Adobe will fix security bug in CS5.x, having originally said CS6 was the fix: Digital Photography Review

Adobe will fix security bug in CS5.x, having originally said CS6 was the fix

Published May 14, 2012 | dpreview staff

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vvhy

I use Photoshop CS5 , Camera Raw 6.7
why the size of 5D3 DNG is larger than the raw file???
I shoot Medium size raw , the size is around 15MB~20MB
but ALL the DNG file is 40% larger than raw
(I didn't embed original raw file)
Anyone faces the same problem?

May 20, 2012permalink

Vallkar

It is time Adobe stopped holding loyal customers to ransom. I believe most upgrades and improvements can be supplied as plugins or service packs (this is where Microsoft scores) - good for users but not good for Adobe. I have used Adobe for over 20 years, upgrading regulary. Not any more. I am looking at other products to replace Adobe products I use. I have already gone back to QuarkXpress from InDesign. Soon I will switch away from Illustrator and Photoshop.

May 15, 2012*permalink

rwl408

You said it all. It is about time to move away from Adobe. It is simple as that.

May 16, 2012permalink

lylejk

For illustrator, I highly recommend Inkscape; it's open source yes, but extremely powerful and getting quite feature rich. I mainly do use GIMP, but the 16/32 issue and RAW does make me open PS for processing when needed. The GIMP Beta 2.9 has finally added 16/32 bit ability but right now they just released the beta so still some bugs to ferret out. GIMP 3.0 will have 16/32 bit image edit ability. Can't beat the price of GIMP either. Lots of online community support too. :)

May 16, 2012*permalink

Vallkar

Thanks, Iylejk. I think I will try Inkscape. Currently I am trying CoralDraw which is quite good. For processing RAW I have used CaptureOne Pro for past 7 years and I can say it is very good.

May 16, 2012permalink

valentin_neda

Since when the hell did editing images on a computer become dangerous?

May 15, 2012permalink

(unknown member)

Good point. I guess that became an issue when Adobe decided somehow their programs needed to be deeply embedded on your system.

It's a highly overrated nasty pig of a program with tentacles everywhere into your system. That pretty much covers it.

May 20, 2012permalink

lylejk

Here's my wish. I would pay $75 (not $100) for just updates to ACR every 2 years. $200 is a hefty price so my upgrade flow for the past decade (upgraded twice) has been every 3rd upgrade, but now Adobe wants you to upgrade everytime. Since I won't, I hope the full PS price drops a little by the time CS8 comes out. I mainly use GIMP but I do value some key abilities especially ACR. If Lightroom (have only participated in the very initial beta many years ago) uses ACR or better, I might try to persue this since I don't use most of the feaures in PS (and I suspect most others don't either). :)

May 15, 2012permalink

Gary Dean Mercer Clark

The CS6 trial seems to be an improvement over CS5 but I'm really not feeling the love for Adobe right now. I'm glad they are owning up to the problem and working on a fix. That is the right thing to do and it will help repair their tarnished image a bit.

May 15, 2012permalink

psn

If I want (and I do) to move away from Adobe's image manipulation/catalog offerings, what are my options?

May 15, 2012permalink

(unknown member)

There is only one program that comes anywhere near to Photoshop's capabilities and that would be Paint Shop Pro.

For the vast majority of serious photographers Paint Shop Pro has all the tools you need. It is also a tiny fraction of the cost. I use Aperture and Paint Shop Pro on my Mac.

Unfortunately Paint Shop Pro has not advanced as well as it did under its original American owner and creators, JASC. Corel keeps adding silly features and disabling many that were useful and support pales in comparison to its previous owner.

Still, it is an excellent alternative to the ridiculous price of Photoshop.

May 20, 2012permalink

Michael Engelen

For me Adobe and its arguably great products are history. If they would at least act like Microsoft when it comes to bugs in their software, I probably would feel like paying a premium price, but if Adobe has to be "forced" by their customers to fix a security-issue, it is time to leave the boat.

May 15, 2012permalink

lylejk

I can understand why a feature update should require an upgrade to a newer version of PS but not a security hole which is solely the responsibility of Adobe. Even Microsoft continues to patch XP despite not selling it commercially since Vista back in 2007 I believe. A security hole has to be patched or Adobe will have mud in their eye not that that's starting to already happen. :)

May 15, 2012permalink

pedromeyer

Steve Jobs. already said it some time back, Adobe had become lazy in dealing with customers needs. Thus the Flash black out from all Apple portable devices.

But I would add as some others have already stated, Adobe became greedy and trying to milk the cow for all it's worth. There is nothing left of the splendor that Adobe had a decade ago.

Adobe might be better served by imitating Apple, rather than Kodak.

CS6 is bloatware at its maximum.

May 15, 2012permalink

Retne

I agree wholeheartedly with your first sentence , but most of the commentary I've seen agrees that the "Thus" causal link you suggest is incorrect - it was a fairly obvious business interest that led Apple to that decision (with MS jumping onboard for the same reasons), and I agree with the many commentators that Flash was good for the consumer with the potential for cheaper prices (no OS cut), and rich apps that can be developed once.

