One Huge Reason Not To Run Adobe Flash: Malware That Exploits Flash Is On The Rise

Frequent readers of this blog will know that I recently dumped Adobe Flash on my Macs except for running it in Google Chrome or inside a virtual machine. PC Magazine has a big reason why you may want to dump Flash regardless of whether you run a Mac or PC. Flash based malware:

Adobe Flash malware attacks are on the rise, according to McAfee Labs, which reported a 317 percent surge in the first quarter.

Attackers’ attention appears to have been diverted from Java and Microsoft Silverlight to un-patched Flash vulnerabilities.

Lovely. Here’s why this is a popular attack vector:

In the May McAfee Labs Threat Report, researchers chalk it up to several factors: the technology’s popularity, users’ delay in applying patches, new methods of exploitation, an increase in mobile devices compatible with Flash files, and the difficulty in detecting some exploits.

So, if you don’t update Flash, you’re asking to get pwned. In my case, it was simpler to dump Flash altogether. My Mac is safer and runs a bit better because I did. You might want to do the same.

Oh, speaking of updates, you should update Flash now if you do have it installed as remote access attack exploits are out there if you don’t. Charming.

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