84,488,480 programs installed

Should I remove Adobe Reader?

What percent of users and experts removed it?
9% remove it91% keep it
Overall Sentiment
Good
What do people think about it?
(click star to rate)
How common is it?
Global Rank #4,622
United States Rank #3,014
Reach 0.1134%
Lifespan of installation (until removal)
< 550.87 days
1296.32 days >
Average installed length: 681.12 days

Versions

VersionDistribution
8.3.1 100.00%

Other programs by Adobe Systems

Adobe Reader 8.3.1

What is Adobe Reader?

Adobe Acrobat and Reader are a set of applications designed to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format (PDF). Acrobat and Reader are widely used as a method of presenting information with a fixed layout similar to a paper publication. Adobe also allows Acrobat plug-ins to be developed by third parties, which can add extra functions to the Acrobat program.

About  (from Adobe Systems)

Adobe Reader allows more securely view, print, search, sign, verify, and collaborate on PDF documents, online as well as offline, from your home or office. Reader has a completely redesigned interface, new tools, and new options for viewing information more efficiently. Access to an online, real-time meeting in seconds...  Read more

Overview

Upon installation and setup, it defines an auto-start registry entry which makes this program run on each Windows boot for all user logins. A scheduled task is added to Windows Task Scheduler in order to launch the program at various scheduled times (the schedule varies depending on the version). The software is designed to connect to the Internet and adds a Windows Firewall exception in order to do so without being interfered with. The main program executable is adobearm.exe. It also adds an icon to the Windows notifications area in order to provide access to the program. The software installer includes 58 files and is usually about 4.07 MB (4,272,128 bytes). adobeupdater.dll is the automatic update component of the software designed to download and apply new updates should new versions be released.

Program detailsProgram details

URL: www.adobe.com
Help link: www.adobe.com/support/main.html
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 8.0\Reader\
Uninstaller: MsiExec.exe /I{AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A83000000003}
(The Windows Installer is used for the installation, maintenance, and removal.)
Estimated size: 4.07 MB
Language: English (United States)

Program filesFiles installed by Adobe Reader 8.3.1

Program executable:adobearm.exe
Name:Adobe Reader and Acrobat Manager
Signed by:Adobe Systems
Path:C:\Program Files\common files\adobe\arm\1.0\adobearm.exe
MD5:3cb07566302bceeb898de270a0bec175
Taskbar:Displays an icon in the notification area
AdobeARM.exe is a part of new Adobe Acrobat\Reader updater. The Updater is responsible for checking for, downloading, and launching the update installer for Reader or Acrobat. The Updater primarily keeps itself up to date and downloads and...
Additional files:
  • pdfprevhndlrshim.exe - Adobe PDF Preview Handler Helper Application
  • rt3d.dll - 3D Runtime Dynamic Link Library (3D Runtime)
  • ahclient.dll - AdobeHelp Dynamic Link Library (Adobe Help Client Library)
  • pdfprevhndlr.dll - Adobe PDF Preview Handler
  • adobelinguistic.dll - Adobe Linguisitc Library (Linguistic Library)
  • adobeupdater.dll - Adobe Updater Library
  • acrordif.dll - Adobe PDF IFilter (PDF IFilter)
  • adobeupdatecheck.exe - AdobeUpdateCheck (Adobe Update Check 8.3)
  • adobe_eula.dll - Adobe EPIC EULA (Adobe EPIC EULA DLL)
  • axe8sharedexpat.dll - AXE8SharedExpat (AXE Shared EXPAT (UTF-8 native))
  • acrofx32.dll - Adobe Acrobat (Lotus Notes Field Exchange Module for Adobe Acrobat)
  • reader_sl.exe - Adobe Acrobat SpeedLauncher
  • acrord32.dll - Adobe Reader (Adobe Reader 8.3)
  • acrord32.exe
  • acrord32info.exe
  • adobe_epic.dll - Adobe EPIC (Adobe EPIC DLL)
  • bibutils.dll - BIBUtils (Bravo Interface Binder Utilities)
  • cooltype.dll - CoolType (CoolType Typography Engine)
  • jp2klib.dll - JP2KLib (JPEG2000 Core Library)
  • axsle.dll - AXSLE (Adobe XSLT Engine)
  • ace.dll - ACE (Adobe Color Engine)
  • agm.dll - AGM (Adobe Graphics Manager)
  • bib.dll - BIB (Bravo Interface Binder)
  • adobecollabsync.exe - Adobe Collaboration Synchronizer 8.3
  • svgrsrc.dll - Adobe SVG Viewer (SVG Viewer Core 6.0 Resources)
  • nppdf32.dll - Adobe PDF Plug-In For Firefox and Netscape 8.3.1
  • svgcore.dll - SVGCore (SVGCore 6.0)

