Watch Out if updating Adobe Flash…

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

They have changed the small print so now you have to untick two boxes to stop it loading bloatware (Mcafee and a password manager).

You used to get a chance to stop them half way through install, but now you need to spot them before you install.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

I thought Adobe had finally killed Flash? Presumably because they had finally bled it dry. They wouldn't develop an Android version, presumably because the Android developers weren't prepared to pay the ransom being asked.

I've now stopped using Adobe Reader ("DC&quot, as it refused to actually print anything and despite knowing about the bug for months, they were too arrogant to acknowledge and fix the problem for Windows users. Now I use Nitro PDF reader and PDFill for editing.

As far as I'm concerned, Adobe could cease to exist and we wouldn't be any worse off. Have they managed to kill Dreamweaver / CS yet?

[Ed DuffnerParticipant @edduffner79357]

I've always liked using Dreamweaver. It was a better product before Adobe bought out Macromedia though, imho.

Creative Suite is far too fiddly to get jobs done. Feels like it was put together by engineering software coders as opposed to creative artistic developers.

Ed.

[stewart woodParticipant @stewartwood82335]

Re they change the small print ! Small print used to be the only way they could get away with devious practice .Now it's a free for all in the !! Free market !! Stewart

[Nick HughesParticipant @nickhughes97026]

I use Unchecky to overcome this very issue :- **LINK**

[Bodger BrianParticipant @bodgerbrian]

Posted by Muzzer on 19/11/2016 22:23:44:

I thought Adobe had finally killed Flash?

I don't know about 'killed' but my wife works for Oxford University Press and tells me that they're having to remove & replace Flash from all of their electronic publishing as Adobe are no longer supporting it.

Brian

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

It's supposed to be replaced by HTML5 at some point but quite what Adobe are up to with Flash, nobody seems to know. Not obvious why they seem so reluctant to communicate. Android users were left in the lurch several years ago, unable to play Flash content. As I said, not impressed with them in general.

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by Muzzer on 20/11/2016 22:19:29:

It's supposed to be replaced by HTML5 at some point ……

Given the penetration of Flash on millions (billions?) of websites, it'll be a long time before Flash is removed from all of them or even a significant majority. Given its vulnerability, Adobe – as the good corporate citizen they are – can do no more than support it in the meantime. At least for security issues.

[Danny M2ZParticipant @dannym2z]

When I went to the local library (free high speed internet) to download some lengthy videos for my UAV accreditation course, the library p.c's declined to allow the 'flash' videos to run due to 'security' issues.

Further investigation revealed this sort of thing: **LINK**

So on returning home I removed the 'flash' player from all my devices.

* Danny M *

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Posted by Bandersnatch on 20/11/2016 22:44:01:

Given its vulnerability, Adobe – as the good corporate citizen they are – can do no more than support it in the meantime. At least for security issues.

AFAIK, they are stopping support for Android at the end of 2016 – hardly a minority activity. Good citizen?

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

On Linux I get an update to Adobe Flash player about once a week. Never any problem with bloatware though. If I don't update Firefox refuses to play videos for security reasons.

Russell

[IanTParticipant @iant]

On my son's advice I removed Flash altogether from my PC some time ago. He's very well qualified to know about these things, so I listen to him. Cannot say I've particularly missed it either.

Regards,

IanT

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by Muzzer on 21/11/2016 07:40:44:

Good citizen?

Maybe I used the wrong smiley for sarcasm

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by IanT on 21/11/2016 09:30:27:

On my son's advice I removed Flash altogether from my PC some time ago. He's very well qualified to know about these things, so I listen to him. Cannot say I've particularly missed it either.

How do you read the digital archives here? Or perhaps you don't.

Flash isn't that bad security-wise as long as you don't let websites fire it off of their own accord (and you shouldn't allow that with any kind of script, not just Flash). Firefox and probably most other browsers allow you to configure the browser to ask you first if a website wants to run a Flash script. At that point you are given several options:

– no
– no (never for this site)
– yes (this website only, 1 time)
– yes (this website, this time and all future times) …. useful for reading the archive here.

(there may be others, I don't recall offhand)

[Richard S2Participant @richards2]

I also removed it from my Laptop back in the Spring after a Clean System Install, based on many online statements and my Son's recommendation.

Never any issues or encounters with Sites that require it. If I ever do, I won't bother with them.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Flash is fine if you allow it to apply the security updates, but it does try to install 'useful' programs by default when you change version which is what I was warning against.

I don't know why there are rumours of it not being supported, a new version, 23, was released in September 2016.

Neil

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