Experts have therefore been advising users to constantly keep their Adobe Reader up-to-date for quite some time in order to prevent the program from becoming a dangerous gateway that malware can use to work its way onto Windows systems. The long-term examination carried out by AV-TEST, which took place over a period of more than ten years, not only confirms this expert advice, but also clearly shows that Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash and Java are together responsible for two thirds of the vulnerabilities in Windows systems exploited by malware.

Jun 30, 2015 - Information about running Adobe Creative Suite CS on macOS with Adobe's Java Runtime Edition (RE) v6 requirements.

Users who rarely update their software and use insufficient security software have virtually no chance when faced with specially prepared malware. How Exploits Attack Software Vulnerabilities 1.

During a user’s visit to a website, the site in question attempts to access the version number of the user’s software, for example Adobe Reader, in the background. Users can prevent the attack at this early stage by using secure protection software. If a user's PC is poorly protected, however, the server sends the exploit that corresponds to the software version in question to the system. Vlookup excel for mac. If the vulnerability has not been repaired before this stage, the malware is able use the weakness to sneak its way onto the system. Exploits: Vulnerability Invaders The moment they become aware of a security vulnerability in software, attackers immediately develop malware known as exploits, which are specifically designed to make use of these weaknesses. These exploits then attempt to use the vulnerability as an access point in order to invade the Windows system.

Most of these attacks occur over the Internet and target the user's browser while they are surfing the net. Infected e-mails are also used as a second entrance point. When exploits attack users' browsers, they do so with a high level of precision. Websites use the browser to access the user's system details, for example the versions of Windows, Java, Flash or other software that are currently being used. If they recognise a known susceptible version of such software, they load the corresponding exploit version and send it to attack the user’s system via drive-by download. Users who have not installed a good, secure protection software won’t even notice the exploit as it makes its way onto their system.

Java and Flash as Partners in Crime The analysis carried out by AV-TEST on the 25 largest attacks reveals that Adobe Reader is the most susceptible software to exploit attacks with a total of nearly 37,000 different exploits recorded, immediately followed by the first version of Java with over 31,000 different types of exploit. The third program in the AV-TEST ranking is Adobe Flash, for which over 20,000 specially produced attackers were recorded. Adding together all of the attackers that are currently threatening the different versions of Java results in an overall total of over 82,000 attackers, thus making Java the top vulnerability for exploit attacks.