Program behaviorsBehaviors exhibited

Google Chrome Plugin
  • nppdf32.dll is loaded in the Google Chrome web browser as 'nppdf32.dll'.
Mozilla Plugin
  • nppdf32.dll is loaded into Mozilla Firefox under the product name 'Adobe Reader Plugin for Firefox'.
3 Scheduled Tasks
  • adobearm.exe is scheduled as a task named 'Adobe Reader and Acrobat Manager' (runs weekly on Mondays at 10:00 AM).
  • acrord32.exe is scheduled as a task with the class '{05B076E2-CEE1-4B4D-88D6-D2743BDA1823}' (runs on registration).
  • reader_sl.exe is scheduled as a task named 'Adobe Reader Speed Launcher'.
2 Scheduled Tasks (Boot/Login)
  • reader_sl.exe is automatically launched at startup through a scheduled task named Adobe Reader Speed Launcher.
  • adobearm.exe is automatically launched at startup through a scheduled task named Adobe ARM.
Startup File (User Run)
  • adobecollabsync.exe is loaded in the current user (HKCU) registry as an auto-starting executable named 'Adobe Reader Synchronizer' and executes as "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 10.0\Reader\AdobeCollabSync.exe".
2 Startup Files (All Users Run)
  • adobearm.exe is loaded in the all users (HKLM) registry as a startup file name 'Adobe ARM' which loads as "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe".
  • reader_sl.exe is loaded in the all users (HKLM) registry as a startup file name 'Adobe Reader Speed Launcher' which loads as "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 8.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe".
Windows Firewall Allowed Program
  • acrord32.exe is added as a firewall exception for 'C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\AcroRd32.exe'.

Program resource utilizationResource utilization averages

adobearm.exe
Memory:4.47 MB
21.09 MB average
Total CPU:0.0086783630%
0.031193% average
Kernel CPU:0.00489407%
0.016088% average
User CPU:0.00378429%
0.015104% average
CPU cycles/sec:638,512
8,062,084 average
Switches/sec:1
70 average
I/O reads/min:136.66 KB
435.61 KB average
I/O writes/min:2.28 KB
105.02 KB average
acrord32.exe
Memory:67.47 MB
Total CPU:0.0009657750%
Kernel CPU:0.00031475%
User CPU:0.00065102%
Switches/sec:124

How do I remove Adobe Reader?

You can uninstall Adobe Reader from your computer by using the Add/Remove Program feature in the Window's Control Panel.
  1. On the Start menu (for Windows 8, right-click the screen's bottom-left corner), click Control Panel, and then, under Programs, do one of the following:
    • Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall a Program.
    • Windows XP: Click Add or Remove Programs.
  2. When you find the program Adobe Reader 8.3.1, click it, and then do one of the following:
    • Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall.
    • Windows XP: Click the Remove or Change/Remove tab (to the right of the program).
  3. Follow the prompts. A progress bar shows you how long it will take to remove Adobe Reader.

How do I reset my web browser?

If your web browser homepage and search settings have been modfied by Adobe Reader 8.3.1 you can restore them to their previous default settings.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox
Google Chrome

OS VERSIONS
Win Vista (SP2) 61%
Win Server 2003 0%
 
HOW IT STARTS
Automatically starts? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
 
USER ACTIONS
Uninstall it 9%
Keep it 91%

Windows OS versionsWindows

Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
Windows Vista 65.03%
Windows XP 22.27%
Windows 7 11.40%
Windows 10 1.12%
Windows Server 2003 0.18%
Which OS releases does it run on?
Windows Vista Home Premiu... 53.74%
Microsoft Windows XP 21.74%
Windows Vista Home Basic 8.67%
Windows 7 Home Premium 5.86%
Windows 7 Ultimate 3.50%
Windows Vista Business 1.77%

Distribution by countryGeography

70.74% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
  United States 70.74%
  United Kingdom 6.52%
  Canada 4.09%
  Australia 2.20%
  Israel 1.45%
  Germany 1.07%
  France 0.91%
  India 0.85%
  Italy 0.76%
  Netherlands 0.60%
  Belgium 0.57%
  South Africa 0.47%
  Romania 0.44%
  Spain 0.44%

OEM distributionPC manufacturers

What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
Hewlett-Packard 32.48%
Dell 22.55%
Toshiba 15.75%
Acer 11.90%
Gateway 5.56%
Intel 3.73%
GIGABYTE 3.01%
American Megatrends 2.03%
Sahara 1.76%
Samsung 0.72%
ASUS 0.52%
Common models
Dell Inspiron 530 6.34%
HP Pavilion dv6700 Notebo... 4.69%
Dell Inspiron 1525 4.31%
TOSHIBA Satellite L305 3.80%
HP Pavilion dv9700 Notebo... 2.66%
TOSHIBA Satellite A305 2.41%

About Adobe Systems

Adobe Systems Incorporated is computer program company focused on the creation of multimedia & creativity program products, with a more-recent foray towards rich Net application program development.
Publisher URL: www.adobe.com

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