This is a followup to my previous posting How to Install Adobe Reader X Safely on Mac OS X. The step for disabling JavaScript is virtually identical for Windows. The frustration for me when trying to install Reader X for Windows was finding a download link for just Reader without any additional baggage. When I visited the download link using Internet Explorer the installer wanted to install the Google Toolbar and Adobe Air. There was an option to skip Google Toolbar but not Adobe Air. The installation also wanted me to install a Adobe DLM Active X control — exit from there. I then tried to download via FireFox. The experience was similar except that this time the bundle program was McAfee Security Scan Plus. Instead of an Active X control it wanted to install Adobe DLM plug-in. Once again, it was not something I wanted. I just want to install Adobe Reader — exit from there. So it appeared that if I wanted to install Adobe Reader, I would also have to install Adobe Air (don’t need it) and Adobe DLM (don’t know what that is). Adobe DLM is “Adobe Download Manager“. It is a way for them to control the download and install process from inside the web browser.
The solution is to use a different operating system and choose the “Different Language or Operating System” option to grab the direct download link. The file is 36.8 MB. Presumably this process would work for Flash download as well.
http://ardownload.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/10.x/10.0.0/en_US/AdbeRdr1000_en_US.exe
Once you download the installer, you can install it like normal software. The default installation location is fine. You can delete the installer file after the installation is complete and you have rebooted your computer. Yes — you have to reboot your computer to install a simple PDF view. I guess it is not so simple anymore.
