PDF readers

ky beat me to the punch.

I don't believe there is any other way to toggle between pdf readers on the fly.

I have to wonder, however, if having Adobe Reader installed, but not as the default, poses any security risk.

Evermore,

go to your CONTROL PANEL, select FOLDER OPTIONS, then the FILE TYPES tab.

scroll down the list of file types, until you get to .PDF... highlight that line.

the lower half of that screen should give you the details for .pdf extension, indicating the program (adobe, sumatra, or foxit) that's your current default .pdf reader.

by clicking on CHANGE, you should be able to select a different one ---- hopefully, one from the "recommended" list.

be sure the box marked "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" is CHECKED.

then hit OK (as needed) until all the pop-up windows are closed.

Note:   If you use WinPatrol, and have instructed it to LOCK your file types, you'll get a warning from Scotty about the change... which you'll have to allow.

Joe,

while I can't answer that definitively (I would suspect it would remain a risk), we do have the "work-around" suggested by adobe, to

"Delete, rename, or remove access to authplay.dll to prevent running SWF content in PDF files", which should mitigate the issue.

I have renamed the file... meaning that any attempt by malware to locate/use it --- under that name --- will fail.

Keep in mind that doing so will result in Reader "crashing", should you attempt to open any .pdf file that uses Flash content (which would seem to be something rare, i'd hope).   but this "planned"/controlled crash is preferable to allowing malware to take-over your machine.

Thanks ky331 and joe53. I sure couldn't find a way to toggle between the two. I tried google but couldn't find the answer there. I sure appreciate the warning on the adobe security possiblity, I hadn't given that any thought.

authplay.dll is a version of Flash player that's used by Abobe Reader, in case a .pdf file contains Flash content.   I would suspect that would be rare... I've yet to encounter a .pdf file that invoked Flash.

So if you were to delete (or rename) that file: 

1) as long as Reader didn't try open a .pdf file with Flash content, you'd never notice any problems at all.   and

2)  in the (rare?) event that you used Reader to try to open a .pdf file containing Flash content, Reader would try to access authplay.dll  --- and then, upon not finding it, would "crash".   Emphasize this is a planned/"controlled" crash, which should not inflict any actual damage to your machine or files.    In contrast, if you leave authplay.dll  intact, and malware tried to open it, then Heaven knows what the malware could try to pull-off in terms of devastating your system.

Adobe is expected to release a new/updated version of Reader later this month.   Presumably, if you deleted authplay.dll now, the updated Reader would contain another copy of authplay.dll , and you'd be just fine.   However, in my paranoia, rather than deleting the file, I deemed it safer to rename it... to just about anything else.   I don't believe the malware writers are going to take the time to scan my drive to determine if i might have a renamed/disguised copy of authplay.dll (theoretically, they COULD do so with high probability, by looking at file characteristics, such as file size, and various "checksums" (which WON'T be changed by renaming the file).   But it's just not worth it for them to do so... if they don't find authplay.dll by that name, they will (most likely) assume it's not there.   anyway, by renaming rather than deleting, I then have the opportunity to rename it back in the future, when/if I'm ready.

ky331- You mention this:

"Delete, rename, or remove access to authplay.dll to prevent running SWF content in PDF files", which should mitigate the issue.  Will any harm be done if I delete this file? Does Adobe need file to funtion? Is there away I could just diaable the file for now until adobe updates the program. Does anyone have any comments on  "Sumattra PDF viewer". I'm thinking maybe I don't need the Adobe reader. I don't do anything fancy on the computer just routine applications. Thanks to you forum members , you keep me going.

Thanks ky331. As usual, a very in depth answer to a question and easy to understand.