Security: Update Flash and Shockwave Players

More and more websites use the Flash technology to display animated images and even to provide navigation.

As any active element of webdesign, the Flash objects may be exploited to infect your computers, steal your passwords and perhaps to take full control over computers.

Recently, one new exploit was discovered in the wild. Read more detail at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2008/05/exploit_inthewild_patch_your_f.html
You are advised to update your Flash and Shockwave players with the latest versions.

To check what version you have installed, go to
http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/about/
where you will also find the updates for both products, Flash and Shockwave.
The Shockwave update may also be found at
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi

Please note that if you are installing these updates with Firefox they may not be installed for the use of Internet Explorer. So please connect to these websites with IE, click "Agree and Install Now," then approve the installation of an ActiveX control, and then hit "Run" at the next prompt before the installation completed.

Please also note that you may be requested to install some bundled commercial software - refuse doing that.

My ADDITIONAL advice will be:

Install the Flashblock addon for Firefox, so that instead of loading Flash animation, your browser will only display a button indicating that there is Flash animation. If the site you are visiting is trustful, you may hit this button and the Flash animation will show. Otherwise, you will see no animation nor get any infection. You may also make this addon to remember the trusted sites where Flash animation will show automatically.

You may get FLASHBLOCK here -
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/433

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2008-06-03