All Adobe Acrobat DC products (Pro, Standard, and Reader) are excellent PDF powerhouses. That said, there are certain problematic user interface elements. We recently addressed how you can hide the Tools pane, and get rid of the tacked on tabbed-view. And today, we'll tackle another related issue — the Recent list.
The Recent list provides shortcuts to your most recently accessed/opened files. It is quite convenient too. However, it’s dreadful in terms of privacy, and if you share the device with someone, a real nightmare. It's definitely not fun to have someone stumble upon some sensitive or confidential documents, right?
So let’s see how you should go about removing any items within this list, and also what you must do to disable the feature altogether.
Cross domain access is permitted for Acrobat and Adobe Reader default installations in versions 9.2/8.17 and earlier. You can prevent such access by turning on the enhanced security feature.
Solution 1 – update Adobe Acrobat. Update the version of Adobe Acrobat. If it is a moderately modern version of Acrobat the update will hopefully include support for Internet Explorer’s EPM security feature. Solution 2 – disable opening PDF files in the browser. This solution involves changing the Adobe Acrobat settings so that the PDF. Adobe Reader DC must block access to Unknown Websites. Because Internet access is a potential security risk, clicking any unknown website link to the Internet poses a potential security risk. Malicious websites can transfer harmful content. V-65781: Medium: Adobe Reader DC must disable all service access to Document Cloud Services. Remove all previous versions of Acrobat or Reader, and then reinstall it.
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Read MoreAdobe Acrobat on Desktop
On a desktop, all Adobe Acrobat DC versions let you easily remove shortcuts from the Recent list. And if required, you can choose to disable the list from displaying any of your recent files as well. The process is similar across each version.
Note: Removing items from the Recent list won’t delete the actual files. Only the shortcuts are removed.Remove Recent Files
Adobe Acrobat syncs your Recent list among devices (desktops and mobiles) where you're signed in with your Adobe ID. However, syncing is limited only to shortcuts that point to files located within the Adobe Document Cloud — those items have a cloud-shaped icon.
So if you remove them, the Recent list on all connected devices gets wiped automatically. That said, there are multiple ways of removing the shortcuts.
On the Recent list, hover over the shortcut that you want to delete. Next, click the box that shows up to the left side of the listing to select it. You should see a separate pane appear on the screen. Click Remove From Recent to get rid of the shortcut. You can also pick multiple items and remove all of them in a single go.
If you have lots of items within the list and want to remove the majority of them, make selecting them less of a chore by clicking the box right underneath Recent. That prompts the application to select all items on the list. Then you may uncheck the items that you want to keep on the list.
Additionally, you can also choose to clear the entire list immediately. There's a Clear Recent option to the lower-right corner of the window. Click it, and then click Clear List on the confirmation pop-up to flush out the entire list.
Disable Recent Files
If you don’t like Recent files populating a list of every file you open, then you can configure Adobe Acrobat to stop showing them. There’s a built-in option that lets you modify the number of items displayed on the list — reducing it to zero effectively disables the Recent list.
Step 1: Pull down the Edit menu, and then click Preferences.
Step 2: On the Preferences pane, click the Documents side-tab. Enter '0' into the box next to Documents in Recently Used List.
Step 3: Click OK to save your changes. And voila! No recently opened files should show up after that.
However, if you open a document located in Adobe Document Cloud, the shortcut to the file will still show up on the Recent list on another desktop or mobile that you've signed in with your Adobe ID. And further, lifting the limit on the Recent list will prompt the application to display the most recent files that you accessed before doing that. These are potential loopholes that someone can exploit to view your documents.
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#Adobe Acrobat
Click here to see our Adobe Acrobat articles pageAdobe Acrobat on Mobile
![Acrobat Acrobat](/uploads/1/1/9/8/119876335/755286440.png)
On Android and iOS, the Adobe Acrobat Reader app doesn't let you stop the Recent list from displaying your recently accessed files. But it still allows you to delete individual or multiple items from within the Recent list. Let's find out how you can do that.
Warning: Be careful! Unlike on a desktop, there's also a 'Delete' option that not only removes a shortcut but the actual file as well. So don't get confused.Android
On the Android version of Adobe Acrobat Reader, it’s merely a matter of tapping the three-dot icon next to a listed item. On the menu that shows up, tap Remove From Recent to remove the shortcut.
To remove multiple shortcuts from the list, tap and hold any one item to get into selection mode. Now, check the boxes next to the items that you want to get rid of, tap the three-dot icon to the upper-right corner of the screen, and then tap Remove From Recent.
You can also clear the entire list in a single go. To do that, tap the three-dot icon to the upper-right corner of the screen without having any item selected, and then tap Clear Recent.
iOS
Removing items from the Recent list on the iOS version of Adobe Acrobat DC is similar to that on Android, except when it comes selecting multiple items for deletion. Tapping and holding won’t work — hence, tap the three-dot icon, and then tap Select to get into selection mode.
After selecting the shortcuts that you want to delete, make sure to tap the correct icon afterward as shown in the image below. Tapping the trash icon would delete the actual file as well, so be careful.
Once again, removing shortcuts from the Recent list to files that are stored on the Adobe Document Cloud will also remove them across all other devices.
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Read MorePrivacy Not an Issue Anymore
The Recent list is a useful implementation, but very detrimental to privacy. Thankfully, it's pretty easy to cover your tracks. Don't forget to disable the list if deleting shortcuts all the time becomes a chore. Here's hoping that the mobile version of Adobe Acrobat Reader gets the ability to turn off the list as well soon.
