[LINK] Adobe Flash problems - update fails with OS X Lion and above

Rick Welykochy rick at vitendo.ca
Fri Feb 7 11:12:17 AEDT 2014


Jan Whitaker wrote:
> This article says Adobe has issued a patch for Flash and to update
> your browser, specifically naming Firefox and Opera as afterthoughts,
> but still, mentioned.
> http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/security-it/adobe-issues-emergency-flash-patch-20140205-hvbf0.html
>
> Problem is, when you say update add-ons in Firefox, the result is a
> report that everything is up to date, including Flash, which was last
> updated 1 October 2013.
>
> So who is right?

I just updatedFlash  a couple of days ago. The updates are getting closer and closer
together over time, which is a worry.

The latest one for my Mac running OS X is this:

*install_flash_player_osx-***12.0.0.44*.dmg*

which is amusing, since their emergency bulletin mentioned that the update is to version
*12.0.0.43. *In the time between issuing the bulletin and me reading it, not more
than one day, they had already issued another update.

Try this link which I use in Mozilla/Seamonkey to check my plug-in statuses:

https://www.mozilla.org/en-GB/plugincheck/


<rant item="1">

Here is a warning to all Linkers using OS X Lion or higher: the Adobe Flash
update procedure is broken.

Rather than offer you the complete download as an approx 18 MB DMG file,
they give you a link to an installer, which is under 1MB in size. *The installer**
**fails. *Everytime.

I now have to use OS X Tiger to download the complete DMG file, then distribute
that to machines running Lion.

I tried in vain to contact Adobe about this problem. Their installer has been broken
for months.
</rant>


<rant item="2">

Adobe, perhaps unwittingly, has assumed the position of being the purveyor of
the most popular video viewing software for the web, /sans pareil/.

As such, one would expect them to get their software right. But they are continuing
to fail at that very important job. The Flash plug-in is riddled with bugs, especially
security problems. They update the thing at least monthly. The quality of the software
is not improving.

Conspiracy? Perhaps the quality of the software is fine and Adobe is complying with
demands from the NSA to continually update the Flash plug-in with the latest in
spy technology. Perhaps each upgrade opens your machine to more spying. Who knows.

</rant>

Bring on HTML5 and embeded video. And Flash be damned.


regards
rickw


-- 
------------------------------------
Rick Welykochy || Vitendo Consulting

Failure is not an option; it comes bundled with every Microsoft product.




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