Adobe issues Flash updates to deal with 'critical' security holes

AppleInsider

Adobe has issued a new set of security updates for its Flash Player plugin, dealing with serious vulnerabilities that could allow a hacker to take control of a targeted computer.

For Mac owners, the updates include Flash Player Desktop Runtime 23.0.0.185, Flash Player Extended Support Release 18.0.0.382, and Flash Player for Google Chrome 23.0.0.185. Matching fixes are available for people using Flash on Windows or Linux.



The updates can downloaded using either Flash's included update tool or the Adobe website.



Modern browser makers have increasingly veered away from Flash, which while once useful for games, video, and animation, has largely been supplanted by other technologies -- namely HTML5 -- that pose less of a security threat. For a number of years Flash was one of the main vectors for attackers, forcing Adobe to issue regular patches.



Apple escalated its position against Flash with last month's debut of macOS Sierra. The plugin is disabled by default in Sierra's version of Safari, forcing people to manually activate whenever they encounter a webpage asking for it. Java, Silverlight, and even Apple's own QuickTime are treated the same way.

sergioz

HTML 5 is the way to go! And new and faster java support for modern browesers! 

wonkothesane

Quo usque tandem?

macxpress

Unfortunately, website still require it. 

focher

Unfortunately, Apple's decision to set Flash as disabled by default has an unintended consequence. HTML5 allows - and Safari enables - an autoplay option on videos. Other browsers such as Chrome and Firefox allow the user to set this to disabled. Websites (I'm looking at you, CNN) are defaulting all videos to autoplay to drive up their traffic numbers.

Previously, you could trick the site to use Flash but then use ClickToFlash etc to not autoplay the videos.

knowitall

Flash is an incredible pile of dung.
With that nummer of fixes the complete sourcecode must be rewriten 10 times or more. They must have incredible bad programmers to still have errors like this.
Its best for everyone involved to zap the source and never build it again.

volcan

Flash Player may be obsolete, but Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional) is an incredibly useful tool for easily creating complex HTML5 interactive elements. Much better than any of the other HTML5 creation tools I've tried. You do have to load some of their JS frameworks but that is no different with JQuery. Writing HTML5/JS by hand is really tedious and difficult to debug.

rob53

macxpress said:

Unfortunately, website still require it. 

Actually they don't. Website programmers are lazy, so are businesses that are still using websites created over a decade or two ago. They paid for the website once and don't want to pay for it again. 

rob53

volcan said:

Flash Player may be obsolete, but Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional) is an incredibly useful tool for easily creating complex HTML5 interactive elements. Much better than any of the other HTML5 creation tools I've tried. You do have to load some of their JS frameworks but that is no different with JQuery. Writing HTML5/JS by hand is really tedious and difficult to debug.

This is what makes me so mad. Adobe can take the original Flash-created websites and easily convert them to HTML5 based. Why aren't people using it? Oh wait, Adobe overcharges for all their software so it's a simple business decision. It all comes down to money and people can't see past the short term.

coolfactor

sergioz said:

HTML 5 is the way to go! And new and faster java support for modern browesers! 

Don't confuse Java with JavaScript... two entirely different technologies.
.

wood1208

Sooner is better to move to HTML 5, open source and without everday security issues as well light in processing.

coolfactor

rob53 said:

volcan said:

Flash Player may be obsolete, but Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional) is an incredibly useful tool for easily creating complex HTML5 interactive elements. Much better than any of the other HTML5 creation tools I've tried. You do have to load some of their JS frameworks but that is no different with JQuery. Writing HTML5/JS by hand is really tedious and difficult to debug.

This is what makes me so mad. Adobe can take the original Flash-created websites and easily convert them to HTML5 based. Why aren't people using it? Oh wait, Adobe overcharges for all their software so it's a simple business decision. It all comes down to money and people can't see past the short term.

Why would Adobe do that?

volcan

rob53 said:

Oh wait, Adobe overcharges for all their software so it's a simple business decision. It all comes down to money and people can't see past the short term.

