High Usage Warnings - John Dunn, Consultant, Ambertec, P.E., P.C.

Just for reference, this PC is a Hewlett-Packard, dual-core machine running 32-bit Windows Vista.

Some while ago, I updated my Adobe Reader 9 to Adobe Reader X. ( I guess the "X" is a Roman numeral. )

I let the update process commence but when it finished, there was an on-screen message that an error had occurred. I looked at the Desktop and the new Adobe icon was there with the new and proper nomenclature and the application itself seemed to be working okay so I just shrugged off the warning.

Over the next few weeks though, this PC began to freeze up for tens of seconds at a time, over and over again and sometimes it would just plain freeze up altogether. I got all kinds of "High Disk usage" and "High CPU usage" warnings from Norton, warnings like these:     

 

Since re-doing the Adobe Reader X installation from scratch, the freeze-ups and the high usage warning messages have both stopped.

I do not know why all of this seems to have happened, but I am not going to look this gift horse in the mouth.

Comments

[John Dunn]

With passing time, these warnings and interruptions have returned although they're not as frequent as they once were.

Can anyone offer a suggestion for how to deal with this?

Thank you.

[Howard Edelman, Edelman Business Systems, LICN]

Today, since Adobe Acrobat Reader is on just about everyone's pc, it has become an attack point for hackers. When a weakness is discovered in it, the hackers will create an exploit to use it to gain access to your computer. An example would be a specially formed .pdf file attached to an interesting email. You try to open it and your Reader is unpatched (still has the vulnerability) - now the hacker has their way into your pc!

As a result, we need to be careful that the downloaded Adobe Acrobat Reader came from Adobe. Make sure you get the updates from Adobe. Make sure you have the latest version and latest updates installed.

If not your pc may have been invaded by the hackers, in which case you may either be able to use good current versions of up to date Anti Malware software to remove it. Sometimes you may need their special removal tools. If it is too hard to detect or remove you may have to redo your hard disk and Windows installation from scratch.

Again, always be sure that your tools come from reputable, known sources.

[Mary Winch]

Hi John,

I believe Adobe Reader is still 9 or at last update 9.5. I purchased Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro several years ago and have been receiving messages to update the PDF writer to version X, but have not as it's too expensive.

Check with Adobe for latest version of Adobe Reader - as Howard says you may have been hacked.

I also purchased Nuance PDF converter at a much lower price than Adobe Pro - from Newegg. This writes and converts PDF files.

I'm using Avast free SuperAntiSpyware and two other free programs - my new Gateway came with Norton (which I removed) and a 6 month free CA Security system - that I downloaded.

Mary.

[Clayton Kreiger]

You have your pc checked. Or better yet, reformat it. Or maybe you need additional ram or processing power.