[LINK] Even more on Adobe Flash/Acrobat

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

IT notes,

> More than half of the internet’s top websites use a little known  
> capability of Adobe’s Flash plugin to track users and store  
> information about them ..(etc) iT
>
> http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/you-deleted-your-cookies-think-
again/


The Biggest Security Hole on the Web?
 
By Chris Crum - Sun, 08/16/2009 - 09:00 
http://archive.webpronews.com/2009a/0816.html


Security Company Points to Flash/Acrobat Reader Vulnerabilities

Two weeks ago, Adobe released a critical patch for Flash Player and 
Acrobat Reader:

http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb09-10.html


According to online security company Trusteer, about 80% of users are 
still vulnerable, and perhaps more startling, the company views this as 
being possibly the biggest security hole on the Internet today. 

That 80% figure is based on Trusteer's installed base of over 2.5 million 
online banking users of the company's security service. www.trusteer.com

"The penetration of Adobe Flash and Acrobat is unparalleled," a 
spokesperson for Trusteer tells WebProNews. "According to Adobe, 99% of 
Internet users run Flash. 

So, so many people on the web are running Flash, and Adobe released the 
patch two weeks ago, why are so many still vulnerable? 

Trusteer thinks Adobe just has issues with distributing patches. 

"Adobe is facing some major security challenges and one of its biggest 
hurdles is its software update mechanism.  For some reason, it is not 
effective enough in distributing security patches to the field," says 
Trusteer CEO Mickey Boodaei. 

"Given the lack of attention this situation has received to date, it 
appears that few people understand the magnitude of the problem. We 
recommend that all enterprises and individuals install the latest Flash 
and Acrobat updates immediately."

Accoreding to Trusteer, targeting products like Flash and Acrobat is 
attractive to wrongdoers because they reach such a huge portion of 
Internet users. Browser use is much more diversified with Internet 
Explorer reaching about 65% of users and Firefox reaching 30%. 

Targeting Adobe's products just covers a lot more people.

--

Cheers,
Stephen