Disabling Adobe Updater

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We run a 180 user Windows 2003 network with most of the clients running Windows Vista and XP. They all have Adobe Reader installed and it seems most of them have the auto update turned on as well.

We don’t allow local administrative control over these workstations so when the user clicks on the update notifier to allow it to update the update fails with permission errors. Is there a way to turn off the updater globally and then manage patching Adobe through an administrative install?

This same issue is true for Java updates.

Thanks!

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There are two ways to disable Adobe Reader’s automatic update function:

The “Adobe Customization Wizard” (http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3993 for Adobe Reader 9.x) can be used to create a transform file for the original package. This is useful if you’re planning to deploy a new version of Adobe Reader with (for example) Active Directory Group Policy. It’s a very user-friendly tool with a lot of powerful features.

If you would like to disable the update functionality after the application has been deployed, you will need to modify the registry on the client pc’s, either directly (probably not an option) or by means of a (Visual Basic) script or custom administrative template. This site provides some useful information about the relevant registry keys: http://www.shivaranjan.com/2008/07/30/how-to-disable-automatic-update-in-adobe-acrobat-adobe-acrobat-3d-and-adobe-reader-using-registry/. (You’ll need to change the key to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesAdobeAcrobat Reader9.0FeatureLockdown” for Adobe Reader 9.x.) Make sure you test any changes before deploying them in a production environment!

Note that whichever way you choose, you will need Adobe’s permission to deploy Adobe Reader within a corporate network. You may apply for a license at http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/rdr_distribution1.html. This is usually a formality.

Other useful resources:

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/solutions/it/
http://www.gpanswers.com (free registration required for access to some areas)
http://www.appdeploy.com/packages/detail.asp?id=1303

As far as Java is concerned, AppDeploy’s Package KB (http://www.appdeploy.com/packages/browse.asp?cat=alpha&str=j) will probably hold some clues. It pays to read through all of the entries for your particular Java version – a bit tedious, but it’s saved me a lot of headaches in the past.

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My particular favourite is set registry entries that are obeyed by all recent versions of Reader. No need to modify existing installations.

Java is much the same.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareJavaSoftJava UpdatePolicy]
“EnableJavaUpdate”=dword:00000000
“EnableAutoUpdateCheck”=dword:00000000

And Flash.
Add MMS.CFG to C:WINDOWSSYSTEM32MACROMEDFLASH with AutoUpdateDisable=1

cheers, Paul

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