Adobe announced that it is of Adobe Reader as a security control to guard against emerging threats. Of course, other applications have relied on sandboxing for some time, and alternative PDF reading software like and already have better security controls than the native Adobe application.

Malware developers are wily and are increasingly adept at luring gullible users to click on malicious links and open malicious files--often PDF files--by ripping headlines from major breaking news. A illustrates that the malware threat is bigger than ever and continuing to grow.

IT admins need to be aware of identified vulnerabilities--particularly in applications like Adobe Flash and Adobe Reader that exist on virtually every system regardless of operating system platform, and assess and implement critical security patches on a timely basis.