Malware for macOS, another reason to avoid Adobe Flash!

There was an interesting article today in the Macworld Daily update comparing the latest Apple notebook computers to the popular Microsoft Surface Pro models. They compared hardware and also prices and value. The latest Apple MacBook Pros were definitely one up on the MS machines, however, they are about $300 to $500 more expensive.

I was in our local Staples store this afternoon browsing around and looking at the latest laser printers. I had a chance to look over the latest Dells, HP, and the Surface Pro models. (This particular Staples does not carry Apple computers, only the iPads.) I have to admit I was impressed with the HP models and what they had to offer for the price. The only thing that turned me off very quickly was Windows 10.

chscag said:

There was an interesting article today in the Macworld Daily update comparing the latest Apple notebook computers to the popular Microsoft Surface Pro models. They compared hardware and also prices and value. The latest Apple MacBook Pros were definitely one up on the MS machines, however, they are about $300 to $500 more expensive.

Click to expand...

And that price difference may disappear, if an when the display option is changed. For example, the very nice and comparable to MBP Dell XPS default display is 1920x1080 or FHD. Choose the optional 3200x1800 (QHD), that's a $300 option. It's the same that OEMs did with SSDs and later with the PCIe storage option. Do you want something that is really good? Well, pay up... By now, the SSD/PCIe storage options are pretty much becoming a standard. Once the QHD display option becomes the default, the Windows laptops will be no brainier.

That's not to say that the default display is bad. It's just that nowadays the default display option is too old in my view...

I was in our local Staples store this afternoon browsing around and looking at the latest laser printers. I had a chance to look over the latest Dells, HP, and the Surface Pro models. (This particular Staples does not carry Apple computers, only the iPads.) I have to admit I was impressed with the HP models and what they had to offer for the price. The only thing that turned me off very quickly was Windows 10.

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The applications determine the platform first and foremost, the personal preference comes in second. I use both platforms, but my preference is the Mac for number of reasons. On the other hand, if you remove all of the "telemetry functions" from Windows 10 Pro, it is just as fast as the MBP. I have a 5 years old Thinkpad pro with Windows 10 Pro that starts up just as fast, if not faster than my MBP from 2013...

I am sure I'm not alone in already having Adobe Flash. If I were to delete it would that remove the hidden malware if it's there. I think I downloaded it originally from Adobe and likewise all the updates but can't be certain.

Just make sure it is up to date, currently version 25.0.00.171.

I think it was me not 'Ashwin' who posted a question about Flash Player. My post has now vanished. There were 2 Flash Players showing on my desktop. The only option was eject so I tried dragging it to the trash but it didn't seem to be visible there. Anyway I found Flash manager and uninstalled Flash from there.

The two Flash players that you saw were probably disk images. This is a common way of distributing software. Dragging them into the trash is the same as using that method to eject disks. When that method is used they do not appear in the trash.

As to whether these were legitimate downloads. There no way to know if they were legit now.

I need help with this one.
I have an imac with latest os running Safari and Firefox browser.
Following advice I uninstalled Flash.
Trouble is when running my Virgin Media channels I am getting no picture.
Reinstalled Flash and picture returns.
Again following advice I installed Chrome and updated its version of Flash but again no picture.
All i am seeing where the picture should be is what looks like a broken picture in the top left picture.
So i cannot yet get rid of Flash.

There are many sites that still depend on Flash to show videos. In most cases, running the latest version of Chrome will get you what you need, but you have to make sure that Flash is enabled in Chrome..

In Chrome, go to Settings by hitting CMD+, and then click Show Advanced Settings at the bottom. Now click on Content Settings under the Privacy section. The fifth option in the pop-up should be Flash and see what your setting is. Mine is Block sites from running Flash with a few exceptions.

You would like add the Virgin Media as an exception.

I also have Adblock and uBlock Origin running to block ads, so while Flash videos will play on some sites, all ads (Flash or otherwise) are blocked..

I have followed your settings but now i am getting "device could not be detected" message when clicking to watch a Virgin channel.

Sorry to bring this up again but i still cannot resolve this.
Looks like i cannot use Chrome to watch Virgin Anywhere online.
On Firefox which is my preferred browser i can only get a small picture and no full screen.
On Safari the selected channel does not load at all just get "loading" icon.
It does seem to be only Virgin Anywhere that i have these problems.

cslogg said:

Sorry to bring this up again but i still cannot resolve this.
Looks like i cannot use Chrome to watch Virgin Anywhere online.
On Firefox which is my preferred browser i can only get a small picture and no full screen.
On Safari the selected channel does not load at all just get "loading" icon.
It does seem to be only Virgin Anywhere that i have these problems.

Click to expand...

Let's start from scratch and see if we can fix the problem.

Quit any browsers you have installed.

