Security firm warns of PDF flaws... in a PDF

INSECURITY OUTFIT Avast Software is warning people to be aware of the risks associated with reading PDFs using Adobe Reader. Unfortunately for it, and possibly recipients of its warning, it has sent its warning out in a PDF file.

"Malware wrapped in a PDF format is getting a lot of media attention," the firm said in a PR release to journalists.

"Many of these attacks are made possible by computer users with outdated software. Recent research by the AVAST Virus Lab has discovered that 6 out of every 10 avast! users are running outdated versions of Adobe Reader, leaving them more vulnerable to an array of Adobe-targeting malware. Here is your link to the release."

There then follows, rather unfortunately, a link to a PDF document, which none of us was particularly confident about clicking on.

As we did we learned that, "AVAST Software researchers have discovered that six out of every ten users of Adobe Reader are running unpatched versions of the program, leaving them vulnerable to a variety of malware attacks."

This is fair enough, but it is a little bit like being taken around a city on a guided tour and arriving at a destination, then being asked to put your wallet on a table and tie your knees together before being told, "This is one of the most dangerous postcodes on the planet." µ