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I keep getting the message that I need to have Adobe Flash Player to view most of the YouTube videos I try to see. Do you advise this? I have Perian and VLC but they don't exactly kick in when trying to watch Youtube. Neither does QT player.

I can plug the url to these videos into MyYouTuber and use .flv or QT, and they work but they are fuzzy.

Thanks.

Rita

As a frequently used internet multimedia format, Flash (like other web page components) is a favorite target for hackers intending to use its vulnerabilities to gain access to your computer. This works because of the way Flash is structured, and because it's being used for all kinds of things on web pages, from ads to 'actual' content, and just one 'corrupted' element can wreak havoc. To counteract these security issues, Flash is being patched regularly, and users are well advised to keep up with these patches. But this is not always fully secure, so another approach is to serve content in other (less vulnerable) formats, like HTML5, and configure your browser(s) with extensions or add-ons to use this instead of Flash, but this option isn't always available.

So, if you still need to access Flash (ideally on pages you can expect to be secure), you can still install it, but in a way that gives you control over which Flash elements on a page to run. This way you can leave Flash ads etc. alone, and only view the Flash element you want. This has the added advantage of faster page loads.
In Safari you can do this with the ClickToFlash extension. By default, this will block all Flash elements on a page and display them as grey rectangles, unless/until you click on one. Then that particular element will load. You can also set the extension preference to check if there is an HTML5 alternative and load that instead.

Flash is installed as a browser plugin, and the author of ClickToFlash also made the general plugin control extension ClickToPlugin. This allows you to control the display of all page elements depending on (subvertible) plugins, like Acrobat Reader etc. It works the same way: the plugin-controlled page element is displayed in grey with the plugin name in the center, and clicking that loads the plugin for that element only. I recommend you install both.

PS, similar controls are available for other browsers like Firefox (Flashblock), while Chrome has some built-in.

Thanks, Alternaut. It looks like there is a good explanation on how to use it on the site, too. And it's free! Thanks so much. I knew some Mac owners were against Adobe Flash Player but I didn't know why. Now I do.

I am reading the website now and trying to get the gist of it. Thanks.
It's a little confusing. Just want to watch flash videos, I guess. Do I really need ClicktoPlugin for that?

Rita

If you hadn't mentioned reading the web site, I'd have recommended that too. Just make sure to have a peek at the settings section, so you know what's possible.

- No, for Flash videos you don't need ClickToPlugin. CtF is a special case of CtP, but the latter is quite helpful in and by itself, if only to stop autoloading of PDFs you weren't aware of on a page. Saves time. FWIW, I use them both. Good luck!

Thanks. There is just so much to know about these plugsin that I got overwhelmed. Just want it to be simple. I don't understand all the explanations. Anyway, I will download at least the flash one. If I can get comfortable with that, I may download the other. Thanks again.

Rita

Not to worry, you'll get the hang of it quickly enough; the way the extensions work is pretty much self-explanatory. That is, as long as you see the tell-tale gray rectangle with the Flash name inviting you to click.

For instance, if you use ClickToFlash with Google Maps, you should know that Streetview is Flash-based. As it happens, Streetview's semi-transparent Flash tag is almost invisible, so you may not realize there's something to click. When I ran into that the first time, it took me a while to figure out why Streetview 'wasn't working'... This may also apply to other sites, just so you know.

Thanks for the heads up. I do get easily confused with this stuff! I have other stuff I need to do first, but I will download the flash part (hopefully today), and see how I do.

Rita

I downloaded ClickToFlash. It is the weirded app or utility I have ever downloaded! There is no icon. When I looked in Spotlight to find it, I clicked on what I thought was the icon, but it opened the prefs in a webpage instead of the actual program. I clicked a few buttons to see if I could get it to work. I then went to YouTube but it still says I need Adobe Flashplayer.

Would you suggest some of the things I need to enable to get this to work?

Under "control Lists" I put Youtube in the space for "allow flash on these sites" and under "General" I added "Load Flash if HTMLs fail." I left the rest of the defaults alone. Still not working. I just need some help tweeking this.

Rita

What you describe is exactly what's supposed to happen. The thing you seem to have omitted is downloading and installing the FlashPlayer browser plugin. Once everything is installed you can access ClickToFlash's popup menu by Control- or Right-clicking in any web page window. The contents of the popup menu are selectable in the prefs, which is a default item on the popup. Just try that to see what I mean.

Btw, ClickToFlash is a so called faceless (background) app, lacking the usual presence of regular apps (like a listing and windows). It just works as advertized with a simple mouse click. Another popular example is Plain Clip.

I guess what's weird is that when I click onto a website and then pull of the flash prefs after right clicking, I can't get rid of the prefs without getting rid of the webpage as well.

Is the flashplayer browser plugin a different download? When I clicked on your link, it brought me to Adobe.

I am so confused. Grrrrrr...

I've downloaded a lot of stuff and installed it etc. It was never this complicated.

Rita

ClicktoFlash isn't a background app, it's a Safari extension and runs within the browser environment.

Yes, FlashPlayer is a separate download. The link I included brings you to Adobe's FlashPlayer download site. On that page you select your OS version in the Step 1 popup, and the appropriate FlashPlayer in Step 2 (pick the latest if there is more than one choice). Install after downloading. You may have to quit any running browsers to complete the install.

You're right, of course, thanks Kevin. I should have said it's like a faceless app, in that the effect for the user is quite similar.

I am downloading flash player now. I got confused because it seemed you said not to download Adobe flashplayer. I guess this must be a little different?

Rita

It's now working. I assume Adobe is working with the ClickToFlash somehow and it can't be hacked. That's what I got out of all of this.

I thought I was using ClickToFlash instead of Adobe.

Anyway, woo hoo, it's working.

Thanks.

Rita

Sort of 'yes' to the first: ClickToFlash modifies FlashPlayer behavior in your browser. And 'not quite' to the latter: Flash remains a weak link in constant need of patching, so keep on top of that by checking with Adobe for updates.

That said, some of us need or want Flash despite the potential risk. To minimize that, the browser extension ClickToFlash blocks all flash by default, and allows you to only load what you want or need. By doing so you could still open the door for a big bad wolf, but that's less likely now, and certainly not automatic as it might have been. Just be careful on sites you don't know, and refrain from clicking those grey Flash rectangles unless you know what to expect.

Anyway, it's good to hear that you're now able to watch Youtube clips, with some control over what Flash loads there and elsewhere. Have fun, and stay safe!

OK. Now I think I've got it. I've got it on automatic updates. Thanks so much.

Rita