(Of course Mr Jobs couldn't just say "Hey folks, we don't want to have Flash on iOS as that would harm our app sales, but here's some technical issues we could work with Adobe on, but don't want to:...")

I do also think Adobe has got greedy though, but bloatware - you don't have to have the Master Collection, just install what you need. Not sure why it's bloatware - they have pros that use all the features and really need them.

But this lack of fixing by Adobe is shameful.

May 15, 2012permalink

PeterK70

But what else Apple is doing differently than Adobe. Apple is the same about security as Adobe. It took them a millennium to fix the Flashback Trojan vulnerability.

But yes. They were able to fix Siri immediatelly when Siri responded to its users questions that Nokia Lumia 900 cyan is the best smartphone ever.

May 16, 2012*permalink

(unknown member)

Retne Steve Jobs made it clear that the iPad would have struggled to run Flash properly while being stable and secure while at the same time sipping battery power. He was obviously right.

May 20, 2012permalink

(unknown member)

PeterK70 while they did take long to fix that issue you have to take Apple's business and Adobe's business and compare them as it relates to customer service. There simply is no comparison. Apple easily wins overall.

I had an issue recently with Apple's Aperture and I was contacted the following morning by one of their software engineers/programmers. I'm no pro but man I certainly was treated like one.

That, and other examples, are in stark contrast to my experiences dealing with Adobe. Most of what I got were arrogant, condescending and unhelpful responses.

May 20, 2012permalink

Mark Forman

In the past few years Adobe has become greedier and greedier than ever before.
This is a prime example of this.
They were shamed into this critical update by the possible loss through possible lawsuits.
They deserve being forced into this fix.

May 15, 2012permalink

(unknown member)

Good to see they are doing the right thing.

May 14, 2012permalink

Vallkar

They should have done this in the first place without being clever.

May 15, 2012permalink

gargalamouth

Ask Ivanopoulo for a quick fix.....

May 14, 2012permalink

thx1138

Adobe also has a bug in tiff files they refuse to fix, where it does not conform to the standards and can cause the colour space metadata to be lost. It's been reproduced for them and they blame everyone else. Quite pathetic seeing some people defending their actions or should I say inactions.

May 14, 2012permalink

Nismo350Z

Using Adobe's logic, Photoshop CS6 is really a patch for Photoshop 1.0. That makes so much sense now.

May 14, 2012permalink

laueddy

Microsoft still provide updates for Windows XP, or our iPad 1 are still getting updates to new iOS. So, there is very little reason for Adobe not to provide a security for such an expensive software they sell.
When going from an older version to a new version, it should be about new features and functions, not patch.

May 14, 2012permalink

Vallkar

New functions can be supplied as plugins.

May 15, 2012permalink

mick232

You people seem to ignore a couple of things:

1. there is more than one workaround available (don't open TIF files from untrusted sources, scan TIF file with virus scanner)

2. fixing a bug in old software is more expensive by orders of magnitude than in upcoming or current software; even if the fix is a one-liner, the software has to be re-built, re-tested, re-released. Don't underestimate the effort needed for all these steps. These processes have to be re-run for the fix whereas with software currently being developed they run anyway.

That is why any software company will assess the severity of a bug. No company will fix any bug, even if it is a security issue. That's just how it is and all your rants are not going to change it.

May 14, 2012permalink

58volts

Here in the UK there is a piece of legislation called the "sale of goods act" and it says goods must be fit for purpose!

If you buy a new car and it has problem with engine management system you wouldn't expect the dealer to say sorry mate you have to buy another car, would you?
It's time software companies got real and stop trying to force people to upgrade because they sold faulty goods!

May 14, 2012permalink

SevenStepsSouth

Actually all the rants *did* change things. :)

May 14, 2012permalink

Lenny L

1. Many people get infected when they're sent infected files from people they know. People whose systems were compromised.

2. It's hard to put a value on this, but the negative publicity associated with their earlier move could arguably cost the company much more than releasing a fix for it.

Intel learned the hard way with the Pentium FDIV bug that customer backlash can be strong when you do not address a bug, instead telling customers "don't worry, it won't affect you". It is bad enough that Adobe products has so many security flaws. Refusing to address one of them in their flagship product is just irresponsible and amazingly bad PR.

May 14, 2012permalink

mick232

@58volts: this piece of legislation is not applicable since software is not a tangible good. Refer to:

http://www.computeractive.co.uk/ca/consumer-rights/1931491/isnt-software-covered-undere-sale-act

@SevenStepsSouth: Read my last paragraph again. I wrote: you are not going to get a fix for all bugs. That doesn't mean you can't get a fix for individual bugs and you may even achieve something by making enough noise, but I never denied that.

May 14, 2012permalink

martian1

Sorry mick232,

I have read your last paragraph initially correct and just to confirm, read it again - you now have changed your original wording:
'No company will fix any bug, even if it is a security issue. That's just how it is and all your rants are not going to change it.'

Additionally, please note that CS6 is not yet available in some countries through most retailers, e.g., in my country Switzerland, therefore CS5.5 still is effectively the current version and not 'old software'.

