It's no secret that while Adobe created the PDF format, Adobe Reader isn't exactly what you'd call an efficient tool for reading PDF files. In the past our solution has been to install the lightweight and free Foxit Reader.

But there might be another solution out there. Prevent all those plugins that load up with Adobe Reader from running.

Adobe Reader Speedup is a little application that lets you selectively uninstall some of those plugins. If you know what you're doing, you can select the plugins to enable. If you're a little less technically inclined, you can choose from one of four presets. Each one will do a pretty good job of speeding up Adobe Reader's load times.

If you accidentally disable a service that you need, you can just run Adobe Reader Speedup again and restore the default settings. You uninstall the application by deleting its folder. If you're running Windows Vista, you'll need to right click on the .exe file and select "run as administrator," or Adobe Reader Speedup won't be able to make any changes.

[via gHacks]