Does Mercedes overcharge for their cars? Perhaps, but they they build cars for their target market - people who can afford them and want them. Likewise there are plenty of less expensive graphics applications on the market, but most are not as sophisticated as Adobe's offerings. And by the way Adobe does have their Elements line of software which is much less expensive. I have not tried them but they get good reviews.

mark fearing

Every once in a while I get to a site that won't function because I do not have Flash installed on any of my computers anymore. Every once in a while I think 'Why the he** doesn't Adobe just pull the plug on this bug fest known as Flash?

Then I move on and don't miss said website one bit because of the endless tech mess that is Flash.

bdkennedy1002

I uninstalled Flash on all my computers and if I come across a website that requires it, I just don't use that site.

rob53

coolfactor said:

rob53 said:

volcan said:

Flash Player may be obsolete, but Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional) is an incredibly useful tool for easily creating complex HTML5 interactive elements. Much better than any of the other HTML5 creation tools I've tried. You do have to load some of their JS frameworks but that is no different with JQuery. Writing HTML5/JS by hand is really tedious and difficult to debug.

This is what makes me so mad. Adobe can take the original Flash-created websites and easily convert them to HTML5 based. Why aren't people using it? Oh wait, Adobe overcharges for all their software so it's a simple business decision. It all comes down to money and people can't see past the short term.

Why would Adobe do that?

Adobe software bought and used by website designers. Is that more accurate. If you're asking why would Adobe create software that effectively gets rid of Flash, well they already have (Adobe Animate, formerly Adobe Professional (https://www.adobe.com/products/animate.html). It's "just" $20/mo, forever!

MacBAir

Thank God most Macs are so old, so outdated, that soon enough Adobe might drop flash support for Macs. At least we have that going..

pscooter63

MacBAir said:

Thank God most Macs are so old, so outdated, that soon enough Adobe might drop flash support for Macs. At least we have that going..

That "B" in your handle... that doesn't stand for "Benjamin", perchance?

viclauyyc

volcan said:

rob53 said:

Oh wait, Adobe overcharges for all their software so it's a simple business decision. It all comes down to money and people can't see past the short term.

Does Mercedes overcharge for their cars? Perhaps, but they they build cars for their target market - people who can afford them and want them. Likewise there are plenty of less expensive graphics applications on the market, but most are not as sophisticated as Adobe's offerings. And by the way Adobe does have their Elements line of software which is much less expensive. I have not tried them but they get good reviews.

I don't mind to pay extra. But I really want to own the product I paid for. Even I need to pay more to own it.  

fastasleep

rob53 said:

volcan said:

Flash Player may be obsolete, but Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional) is an incredibly useful tool for easily creating complex HTML5 interactive elements. Much better than any of the other HTML5 creation tools I've tried. You do have to load some of their JS frameworks but that is no different with JQuery. Writing HTML5/JS by hand is really tedious and difficult to debug.

This is what makes me so mad. Adobe can take the original Flash-created websites and easily convert them to HTML5 based. Why aren't people using it? Oh wait, Adobe overcharges for all their software so it's a simple business decision. It all comes down to money and people can't see past the short term.

This is not true at all. You're obviously not a Flash or HTML developer. 

davidw

MacBAir said:

Thank God most Macs are so old, so outdated, that soon enough Adobe might drop flash support for Macs. At least we have that going..

For someone that talks a lot of trash about Macs, you don't seem to know a lot about them. It's not the age of the Mac that is the limiting factor with Flash,(though there is a correlation), it's the age of the browser that matters. 

I have a nearly 10 year old white MacBook that is stuck on Lion, Lion will only support up to Safari 6.1.6, which Flash no longer supports. But if I use the last version of Firefox that still works on it, it will do Flash. (Though I haven't checked in a while.) And I think this was also true if I use the last version of Chrome, that can run on it. I'm not sure, as I never use Chrome. I have it installed just in case i need it. So even though the Mac is nearly 10 years old, it will still do Flash when using a browser that Flash still supports. 

Now I also have an 8 year old iMac that can still run Yosemite, thus Safari 10.10. Safari 10.11 seems to the the newest version and runs on El Capitan. (I'm not sure if Yosemite is stuck on Safari 10.10) This "old" iMac will still run Flash and will do so for maybe a few more years. And maybe even more when using Firefox or Chrome. I have yet to hear that Apple will stop supporting Safari 10.10, even if Safari 10.10 is the last version of Safari for Yosemite. 

Flash doesn't care how old the hardware is. It only cares how old the browser is.