Adobe Flash Emergency Update: Patch Ransomware Vulnerability

Published on April 9, 2016 By DrJBHL In Personal Computing

Adobe issued an emergency update to Flash on Thursday due to a vulnerability that allowed ransomware delivery to Windows PCs. Adobe is urging all flash player users on Windows, Mac and Linux PCs to update their Flash Players.

So. If you’re using Chrome, force the update by going to settings (in the hamburger menu at the right upper corner of the browser)> About. This will force the browser to search for updates. When found and installed, you’ll be told to relaunch.

Vivaldi comes with Flash pre-installed (most recent), the same version as the one on Chrome (no surprise there)…and while I think it auto-updates, I find no explicit statement regarding that. You can force an update by checking for updates via V (upper lt. corner) > Help > Update.

Bravo? I’m not using it and haven’t tried it yet…(and Newspapers are threatening to sue it over advertising.

Firefox. Firefox should update itself, like Chrome. If not, force the issue by going to about:preferences#advanced and in the tabs, choose Update. Make sure it’s on automatic.

As for IE and Edge? I don’t use them. One sure way to make sure Flash is updated for them is to go to Adobe and download Flash. It will be the latest version.

Better? Just disable Flash. You won’t see ads (there’s a loss, lol), but, if you’re a youtube addict…you’re looking at cold turkey. Same’s true for webcasts (like creativeLive), unfortunately. What I do is re-enable Flash on creativeLive only. That might classify me as suicidal, but I’m busy learning Lightroom from Ben Willmore (the man really knows Ps and Lr!).

Source:

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/adobe-issues-emergency-update-flash-after-ransomware-attacks-n552826

Comments

Hankers

on Apr 09, 2016

Thanks, Seth.

Uvah

on Apr 09, 2016

Just updated Chrome. Thank you Doc.

DivineWrath

on Apr 09, 2016

This is one of the reasons why I have my browser ask me to activate flash. Dangerous crap can get to my computer through it. I only need flash for a few websites, and those I would rather they switched to HTML 5.

You don't need flash for Youtube. Last I checked, they are already using HTML 5.

DrJBHL

on Apr 09, 2016

DivineWrath

reply 3

You don't need flash for Youtube. Last I checked, they are already using HTML 5.

That could be right...not sure how they're doing their webcasts on creativeLive (my photography, Lightroom and Photoshop learning site), but they do require flash.

alaknebs

on Apr 09, 2016

firefox doesn't update anything. npapi (the one firefox uses) and activex (ie for win7 and earlier) plugins of flash updates themselves, if you set it to update itself in the adobe flash setting manager... in the windows control panel.

edge has flash baked in, like chrome. ditto ie for win 8.1 and win10 (no idea about win 8)... so those get updated when the browser updates itself.

for linux (or at least mint) it'll pop up in whichever update manager you use.

===

1 weird thing with the flash manager in my win 10. i can't find it if i try to search from the start menu (maybe because of stuff that i disabled) but if can find it by searching through control panel. pretty sure i could have used start menu to find it when i was using win7

Daiwa

on Apr 09, 2016

DrJBHL

reply 4

they do require flash

Hello... Adobe requires flash? I'm shocked.

DrJBHL

on Apr 09, 2016

Daiwa

reply 6

Quoting DrJBHL,

reply 4

they do require flash

Hello... Adobe requires flash? I'm shocked.

creativeLive isn't Adobe.

alaknebs

reply 5

those get updated when the browser updates itself.

Not exactly. I had to force Chrome to update. As for Edge, the update is planned for this summer...but MS would be very remiss to wait until then. I expect them to update Edge as they would any "zero day" problem.

Daiwa

on Apr 09, 2016

DrJBHL

reply 7

creativeLive isn't Adobe

Aha - silly me.

alaknebs

on Apr 10, 2016

you can argue whether chrome does or doesn't update itself frequently enough. i don't use chrome frequently enough to know (it's like a backup browser for me). but what i was saying is correct. whenever adobe updates flash, chrome punts out a newer version that includes the update, because flash is integrated into chrome

edge does something similar, though i think via windowsupdate.. so.. automatic. eg... "Security Update for Adobe Flash Player for Windows 10 Version 1511 for x64-based Systems (KBblahblah)". the summer update you are talking about is something else. it's like comparing 1.x.x -> 1.x.y with 1.x.x. -> 2.x.x

basically. those browsers that use plugins (firefox, ie pre win8.1), you have to update the plugin (auto update via flash settings manager or d/l new version off adobe directly). those browsers that have it integrated, you have to update the browser itself.

DrJBHL

on Apr 10, 2016

alaknebs...it's like the "screen refresh" rate. If it refreshes before one comments, one sees newer comments. If one however gets screwed because of a flash vulnerability, the update rate of Chrome doesn't matter, and whether or not it auto updates don't matter at all.

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