Download this uninstaller, and use it to completely uninstall the copy of Flash that you currently have installed:
http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-mac-os.html

Now download this full Flash installer from this Adobe site (instead of using the get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ site).
http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/flashplayer/latest/help/install_flash_player_osx.dmg
Use it to install a complete fresh copy of Flash Player.

Now, if you have Safari, make sure that Flash is enabled in Safari:
Choose Safari menu --> Preferences
Click the Security tab.
Make sure that Enable JavaScript is selected.
Make sure that Allow Plug-Ins is selected.
Next to Allow Plug-ins, click Manage Website Settings
Select Adobe Flash Player in the far left column.
In the "When visiting other websites” menu, choose Allow.

If you have Firefox, it should use the latest version of Flash that you have installed automatically. If it doesn't, you have to tell it to in:
Firefox menu --> Preferences --> Applications

See if that helps.

Did all of the above but still no progress.
Safari is the same, just get loading screen on selecting channel.

In Firefox ,Flash does not even appear in the Applications section you mentioned although it is in the plug ins? section and "always activate" next to it.
Then channel does play but on a tiny screen, if I can only get the screen bigger I will be happy.
There is an icon to make the screen bigger within the tv picture but I get no response when clicking on it.

cslogg said:

Did all of the above but still no progress.

Click to expand...

Okay, let's try a different tact.

Download this free, very modern browser:

Brave (free)
https://www.brave.com/

You shouldn't have to do anything to it, just run it and see how it handles the Web site you are trying to access.

Getting the same results with Brave as with Safari.
only difference is in brave I do not get a "loading" message when clicking on a channel, just a blank white square.
brave works fine with youtube and bbc iplayer though.
Maybe its not Flash but the actual Virgin site ?

I an an idiot.
Stumbled on the Firefox solution.
I should be double not single clicking on the icon to go full screen.
Cannot figure out the Safari problem though.
Probably do not need Safari and Brave so will probably ditch one.

cslogg said:

Stumbled on the Firefox solution.

Click to expand...

Well, I'm glad that it worked in one of the browsers you tried!

Sometimes my experience also is that something will only play or render in one browser. That's one of the reasons that I keep a number of them installed and handy.

Randy in your vast experience, how much actual trouble is caused by busing genuine Flash software compared to the pages and pages of reports, type etc written about it?

harryb2448 said:

Randy in your vast experience, how much actual trouble is caused by busing genuine Flash software compared to the pages and pages of reports, type etc written about it?

Click to expand...

A few years back there were a number of nasty bits of malware based on Flash, and at that time it looked like Flash was going to be an endless vector for new infections.

To their credit, Adobe has been *excellent* about getting out updates to Flash as quickly as possible to patch against active malware and potential vulnerabilities. It's not like tons of Mac users were infected by Flash-based malware. It's more like a bit of Flash malware would show up/be identified, it would be patched a day or two later, and then it would disappear completely.

About three years ago Apple sent out an update for the MacOS that totally disabled older, vulnerable versions of Flash, forcing folks to update to a newer version of Flash (if they decided to continue using Flash) that had very much increased security. Since then, there have been no new Flash-based malware examples released into the wild (or at least no ones that have made any headlines, because they weren't successful), and Adobe has continued to quickly update Flash as soon as they have become aware of potential vulnerabilities. Sometimes updating Flash several times in the same month.

So, as long as you keep Flash updated (and you can set Flash to auto-update), Flash seems to be extremely secure at this point.

However, one big problem is that there is malware (Trojan Horses, such as Genieo) that masquerades as legitimate Flash updates. Folks go to a compromised Web site, they see a pop-up that says that they need to download a Flash update, and they click on "yes," infecting themselves. Technically this isn't a Flash problem, but if you have already decided that you don't want to install Flash on your Macintosh, you probably wouldn't be tricked by this. The good news is that most of these bogus Flash updates are simply adware, rather than real malware. They don't do anything truly malicious, they just serve up ads, and they are pretty easy to remove with something like AdwareMedic or EtreCheck. And you can avoid a fake Flash installer by simply never updating Flash any way other than through Flash's System Preferences control panel (which can be set to automatic), or by downloading it directly from Adobe's Web site.

The thing is, the call to be "Flash-free" may be a bit premature for many folks. There are a ton of Web sites that still use Flash. (Turn off Flash and visit your favorite News site, and see what happens.)

Thank you that is how I have read it with a lot of the 'scare' threads being quite out of date.

harryb2448 said:

Thank you that is how I have read it with a lot of the 'scare' threads being quite out of date.

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+1 agreed!!!!

And thanks for the post Randy. Maybe some "stamp out Flash" advocates could read and heed it and maybe learn something.

And a lot of things have changed and improved since Steve Jobs wrote his famous anti-Adobe-Flash piece. And yet, almost related, Apple still often ships new Macs with their mice configured to only work as a single-buttoned mouse, so some things seem to never change.





- Patrick
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