large that you can fly a squadron of F-86's thru them... things like   
    ml> javascript execution and bugs in the rendering engine that allow   
    ml> malformed documents to be loaded and overrun the buffers which then lead   
    ml> to code execution that you have no visual indication is even taking   
    ml> place...   
      
    JP>    I posted just now, that I D/L'd a new reader. I wonder if it is   
    JP> also subject to invasions ?   
      
   i don't know... i only know that adobe stuff has a lot of holes and has had   
   some of them for years... flash and pdf are both used as infiltration   
   mechanisms with pdf being much more common...   
      
   i know that in the IDS/IPS stuff i work with, we are always looking inside pdf   
   files for critters and their code... have you ever gotten a surprising "spam"   
   from fedex or ups in your email? many of those were carrying pdfs full of   
   critters... what they do is carry the critter code that checks what adobe,   
   java and a few other packages you have installed... they already know what   
   holes they are looking for so the critter then hits the 'net at their special   
   site with a url that tells them what apps you have... they then serve up the   
   critters that drive thru the holes in those apps and infect you with one or   
   more of their own tools... once that's done, they have control over your   
   machine and can update their tools or use your machine in their botnets or   
   even just wait in their tools to send them the info on your activities and the   
   keylogger data they record as you log into your accounts and access your bank   
   accounts...   
      
   the above can also happen just by viewing an advertisement on some clean and   
   legitimate site if they are lucky enough to get an ad campaign running on an   
   advertising network without it being vetted or looked at too closely... this   
   happened in the last months and sites like abc.com, nfl.com, nbc.com and other   
   really huge brand name sites were displaying these ads and infesting many of   
   their users... i remember the huge flurry of activity as we moved to catch   
   these attacks and get the ads pulled from the advertising network's servers...   
      
   )\/(ark   
      
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