Today I disabled JavaScript in my Foxit Reader settings because I hope to gain better security against malware embedded in PDF books I read. As some sort of simple check I tried to open a PDF with fill-in forms and see what happens when I try to fill-in some of the fields and check some checkboxes. Everytime I checked a checkbox, a window opened, saying that JS is disabled and was used for some features in the document. It then gives me the possibilities to add the file to a privileged location or to enable JS again. However, if I just click "Cancel" or simply close this window, the checkbox remains checked and I can simply save the changes.
Now this makes me wonder if disabling JS is any good against potential malware in a PDF and if I should use a different reader or an entirely different solution.
So my question(s) would be: Based on this experience, is disabling JS in Foxit doing any good and what would be other good solutions for opening PDF files safely? I read about dedicated virtual machines or using Firefox with disabled JS. Would these be secure? The first one seems very unconvenient, since I use my laptop mainly for university and being able to open textbooks comfortably would be good. Then again, keeping my passwords, financial account etc. safe is a priority over convenience.