Changes to Adobe Reader

by Texjd
12 replies
Not sure if this is the right place to ask this question but I've noticed that when you open a PDF up in latest Adobe Reader (9?) and the PDF has affiliate links to Amazon it won't allow the link to work and states it's a security violation.

Regular links work fine, just affiliate links to Amazon are affected. Anybody notice this or know a work around? I just love it when some company decides to do this kind of crap. If I want protection from myself, I've already got the government to do that .
#adobe #reader
  • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
    What if you use URLs on your own domain instead of using an Amazon affiliate link?
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    • Profile picture of the author Texjd
      Yea, for future PDF's that will probably work but I have about 8 years worth floating out and around that will not produce anymore. Plus if there are a lot of links it's an extra step.

      I only get about a 5% conversion on clicks anyway so it's not really a big deal. Just another bump in the road. But they are big dollar items so when they do work it's a good amount of revenue.

      Guess I should just quit complaing and go update all the PDFs for future use. Probably not a bad thing to update many anyway. But I'd rather be fishing .

      Hopefully others will at list be aware of the change and take corrective action. I would have never noticed except I was making a new one and double checking the links.
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      • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
        It's worthwhile to have the links coming from your own website.

        For one thing, you can track them better.

        For another thing, if a product goes the way of the dodo, you can change your link to point to a notification page instead of the dead product link. You can say, sorry, but this product is no longer available; we recommend these alternatives...

        It's a little extra work upfront, but can save you time in the future, plus it enables you to keep old PDFs circulating out there somewhat current.
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  • Profile picture of the author weblink29
    If you promote a lot of affiliate links in pdfs you might want to use your own domain and use sub-domains to create each product link or use a php script on your server to load each product link.
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  • Profile picture of the author SteveJohnson
    I don't understand this - Acrobat Reader doesn't display the link, a web browser does that. Are you saying that there's actually a notice from within Reader that says the link is bad? Before a browser window ever opens?
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    • Profile picture of the author weblink29
      Originally Posted by SteveJohnson View Post

      I don't understand this - Acrobat Reader doesn't display the link, a web browser does that. Are you saying that there's actually a notice from within Reader that says the link is bad? Before a browser window ever opens?
      Hmmmm. When you click a link in adobe reader it passes the link to the default web browser. Adobe must have added security to scan the link before it passes it to the web browser and if it doesn't pass the test it doesn't send it to the web browser.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      Originally Posted by SteveJohnson View Post

      I don't understand this - Acrobat Reader doesn't display the link, a web browser does that. Are you saying that there's actually a notice from within Reader that says the link is bad? Before a browser window ever opens?
      I don't know what version 9 does, but in version 8, I get a security warning on every link. It pops up, tells me where the link goes, and asks if I want to allow the link or block it.
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      • Profile picture of the author noble
        Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert View Post

        I don't know what version 9 does, but in version 8, I get a security warning on every link. It pops up, tells me where the link goes, and asks if I want to allow the link or block it.
        Ya,

        This has been around for a while just making sure you know you're clicking a link I think. It always asks there's probably a way to turn it off but I'm lazy.
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      • Profile picture of the author weblink29
        Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert View Post

        I don't know what version 9 does, but in version 8, I get a security warning on every link. It pops up, tells me where the link goes, and asks if I want to allow the link or block it.
        Ya know...it's possible that Texjd just has things set that way in his preferences. Texjd, if you can make one of those pdfs available I (or another warrior) could test the links.
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      • Profile picture of the author SteveJohnson
        Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert View Post

        I don't know what version 9 does, but in version 8, I get a security warning on every link. It pops up, tells me where the link goes, and asks if I want to allow the link or block it.
        That's normal PDF security (at least for Acrobat Reader), I didn't realize that's what the OP was talking about.

        Reader can't discern an affiliate link as such, it's just an outside link to an 'untrusted source' as defined in the Reader security settings. I think Reader can access the 'trusted sites' settings in the Windows OS also, remember reading something about that somewhere. Maybe that's where reader is getting the information to call the link a security warning.
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  • Profile picture of the author Texjd
    It's not the allow, that is common to any link. It's a separate notice that will not let you go at all and states it's a security risk.

    Don't know when this started since this is the first time I've checked for awhile. But my stinking Adobe Reader gets updated about every week so I'm pretty sure one of these latest updates made the change. If you haven't updated Adobe Reader for awhile it may not impact you yet.

    Like another warrior suggested, do a link to your own website and re-direct. It's more work but you will have control over the link.

    Adobe has never been my favorite on any level. They update a lot, due to security and buggy software to start with, and often have issues.
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  • Profile picture of the author Texjd
    Very well could be a setting that is the default on any link that appears to not meet the requirements. But I never make any changes to Adobe Reader and I doubt many users will either.

    Regardless of why it may happen, this is the first time I've seen it. And I'm pretty sure the everyday user will never look to change any default settings. So it is an issue for me.

    If it doesn't impact you or your links, that's great. Just giving a heads up about the possible problems that I experienced. Linking to your own website is probably a better idea anyway.

    I get a lot of visitors and revenue from my PDF links so it's important to me if there is any problem. So I'm not taking any chances and making the links go to one of my websites .
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