Assignment 1: Information Literacy

Danielle Freeman

1

Article Title: Adobe Releases Security Updates for Acrobat, Reader
Abode recently released new security updates for Reader and Acrobat. This new security
version addresses several deficits in the previous versions; Reader and Acrobat X 10.1.11 and
Reader and Acrobat XI 11.0.08. These security updates have been released for Windows and
Mac operating systems. The new updates can be accessed through the current versions of Reader
and Acrobat by checking for updates and applying them to your current one. The update was
needed due to several vulnerabilities that would allow the hacker or attacker to act as the user
once that user downloads a harmful file.
TRAAP:
1. The article was written August 12, 2014. It does not appear to have been updated.
2. The article relates to the topic of the original article but I think it was geared more
towards hackers or people who are more knowledgeable about operating systems and
vulnerabilities.
3. The article was created by Mohit Kumar, a researcher at Accenture Technology Labs. He
is qualified to write on this topic because he works as a researcher of technology and the
various issues it faces, such as security.
4. The information provided by Kumar appears trustworthy, although it seems to be geared
towards a different type of crowd of technological users. I dont think this article would
be accurate for a normal user of technology. The information is supported by evidence.
Kumar discusses the issues in the previous versions and how they affect the user. The
solutions were not tested for accuracy by Kumar.
5. The purpose of this article was to inform users of Reader and Acrobat to update their
versions to avoid an attacker from possibly hacking the operating system.
Sources from CCBC databases:
The two sources I found from the CCBC library databases were from the same one.
Article one entitled Microsoft, Adobe Patch Critical Vulnerabilities in Security Updates specific
updates that will better the systems. The second article, Abode Updates Flash Player and Air,
discusses similar content. The keywords I used to find both articles were adobe security
update. Both articles were found on the Business Source Premier database. I think this was a
good source because the database focuses on business issues and how the potential threats of the
previous Reader and Acrobat versions.
To compare the internet and journal articles one must first look at content. One of the
internet articles, which were geared towards hackers, had more information for that specific
group. It had official names of the vulnerabilities and how the attacker could take over the users
personal computer. If the attacker succeeded, then the user would lose important information, or
whatever was stored on that computer. The article that was created by Larry Seltzer was a
Assignment 1: Information Literacy
Danielle Freeman

2

general article telling users that new security updates were available. It touched briefly on the
vulnerabilities but did not go into much detail. The internet articles were easier to access than the
journal articles.
The journal articles on the other hand went into much detail. It discussed how the
attacker(s) would infiltrate the users computer and by which it was done. It discussed all the
vulnerabilities and how the update fixed those problems. One of the journal articles discussed the
passwords, encryptions, and how to bypass any technical issues when downloading the security
updates. It also urged users to download the security updates as soon as possible to avoid an
attacker assuming the identity of the user. The internet articles were released and then updated
accordingly, but the journal articles had more relevance and authority. I would trust the
information coming from these articles versus the internet articles. With todays growing internet
prowess, any person with a computer can post or create an article about anything, including
security updates.

Assignment 1: Information Literacy
Danielle Freeman

3

BI BLI OGRAPHY (MLA)
1. Jacobi, Jon L. "Adobe Updates Flash Player and Air." PC World 32.5 (n.d.): 38-
39. Business Source Premier. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
2. Prince, Brian. "Microsoft, Adobe Patch Critical Vulnerabilities in Security
Updates." EWeek (2014): n. pag. Business Source Premier. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
3. Kumar, Mohit. "Adobe Releases Critical Security Updates for Flash Player, Acrobat and
Adobe Reader." The Hacker News. N.p., 12 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.hackernews.com/>.
4. Seltzer, Larry. "Adobe Releases Security Updates for Acrobat, Reader."ZDNet. Zero
Day, 16 Sept. 2014. Web. 16 Sept. 2014. <http://www.zdnet.com/>.
5. Forshaw, James, Wei Lei, Tom Ferris, Frans Rosen, and Wu Hungjun. "Security Updates
for Adobe Reader and Acrobat." Adobe Security Bulletin. Adobe Official, 16 Sept. 2014.
Web. 16 Sept. 2014. <http://www.adobe.com/>.