Tag flash

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New Mac Trojan Pretends To Be Flash, Tricking Users To Install Fake Flash

Sep 26, 11 5:10 PM

In case you haven’t heard it yet, Mac users are now ripe to be targeted by a new malware known as Flashback which relies on users who don’t yet have Flash on their Macs.  This trojan horse tricks Mac users to download the fake Flash installer and install it onto their Mac systems.  Mac users can also be infected by this fake Flash installer by visiting a malicious link (i.e., website).  Once Flashback trojan is on a Mac system, it will deactivate security software, inject malicious codes into Mac applications, and sending users’ information back to the malware owner (i.e., hackers).

I can imagine hackers come up with an attractive malicious websites such as a fan website for a very sexy and famous movie star, and then promise some type of pornographic images belong to such movie star if a user clicks on a certain link or installs the fake Flash (i.e., Flashback).  Of course, the hacker can use a trick where it checks to see if a user has already had Flash.  If a Mac user has already had Flash on his/her system, hacker can preprogram the website to show something else more attractive so a user will click on the malicious link to acquire the trojan anyway.  If a Mac user isn’t yet installed Flash on his/her Mac, then the preprogramming website can maliciously present the fake Flash so the user can install it.  I also don’t see why not hackers won’t go as far as sending malicious web links in emails, instant messengers, and so on to infect Mac users with Flashback trojan.

Basically, I advise one not to install Flash when a strange website wants one to do so.  One can always visit the official website of Adobe to install Flash.  Also, one can visit YouTube to acquire a legitimate Flash link, because YouTube will let one knows if one has Flash or not and point one to a legitimate Flash link so one can obtain Flash this way.

Flash may not be necessary as the world wide web moving forward in days to come.  Why?  HTML5 has now become ever more popular.  Many big web services such as Google has now begin concentrating on producing HTML5 web applications.  For an instance, users who don’t have Flash can still view YouTube videos by using a compatible browsers that support HTML5, because Google has programmed HTML5 to perform similar video functions as Flash for YouTube.

In conclusion, one needs not to install Flash and just use HTML5 in replacement for Flash, therefore one can stay away from this Flashback trojan. Flashback trojan can still infect users who click on malicious web links.  So, it’s important for users not to open up strange web links for now.  Hopefully, Apple will release some kind of fix to allow users to be able to actively protect themselves against the mechanics of Flashback trojan.

Source:  http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/09/mac-trojan-pretends-to-be-flash-player-installer-to-get-in-the-door.ars?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+
arstechnica%2Findex+%28Ars+Technica+-+Featured+Content%29

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One Of Many Ways You Can Now Play Flash Videos On iPad 2

May 5, 11 5:04 AM

Apple vows not to have its iPads (i.e., 1 and 2), iPhones (i.e., 1,2,3,4), and iPod Touchs (i.e., 1,2,3,4) to be compatible with Flash, but some people have successfully done a jailbreak on these Apple devices so Flash videos could be played.  Well, I don’t really recommend you to do a jailbreak at all, because there could be malware dresses in clothes of evil dragons out there waiting to eat you — jailbreak devices can install almost anything that’s not really approved by Apple’s App Store.  Anyhow, what you can do is to download a lite version of Atomic browser in Apple’s App Store.  The lite version of Atomic browser is FREE to download and FREE to use, and the best thing of all it does play Flash videos.  Well, at least 90% or higher percentage of Flash videos, because the ones that Atomic browser doesn’t play are the ones that will not work with any mobile gadget (e.g., iPhone, iPad, and so on) on purpose!  There you go, just go download Atomic Web Browser Lite in Apple’s App Store and start streaming your favorite Flash videos over the web!

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How Desperate Is Flash?

Mar 8, 11 12:33 PM

Adobe is hyping up its next version of Flash which will be Flash 11.  Adobe promises Flash 11 will come with 64 bit support.  In this day and age, 64 bit support should come by default, and so for Adobe to promise 64 bit support for its next release of Flash should not be a surprise and should not be something that we have to drop our jaws for.  For now, Adobe is releasing Flash 10.3.  This release of Flash 10.3 is to provide additional features for developers, and these new features have to do with audio functions.  These functions are canceling noise and echoes, detecting voice, and automatic adjusting microphone’s volume levels.

Adobe is continuing to push harder in its development of Flash, because HTML5 is the biggest threat yet Flash has to face sooner or later.  HTLM5 is still behind Flash in various features.  Still, give it time and HTLM5 will do just as much as Flash.  I think the biggest threat that HTML5 has going for Flash is not about who has more features, but it’s all about the standard.  Although users do not care about the standard of software development and so on, but in the end the dictation of what is standard of the software industry does translate into the ease of use.  Once HTLM5 becomes the standard, browser users do not need to install anything from a third party such as Adobe and yet they can do pretty much everything with HTML5.  Have a need of playing games over the web?  HTLM5 can handle that for Flash!  Have a need of watching videos over the web?  HTLM5 can handle that for Flash!  Have the need of create a standard HTLM web page but more modern since HTLM5 is more capable than its predecessors, well Flash can’t do that as well as HTML5.  The gist is that users don’t even need to know what is HTML5, because the standard makes HTML5 and the browsers one of the same!

I don’t think Flash will ever gain the upper hand once HTML5 becomes the only standard, but Flash can retain some followers if Adobe upgrades Flash to be more appealing.  How appealing?  How about let start with Flash will be even more efficient in using computer resources — to a point where even a weakest smart phone device out there can still use Flash without a hitch.  I notice my 2010 Macbook Pro’s temperature rises tremendously by just firing up Flash!  Second, Flash needs to be more secure.  I don’t know how secure Flash is now, but I notice too many complaints about how Flash gets to be so insecure in term of computer security.  Here is my proof, and I didn’t have to do much to get the proof — clicking the very first link inside Google’s search results of the keywords “How secure is Flash?” and I get the story “How secure is Flash? Here’s what Adobe won’t tell you.”  About reliability, Flash tends to crash unexpectedly with Firefox 4 beta.  OK, I know it maybe Firefox 4 beta’s fault since this version of the very browser is still in beta, but strangely I don’t see Silverlight and HTML5 have this problem.  If Adobe goes extra miles to make Flash works better than anything else on the market to a point where people prefer to install Flash than using HTML5, then Flash may have a winning chance.  I have to say, I don’t see that will happen!

In conclusion, I have a strong feeling that Flash will lose the popularity contest against HTML5, but if Adobe makes features that we cannot go without Flash — we have everything to gain such as HTML5 will be improved too so it can compete against Flash.  Flash 11 will come out soon, because it has to sink in with everyone fast to prove that even when HTML5 comes out, Flash can still be even more awesome.  Unfortunately, HTML5 is very capable too and so Flash has to have to come up with a miracle.  My verdict is that Flash won’t have a winning chance!  I hope Adobe will prove me wrong, because you and I have nothing to lose but with a better Flash to play with!

Source:  http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20040457-264.html

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