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I know many have been problems with updating Adobe Acrobat using the new ARM updater on Windows Vista and Windows 7 (both 32-bit and 64-bit) versions. The Adobe’s online knowledge base article (http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/852/cpsid_85258.html) that you are directed to after the update fails has no mention of this error code and there is absolutely no solution or acknowledgement there leaving many feeling frustrated and confused.

The error (as seen here) states that the “installation is forbidden by system policy” which is a very inaccurate and unhelpful notice because many people are on single user systems with no policy and are also the administrator, so what’s going on here?

The problem is that the updater runs as a regular application without Administrator privileges (doesn’t matter that you are an administrator) and that’s what’s causing the problem when it tries to access the path of the installer and also the system information. The solution is fairly simple, however annoying it might be.

FOR ADVANCED USERS (if you are a beginner or need a visual guide, read on):

1. Run the command line as administrator

2. Type: "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe" /PRODUCT:Acrobat /VERSION:9.0 /MODE:1

3. Press [ENTER] and then you will see the application start up and run as it should and the installation will continue and work just fine

FOR BEGINNERS AND ALL WHO NEED A VISUAL STEP BY STEP GUIDE

1. Click on the [Start Button]

2. Begin typing: Command Prompt and you will see the command prompt shortcut show up on the menu (as seen here)

3. DO NOT CLICK or PRESS ENTER, Instead Right-Click and Choose “Run as Administrator” and when prompted click on [YES]

4. When your command prompt window opens up, it is key that you check on the top right and make sure the title states “Administrator:Command Prompt” (as seen here – NOTE: your text color may be different, that’s not a problem)

5. Now copy this exact command line text without the brackets

["C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe" /PRODUCT:Acrobat /VERSION:9.0 /MODE:1]

6. Now click on the top left icon of the command prompt, select [EDIT] and then click on [PASTE] (as seen here)

7. Once the command line you copied earlier is placed into the command prompt window, then simply press [ENTER] and sit back and watch it open up and download and install just fine without any further issue.

My hope is that in the future Adobe will fix this asinine and rookie mistake so it doesn’t happen again and people don’t have to go through so many steps to fix it, but if it continues to happen in the future, now you have a solution that will ALWAYS work. Good luck and enjoy.

For all who are using Intuit’s TurboTax 2009 who are having trouble when it comes to connecting to the internet to pay either the Audit Defense or for your e-Files to be charged to your credit card as seen below:

You are getting the following error screen when clicking on [Continue] :

I am sure you have searched the web with many stating they have this problem and everyone, including Intuit, is telling people to simply close and restart the application because they believe you left it open too long and it has expired. This is NOT true and has nothing to do with how long you have left it open, in fact it has a very easy fix.

1. Go to [Control Panel | Internet Options],
2. Click on the [Privacy] tab,
3. Make sure you drop it to at least [High], as seen below:

Once you have done this, click [Apply] and you are set to go. Just make sure you have internet access and then go back to TurboTax and try again, it will now work successfully without any further problems.

[Technical Details for the Interested] – Since TurboTax is basically an extensive web application being run inside a windows GUI using the IE container control, it needs access to its cookie storage to properly set and process your interactions with their website. This is why when you have Privacy settings set to do not allow cookies, you will get this problem. Also if you have firewall, make sure you give the program full access, both incoming and outgoing connections via TCP. For users on Windows Vista and up, including 7, who have to deal with UAC (User Access Control), please run the application as administrator so the updates are successfully integrated. You can modify the shortcut by right-clicking and choosing [Properties] and then select the [Compatibility] tab and then select at the bottom [Run as Administrator] and click [Apply] and you are good to go from then. Simply run the application and say yes to its UAC prompt and you can enjoy worry free usage.

Mozilla is working on a fix for a "highly critical" vulnerability in is Firefox browser.

The vulnerability, which puts users at risk of remote code execution attacks, affects Firefox 3.5, but other versions may also be at risk.

