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Switcher Hangout (Windows to Mac)
Question: Is it safe to install Adobe Flash Player on my iMac?
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<blockquote data-quote="chas_m" data-source="post: 1298878"><p>There aren't any viruses for the Mac, so apparently it is "virus proof," at least for the last decade or so. But "virus" does NOT mean the same thing "vulnerability" or "instability" and thus your question is a VERY FAIR ONE.</p><p></p><p>Flash has been seen time and time again as one of the *leading* (but not the only) source of security compromises and causes of instability in web browsers -- so much so that Chrome (not Apple) was the first browser to "sandbox" Flash away from other processes (most of the others quickly followed suit, including Safari).</p><p></p><p>My personal answer to your question is that as of Safari 5.1 and the other updated major browsers, it's safe enough to install Flash, particularly if you add in a manual blocker like "ClickToFlash" to "gatekeep" Flash use on a case-by-case basis. Most of what we see as Flash on websites are ads -- not that I mind ads so much, but annoying Flash ads really are the bane of the web -- so blocking Flash most of the time results in a net speed gain.</p><p></p><p>I've set (if there's an option to set) the major video sites to show me videos in HTML5 rather than Flash. I realize there are still websites which are very dependent on Flash for animations and games and such and that's fine -- recent Mac versions of Flash have in fact offered incremental improvements, particularly on the most recent models -- so I like having the OPTION of running Flash when I *want* or *need* to, but I also like not having to deal with it and its attendant issues (like revving the fans on my machine) most of the time.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="chas_m, post: 1298878"] There aren't any viruses for the Mac, so apparently it is "virus proof," at least for the last decade or so. But "virus" does NOT mean the same thing "vulnerability" or "instability" and thus your question is a VERY FAIR ONE. Flash has been seen time and time again as one of the *leading* (but not the only) source of security compromises and causes of instability in web browsers -- so much so that Chrome (not Apple) was the first browser to "sandbox" Flash away from other processes (most of the others quickly followed suit, including Safari). My personal answer to your question is that as of Safari 5.1 and the other updated major browsers, it's safe enough to install Flash, particularly if you add in a manual blocker like "ClickToFlash" to "gatekeep" Flash use on a case-by-case basis. Most of what we see as Flash on websites are ads -- not that I mind ads so much, but annoying Flash ads really are the bane of the web -- so blocking Flash most of the time results in a net speed gain. I've set (if there's an option to set) the major video sites to show me videos in HTML5 rather than Flash. I realize there are still websites which are very dependent on Flash for animations and games and such and that's fine -- recent Mac versions of Flash have in fact offered incremental improvements, particularly on the most recent models -- so I like having the OPTION of running Flash when I *want* or *need* to, but I also like not having to deal with it and its attendant issues (like revving the fans on my machine) most of the time. [/QUOTE]
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Switcher Hangout (Windows to Mac)
Question: Is it safe to install Adobe Flash Player on my iMac?
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