Next up: Want to delete some pages from a PDF? Unless you go for a paid version, Adobe Acrobat doesn't let you do that. Click the link below to learn about five great online tools that should help you out instead.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
Adobe Acrobat Professional
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Finding ID | Severity | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
V-65811 | High | Adobe Reader DC must have the latest Security-related Software Updates installed. | Security flaws with software applications are discovered daily. Vendors are constantly updating and patching their products to address newly discovered security vulnerabilities. Organizations ... |
V-65787 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must disable 3rd Party Web Connectors. | When 3rd Party Web Connectors are disabled it prevents the configuration of Adobe Reader DC access to third party services for file storage. |
V-65793 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must disable Online SharePoint Access. | Disabling SharePoint disables or removes the user’s ability to add a SharePoint account access controls the application's ability to detect that a file came from a SharePoint server, and disables ... |
V-65767 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must Block Websites. | Clicking any link to the Internet poses a potential security risk. Malicious websites can transfer harmful content or silently gather data. Acrobat Reader documents can connect to websites which ... |
V-65769 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must block access to Unknown Websites. | Because Internet access is a potential security risk, clicking any unknown website link to the Internet poses a potential security risk.Malicious websites can transfer harmful content or ... |
V-65781 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must disable all service access to Document Cloud Services. | By default, Adobe online services are tightly integrated in Adobe Reader DC. With the integration of Adobe Document Cloud, disabling this feature prevents the risk of additional attack ... |
V-65783 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must disable Cloud Synchronization. | By default, Adobe online services are tightly integrated in Adobe Reader DC. When the Adobe Cloud synchronization is disabled it prevents the synchronization of desktop preferences across devices ... |
V-65803 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must disable the ability to specify Host-Based Privileged Locations. | Privileged Locations allow the user to selectively trust files, folders, and hosts to bypass some security restrictions, such as enhanced security and protected view. By default, the user can ... |
V-65801 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must disable the ability to add Trusted Files and Folders. | Privileged Locations allow the user to selectively trust files, folders, and hosts to bypass some security restrictions, such as enhanced security and protected view. By default, the user can ... |
V-65729 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must enable Enhanced Security in a Standalone Application. | PDFs have evolved from static pages to complex documents with features such as interactive forms, multimedia content, scripting, and other capabilities. These features leave PDFs vulnerable to ... |
V-65775 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must block Flash Content. | Flash content is commonly hosted on a web page, but it can also be embedded in PDF and other documents. Flash could be used to surreptitious install malware on the end-users computer.Flash ... |
V-65771 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must prevent opening files other than PDF or FDF. | Attachments represent a potential security risk because they can contain malicious content, open other dangerous files, or launch applications. Certainly file types such as .bin, .exe, .bat, and ... |
V-65791 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must disable access to Webmail. | When Webmail is disabled the user cannot configure a webmail account to send an open PDF document as an attachment. Users should have the ability to send documents as Microsoft Outlook ... |
V-65813 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must enable FIPS mode. | Use of weak or untested encryption algorithms undermines the purposes of utilizing encryption to protect data. The application must implement cryptographic modules adhering to the higher standards ... |
V-65735 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must enable Enhanced Security in a Browser. | PDFs have evolved from static pages to complex documents with features such as interactive forms, multimedia content, scripting, and other capabilities. These features leave PDFs vulnerable to ... |
V-65737 | Medium | Adobe Reader DC must enable Protected Mode. | A threat to users of Adobe Reader DC is opening a PDF file that contains malicious executable content.Protected mode provides a sandbox capability that prevents malicious PDF files from ... |
V-65785 | Low | Adobe Reader DC must disable the Adobe Repair Installation. | When Repair Installation is disabled the user does not have the option (Help Menu) or functional to repair an Adobe Reader DC install. |
V-65807 | Low | Adobe Reader DC must disable periodical uploading of European certificates. | By default, the user can update European certificates from an Adobe server through the GUI.When uploading European certificates is disabled, it prevents the automatic download and installation ... |
V-65809 | Low | Adobe Reader DC must disable periodical uploading of Adobe certificates. | By default, the user can update Adobe certificates from an Adobe server through the GUI.When uploading Adobe certificates is disabled, it prevents the automatic download and installation of ... |
V-65789 | Low | Adobe Reader DC must disable Adobe Send for Signature. | The Adobe Document Cloud sign service allows users to send documents online for signature and sign from anywhere or any device. The signed documents are stored in the Adobe Cloud. The Adobe ... |
V-65777 | Low | Adobe Reader DC must disable the ability to change the Default Handler. | Allowing user to make changes to an application case cause a security risk.When the Default PDF Handler is disabled, the end users will not be able to change the default PDF viewer. |
V-65797 | Low | Adobe Reader DC must disable Service Upgrades. | By default, Adobe online services are tightly integrated into Adobe Reader DC. Disabling Service Upgrades disables both updates to the product's web-plugin components as well as all services ... |
V-65795 | Low | Adobe Reader DC must disable the Adobe Welcome Screen. | The Adobe Reader DC Welcome screen can be distracting and also has online links to the Adobe quick tips website, tutorials, blogs and community forums.When the Adobe Reader DC Welcome screen is ... |
V-65779 | Low | Adobe Reader DC must disable the Adobe Send and Track plugin for Outlook. | When enabled, Adobe Send and Track button appears in Outlook. When an email is composed it enables the ability to send large files as public links through Outlook. The attached files can be ... |
V-65815 | Low | Adobe Reader DC must disable Acrobat Upsell. | Products that don’t provide the full set of features by default provide the user the opportunity to upgrade. Acrobat Upsell displays message which encourage the user to upgrade the product. For ... |