Adobe Reader Alternatives
Everyone today knows what Adobe Reader is. If you don’t know, it is the most commonly used software to view PDF files. PDF stands for Portable Document format which is a standard created by Adobe in 1993 which is the most commonly used format today to share documents online. Adobe Reader and the PDF format is so popular because of its small file size, and the sheer amount of features you can do with it. In todays world, the PDF format is literally the defacto standard for many corporations and government agencies for providing documents over a network. In fact, most games, and other devices you buy today come with a user manual in the form of a pdf file.
PDF is a great format because of its overall popularity, ease of use, and small file size with extensible features. This however does come with a price. The most popular pdf viewer is Adobe’s own Adobe Reader, however, in recent months this piece of software has literally become the target of hackers wanting to attack the Adobe Reader application specifically to compromise users machines.
As noted by the recent Secunia Advisories related to the product. With that being said, some users out there may wish to reduce their exposure to these risks by using a pdf viewer other than Adobe Reader. I liken this to the adoption of Firefox a few years ago as a more secure alternative to Internet Explorer in some experts eyes.
The good news is that there are alternatives to Adobe Reader. Lets look at the alternatives to Adobe Reader.
1. Foxit Reader – Foxit Reader is a lightweight alternative to Adobe Reader. Its small download weighing in under 6MB compared to Adobe Reader 9 which is around 20+MB, Foxit Reader is a slim and fast alternative to Adobe Reader. The Foxit Reader includes a plug-in for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox so users can seamlessly open pdf documents inside their web browser just like they always have with Adobe Reader. Foxit Reader also comes with an optional toolbar for your browser, and various free add-ons. If you want Acrobat type functionality, and pdf printing capabilities you will have to pay for it, but the pricing is competitive to other offerings. The Foxit Reader Application offering is free to download and use.
2. PDF-Xchange Viewer – PDF-XChange Viewer is the other Adobe Reader Alternative. It is comparable to Foxit Reader, but is not as popular as Foxit. It allows users to read the popualr pdf files, and like Foxit Reader includes plug-ins for the popular web browsers. PDF-XChange also has a portable version of their pdf reader to make it easier then ever to use it. They also have ehanced functionality like Acrobat availabe for competitive prices as well. The PDF-Xchange Viewer is free to download and use.
These are both solid products and make great alternatives to Adobe Reader. so go ahead and download one of these and try them out if you want to switch your default pdf viewer. Happy Computing!
