A pdf file doesnt have any special permissions or anything so i cant think of any way that itd be able to
is viewing a pdf file in chrome completly safe?
how does editing a word document leave you more vulnerable than if you were just viewing it?
In: 4927
There are many ways.
1st is say a pdf file that isn’t actually a pdf file and the user clicks on it and it is actually some kind of executable.
2nd is using PDf functionality. Generally people think of PDF as just a static document. But it can contain JavaScript, or other stuff that can be used to attack a user. Eg an innocuous link in a pdf may point to some web based malware. Or some malicious JavaScript can be executed.
3rd is actually targeting vulnerabilities in the PDF renderer (the program you use to view the PDF). The PDF specification is very complex and if there is a bug in the program for example in the way it displays certain image formats, a specially crafted PDF can be used to try and trigger that bug and execute malicious software.
Of course, because of the ubiquitous nature of PDFs the vulnerabilities will depend on many factors – the browser you use, the program you use to view the PDF, you security settings, your OS etc.
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