May 14, 2012permalink

ljmac

Are you serious? Adobe's software is more expensive by an order of magnitude than most other things, and you don't expect them to fix a critical security issue released on the same day as a new version? What are we paying all that money for? And given the timing, they would have known about it while CS5.5 was still the current version

May 15, 2012permalink

cjyphoto

Mick... Tool...

May 15, 2012permalink

Josh152

Exacly ljmac,

They made a deliberate decision not to fix it in CS5 so they could use it as leverage to get people to upgrade to CS6

May 15, 2012permalink

sglewis

Mick232 - Fixing a bug in old software??? CS6 was out about a week when the security bug was discovered. Should Adobe not support a product sold on retail shelves less than a month ago? I understand the need to stop patching software... eventually... but that's absurd!

May 15, 2012permalink

Vallkar

True. If companies have made billions selling these software, I am sure they should take some responsiblity. Toyota is a good example.

May 15, 2012permalink

Viggo

But when will they fix the 5d3 support for Lightroom?!?! Useless.....

(I know they support the files, only they suck at converting them creating very soft, noisy files)

May 14, 2012permalink

rich12

Canon files always look soft. Buy another camera brand instead.

May 15, 2012permalink

(unknown member)

There is no significant difference between all the top camera makers. Only Leica and Sigma stand out with images that are inherently sharper than those of other brands.

May 20, 2012permalink

thejohnnerparty

A quick read on software companies - Lazy, greedy management with one goal: get it out there quick, never mind the problems. When people discover problems - let customer support deal with it. Done. Move on.

May 14, 2012permalink

mick232

And how is that different from any other company that sells stuff?

No company will fix a product that has been already sold unless they have to (warranty) or you pay for it.

It is very similar with software. You can get bugfixes for critical issues and if the software is not too old. You can also pay for a support contract and will get fixes much later or fixes for problems that only affect you.

May 14, 2012permalink

Jimmy C

PS CS5 came out in Sept, 2010. So, either it is too old to support or Adobe doesn't consider the problem to be critical. Imagine the uproar if MS decided to not support Windows 7, which was released to manufacturing in July, 2009. Win8 is due for release this summer, so by your reasoning MS should not be obilgated to fix problems. With Adobe and other firms cranking out releases every 18 months, they just get the initial bugs resolved then release an upgrade. Why purchase a support contract for software that has many bugs? Are users now nothing more than beta testers?

Adobe wants to force upgrades or a move to cloud to help their cash flow. Not supporting a product that is less than 2 years old and suggesting a critical fix could be resolved by upgrading is really poor customer service. What about the user who purchased CS5x 6 months ago? Something is terribly wrong with this company.

May 14, 2012permalink

Luke Kaven

It's like a protection racket. Adobe says: "Hey, psst, lots of dangerous characters out there. Nice daughter you have there. Hate to see anything happen to her. Might get your identity stolen. So just give us $500 and Reggie and Ronnie will take care of it."

Does anyone wonder anymore why some of us don't like this company and its pleistocene software?

May 14, 2012permalink

PhotoArtKC

"Hey guys, we know about the bug that could allow people to access your computer. We call the fix CS6, but it will likely have bugs that will need addressing too, those patches will be available in CS7."

Gotta love software companies that completely drop all support for still widely used versions of software when the "upgrade" comes out. More so when they know that many people who normally upgrade don't see a point in doing so this time.

May 14, 2012permalink

tigger

I think it unbelievable that they even considered to only patch that in vulnerability with CS6.

May 14, 2012permalink

Mostly Lurking

USD $199.00 for an upgrade from CS5 to CS6 that really provides little is a bit pricey for me. I might as well wait for CS.X when I'll have to pay $600 for the whole thing and all the updates in-between. Then it may be worth the price. That's what I did when I had CS---wait for it to be worth-while even though I had to pay the whole CS5 package price.

May 14, 2012*permalink

Gothmoth

well a few hundred euro for an security fix is not to much to ask, is it?

adobe as a screw loose anyway.... look at the price differnece between the USA and europe. and keep the $ exchange in mind.

and this company we shall trust with their CLOUD apps ... LOL.

May 14, 2012permalink

3DSimmon

The price difference is probably due to the tax/toll fees in the EU

May 15, 2012permalink

gotham00

Arrrgh! Here in Aus we get smashed with Adobe rip off pricing!!!! Even though we are on parity with US, even our pollies want Adobe to explain their pricing structure here, compared to the rest of the world and we don’t even tax software in this country!!!!!

Not happy Adobe

May 16, 2012permalink

(unknown member)

Pricing is based on what a particular market is willing to pay. We are not talking about a life sustaining product. If it is too much in your country then don't buy it.

May 20, 2012permalink

tkbslc

It's getting a lot harder to pull one over on your customers these days.

May 14, 2012permalink

richardginn

hahahahaaaaa I can't believe it took them so long to respond.

May 14, 2012permalink

micahmedia

I can. They've been very busy working on raw support for the SD-1 and XPro1.

May 14, 2012permalink

Gary Dean Mercer Clark

LOL---SD1 support from Adobe? They didn't support the SD15. While I like lightroom---I'm not feeling the love for Adobe......

May 15, 2012permalink

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