Adobe Flash Player

[makarios68]

I keep getting asked to donwload active x Adobe Flash Player when on this website.
Anyone know what it does and if i need it?
My security system says it may have risks - so i've up to now rejected it.

[DuoMaxwell]

LOL.

Ok ok, Adobe Flash player is what lets you watch flash based viodeos games and see some things done for websites. Now if you may remeber it was previously made by Macromedia, but unfortunatly Adobe bought them out a few years back.

For security risks there aren't any, you run more risk from jscript and activex. The only downside to flash is the fucking flash based ads.

But seriouslly, if you're worried about security why are you using IE, the only browser that uses that active x shite that should be banned in every country on earth. Get yourself Firefox with the adblock, filterset.g, no script, spoofstick, customize google and bugmenot extensions, it should give you the best possible security on windows for browsing without going for a more extreme measure like DLing VMare Player and Browser Appliance, which is a custom version of Ubuntu Linux 5.04 and Firefox 1.5 if I remember correctly.

Flash http://www.adobe./products/flashplayer/

Firefox http://www.mozilla.com/

AdBlock https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/10

Filterset.g https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1136

Customize Google https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/743

No Script https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722

SpoofStick http://www.spoofstick.com/ May need tweaking to run on newer versions of Firefox, don't worry, it's easy to do to adjust the version rules from whatever it's capped at to whatever you want.

BugMeNot http://roachfiend.com/archives/2005/02/07/bugmenot/

VMWare Player http://www.vmware.com/products/player/

Browser Appliance http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/browserapp.html

If security is a concern tho ditch windows, it's far easier to run secure on Linux and OS X.

[makarios68]

i don't know a great lot about computers - so when u ask me why i use IE and Windows - all i can say is that it came with the system i bought, so i use it.
Not knowing the alternatives to these very pervasive software applications - i stay with the status quo.
Having said this, i wil look into the programs u mention.

[DuoMaxwell]

Well if yah need more info on just about any type of software drop me a line. I've been building and repairing comps for quite a while now.

[NightTwix]

oh its not quite true that there is no security risk.
any software can have holes.
Flash had them in the past as well and will have them in the future

anyway, its always a question of risk vs features and flash leans more towards features. So i'd say its ok to install it.

the real question is why NGD uses it on their website. Its bad practice nowadays and sooooooo 1999'ish

[DuoMaxwell]

Well yah, flash or other scripting has always been bad practice for anyhthing but online cartoons and basic games, using it for anything else is tacky and a waste of time.

We're set to have big problems tho if new MS crap catches on like Silverlight, their flash competitor, some big name sites are already using it...

Never turst microsoft to do anything but get infected.

Also, as far as secrity holes,wern't the flash exploits tied more to the idiotic jscript and activex controls in IE, just using flash as the initial vector but the flaw exploited was actually part of IE itself? I'll have to go and dig it up.