Mozilla said an attacker can exploit the vulnerability by luring Firefox users to a malicious web page containing the exploit code.

The security hole is due to an error in the way JavaScript code is processed, according to the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT).

"Exploitation of this vulnerability may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code. Additionally, exploit code is publicly available for this vulnerability," US-CERT warned.

Proof-of-concept exploit code was posted on Milw0rm.com, an exploit code aggregation site.

US-CERT said Firefox users should disable JavaScript. The organisation has also posted instructions on other ways of mitigating the risk until a fix is released.

Link

Microsoft has intensified competition with Google by announcing a free web-based version of its Office software.

Office 2010 will include stripped-down versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote in a strong response to competition from Google Apps.

Investors responded positively to Microsoft’s move, sending shares almost 3.8% higher to close at $23.23, according to the BBC.

The announcement comes less than a week after Google announced it was developing a free operating system, challenging Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

Google’s Chrome OS announcement came just weeks after Microsoft launched its Bing search engine, which is designed to challenge Google in the search arena.

Both companies are investing in online development in response to user demands for powerful web-based collaboration applications that are reliable.

Giving millions of Windows Live users free access to the Office web applications could put $4bn in revenue at risk, according to The Wall Street Journal.

But analysts say the move is a smart one to keep as many people as possible using Microsoft applications and is probably worth the risk.

The move is also unlikely to affect Microsoft’s overall business as the firm makes most of its money from business users of its productivity software.

Microsoft said it will experiment with placing advertising on the online applications before making them available, according to the Financial Times.

Microsoft plans an early release of web applications to thousands of testers later this year, followed by a public beta at the end of the year and a full release in early 2010.

Link

Google’s announcement that it is working on a lightweight operating system is as much about marketing as it is about technology.

After all, the technology is hardly new: at the heart of Google’s Chrome OS lies the Linux kernel; on top of that is Google’s existing Chrome browser, running in a new windowing system.  But to this lash-up of mostly pre-existing code, Google brings one, invaluable extra: its brand.

Google’s name means that people won’t need to think twice before buying first netbooks and, later, entry-level PCs, running Chrome OS; they won’t need to worry about whether it will be compatible with their files or easy to use.

They will just assume that Google has sorted everything out, because they trust the brand.  Some, of course, will be disappointed with details, but the majority will be content with the simplicity of the solution.  Google will be aided in this shift because the basic environment in which everything is run is the browser – and anyone can use a browser.

But the long-term consequences of this move are much greater than this relative ease might suggest.  With its Chrome OS, Google will make the operating system not just invisible, but irrelevant: the browser becomes the platform.

Netscape tried this a decade ago and failed; Google might succeed because of two important shifts in computing that it has been driving for a while, and which Chrome OS both depends on and will help propagate even more widely.

The first is cloud computing.  Already, Google can meet almost all the needs of average users through Web apps like Gmail and Google Docs; others are doubtless under development.  Low-cost and easy-to-use Chrome OS netbooks and PCs will offer people more reasons to move their computing into the cloud – and help Google to make more money from the ads they will encounter there.

The second shift is free software, which is now sufficiently mature that Google can use it to do most of the heavy lifting, and without trying to become a full-on operating system company.

The potential loser here is clearly Microsoft, which faces an invasion of its desktop heartland by a challenger that is already well known and totally dominant online.  Its loss of market share is unlikely to be dramatic, especially at the high end, but will add to the continuing erosion of Microsoft’s power and profits.

Apple, by contrast, will probably be little affected, because brand loyalty is higher – people love their Mac desktops in a way that Windows users do not.

In the world of GNU/Linux, distributions like Ubuntu that are aimed at the general user will find that they have to compete against the powerful Google brand, so life may well get harder for them.

But in one sense, whether it’s an existing distro or Chrome OS that achieves a greater market share among general users is irrelevant: either way, Google’s latest move is likely to provide a significant boost for open source on the desktop once Chrome OS moves from its current state of vapourware to the inevitable semi-eternal beta.

Link