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new malware: beware Flash
#51937 07/01/19 01:14 PM
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jchuzi Online OP
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I'm posting this in this forum rather than the Lounge because it relates to internet issues. Latest Mac malware in the wild evades security software, researchers


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: new malware: beware Flash
jchuzi #51938 07/01/19 02:06 PM
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I like this statement from the Apple Insider article:
Originally Posted By: AppleInsider
"As a general rule, nobody should be installing Flash Player in 2019 — not even the real, legitimate one," Intego commented. HTML5 and other technologies have made Flash obsolete, and Adobe itself is ending development and distribution of Flash Player by the end of 2020. The plugin was disabled by default in 2016's macOS Sierra, and has never been available in iOS.

IMO that is the best approach to Flash or Flash Player.

RELATED TOPIC
  • Yesterday I received an email purportedly from a vendor I had recently ordered from inviting me to participate in a survey and get a prize. On the face it appeared legitimate but there was something not quite right about it. So I opened the message in raw format and found it was mostly Javascript and included a page and a half of totally unrelated text from only the creator knows where. I attempted to analyze the Javascript but gave up because the code was incredibly baroque. And the purported sender denied any knowledge of the message or the survey. At this point the surmise is clicking on the survey link in the message exposes you to a Windows malware exploit. I am not going to risk clicking to find out. I forwarded the message to the purported sender and they took it from there. In the meantime I immediately deleted the message, emptied the trash, and increased the rate of MalwareByte's scans.
  • I have no idea what the average internet user would do in a case like this. Even if they are astute enough to pick up on the content clues I saw, much less knowledgable enough to open the message in raw mode, I venture less than 30% of Mac users and 5% of iOS users would have any idea how to interpret what they were seeing.
THE INTERNET HAS BECOME A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: new malware: beware Flash
joemikeb #51943 07/01/19 04:02 PM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
THE INTERNET HAS BECOME A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT

Has become???


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: new malware: beware Flash
joemikeb #51944 07/01/19 04:03 PM
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So . . . What is the alternative for those websites that say FLASH PLAYER is required to view video - and not just those, ahem, adult sites?

Re: new malware: beware Flash
joemikeb #51945 07/01/19 04:17 PM
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jchuzi Online OP
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On a recommendation from TechSurvivors, I downloaded and installed Intego VirusBarrier Scanner (free) and it is running a scan as I write this. I don't expect any issues, but why not give it a try?

ADDENDUM: No viruses were detected.

Last edited by jchuzi; 07/01/19 04:19 PM.

Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: new malware: beware Flash
MG2009 #51948 07/01/19 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted By: MG2009
So . . . What is the alternative for those websites that say FLASH PLAYER is required to view video - and not just those, ahem, adult sites?


There is no alternative to Flash Pllayer, but most legitimate (non XXXX) sites have moved to HTML 5. If they haven't then complain to the management.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein

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