# Adobe Flash Player & Shockwave Player Warning



## Mike

I received the following Email today and I think that
you should act on it for safety.

Mike.

*Hacker attacks usually result in disaster.
But when hackers recently attacked an Italian security company,
it seems that they found more than they bargained for.

The firm produce surveillance software to law enforcement agencies
that allows them to monitor Internet users.
It seems that the surveillance software they produce is not too far
removed from the malware that the criminal hackers produce and probably
uses some of the same techniques to infiltrate target PCs.

We know that since, after the attack, the hackers that broke into the firm
posted 400GB of program code and other data they had stolen online.

Amongst the things they leaked was a code that made use of a previously
unknown security bug in Adobe Flash, to take over computers with the
Flash browser plug-in installed.

The problem affects Flash running in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and
Safari browsers and all versions from Flash Player 9 to the latest version, 18.0.0.194.

A hacker can exploit the problem to run any software they like on your PC.
It looks like the Italian company were using the problem to run their surveillance
software on the computers they were monitoring and with details of the problem
posted on the Internet, it won't be long before criminal hackers start to use it to
spread malware.

So, it looks like it is finally time to get rid of Adobe Flash. Most interactive sites
these days can work without Flash – you no longer need it to watch YouTube
videos, for example.

If you have Adobe Flash installed on your PC, the best option is just to remove it.
The number of security problems found in Flash on an almost monthly basis, means
that having it installed on your PC is asking for trouble.

If there are sites you visit which still make use of Flash, then you should install a
Flash blocker in your browser.
This will make sure that Flash cannot be run by default but, if a particular site
requires Flash, you can enable it.

Internet Explorer doesn't not have a Flash Blocker plug-in but you can achieve
the same thing by pressing Alt, then clicking Tools > Manage Addons. Double-click
Shockwave Flash, then click Remove all sites and click OK.

If you are keeping Flash on your PC, you need to upgrade to the latest version,
which fixes this problem (although there will be more in future).*


----------



## JustBonee

*"If you have Adobe Flash installed on your PC, the best option is just to remove it."

*Thanks for that.


----------



## SifuPhil

Flash has had problems for many years now, but unfortunately there are still some important sites that use it.


----------



## JustBonee

SifuPhil said:


> Flash has had problems for many years now, but unfortunately there are still some important sites that use it.



Oh well - deed done .. ... guess I'll just rough it for now Phil...


----------



## SifuPhil

Bonnie said:


> Oh well - deed done .. ... guess I'll just rough it for now Phil...



Yeah, I know what you mean. I can't afford that 32" monitor I want and it's driving me crazy ... 

We just have to make our sacrifices, I guess.


----------



## Ken N Tx

FireFox blocks Flash..


----------



## SifuPhil

Thanks for that, Ken - good to know.


----------



## Mike

After reading your link Ken, I checked my add-ons and found
Shockwave flash:- Always Active, I have changed the setting
manually, I am running the latest version of FireFox.
It was running in "Adobe Flash Protected Mode" Info Here

Mike.


----------



## Ken N Tx

Mike said:


> After reading your link Ken, I checked my add-ons and found
> Shockwave flash:- Always Active, I have changed the setting
> manually, I am running the latest version of FireFox.
> It was running in "Adobe Flash Protected Mode" Info Here
> 
> Mike.



Websites seem to load slower since this has happened?? Maybe it is just me!!


----------



## Ken N Tx

We can't win!!!!   I got this link from a friend, about Ghostery!! *>>>CLICK HERE<<<*


----------



## Butterfly

Ken N Tx said:


> Websites seem to load slower since this has happened?? Maybe it is just me!! View attachment 19438



I'd be sure my browser was updated, run a virus scan and also empty cookies, cache, etc.  I've had a lot of trouble with my PC since the shockwave/flash player thing started.  My Hitman Pro also found a trojan.  Dunno if the two are related, but I wouldn't doubt it.  

Gives me fits.


----------



## Lara

It happened to me just now. I can't see Youtube videos now. It just says "Flash plug-in Failed" when I try to play a video. I tried to reinstall my Adobe Flash Player but it said "no upgrade available". I have upgraded it many times in the past…last time was about a month ago (like you said). It's an ongoing problem. I don't have Firefox. I have Safari on my MacBook Air. If I remove Adobe Flash then what will I use to view Youtube videos? 

When I was in the Apple Store last month the tech guy (not from their "genius bar") told me that if I upgrade my Safari it might take care of most of my problems. But he said it might wipe out my a lot of stuff I want to keep so he sold me an external drive to download first. I haven't done that yet because I've found a lot of people don't do that and isn't necessary unless you have a lot of photos you don't want to lose. I wouldn't want to lose them but I'm not sure they're that important to me (my kids have copies of all family photos) so I'm in limbo trying to decide about that. Now see? I'd post a video of me doing the limbo now if my flash player worked :shrug: tsk tsk


----------



## Lara

I figured this out. My adobe flash is working now and I can see youtubes. I didn't do anything fancy. I notice that the "FlashPlayer Plug-in Failed" was directly related to my computer overheating underneath (fan inside computer starts up when it gets hot) so I set it on some ice-packs to cool it down quickly, cleared my history, closed Safari, then restarted it…voilá. 

I read online that it's common for the electric plugs and computers to get quite warm and suggested giving air underneath by setting it on something. One guy used a tea tray on beanbags to set on his lap. I'm going to slice 4 styrofoam rounds and place it under each corner of my laptop that I use on my table (and sometimes stand at the counter for healthy reasons). Hope this helps anyone who has the same problem…easy fix if it lasts.


----------



## Lara

Update: The overheating, no youtube access, failed adobe flash, and slowness returned to my laptop and this time I really did figure out the problem. I had run a software update for Microsoft Word weeks ago and it was still running in the background without my knowledge…invisible but there…go figure. 

I "Quit Safari", cleared "History", clicked on "Restart, checked the box that says "Do you want to open all windows being used". I wasn't using any but I thought there must be something running that I can't see. Sure enough, when the laptop restarted, Microsoft Word appeared so I closed out of it and no problems now. No need for ice-packs lol.


----------



## Ken N Tx

Lara said:


> Update: The overheating, no youtube access, failed adobe flash, and slowness returned to my laptop and this time I really did figure out the problem. I had run a software update for Microsoft Word weeks ago and it was still running in the background without my knowledge…invisible but there…go figure.
> 
> I "Quit Safari", cleared "History", clicked on "Restart, checked the box that says "Do you want to open all windows being used". I wasn't using any but I thought there must be something running that I can't see. Sure enough, when the laptop restarted, Microsoft Word appeared so I closed out of it and no problems now. No need for ice-packs lol.



Glad you figured that out!! These machines are trying...


----------

