Sam Oliver
Firefox users awoke Tuesday to an update that blocks every version of Adobe's Flash Player from running in the popular open-source browser, a victory for information security efforts following the unprecedented disclosure of numerous critical Flash vulnerabilities.
"All versions of Adobe's Flash Player plugin are currently deactivated by default, until Adobe releases an updated version to address known critical security issues," Mozilla wrote in a support document. Firefox currently accounts for around 16 percent of the worldwide browser market.
Adobe has been forced to grapple with more than two dozen critical Flash Player security flaws this month, including some that weren't discovered until after they were already being actively exploited. The company has pushed four emergency updates since June 9 alone.
Given the scale of the problems, it's not immediately clear when — Â or even if — Flash will be removed from the list.
AppleInsider recommends that Mac users uninstall Flash from their Mac in its entirety and use Google's Chrome browser for any occasional Flash needs that crop up. Failing that, installing the ClickToFlash extension for Safari is a reasonable fallback, and users should always ensure that automatic updates are enabled — Â the risk of security failure due to an out-of-date Flash version far outweighs the negligible chance of problems with Adobe's update functionality.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
Malcolm Owen
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
Sponsored Content
38 Comments
Wow, how far we've come since the days of the pundits proclaiming the iPhone was doomed without Flash support.
Apple waged a war on flash years ago... They don't go for quick victories, but damn do they win! Lol
Chrome's vaunted sandboxing of Flash doesn't work, it still gets hacked. And then you get Googs phoning home everything you're doing. That's like recommending you cut your finger off to stop your leg from bleeding.
Wow, how far we've come since the days of the pundits proclaiming the iPhone was doomed without Flash support.
I'll never forget the incessant mockery and hatred directed towards Apple and Jobs from every angle (especially the media) about their lack of Flash support and justification. As always, Apple is right, and it just takes a few years for every other gutless company to figure that out. The difference is that Apple is willing to take the heat and make decisions that aren't popular, for the greater good and long term benefits.
I knew Steve Jobs was going to be wrong about Flash! /s