Just days after Apple blocked Java from Macs the company has blocked Flash, unless users install a security update.
When attempting to view Flash content in Safari, you may see this alert: “Blocked Plug-in,” says Apple on the web page announcing the availability of the update.
If you visit a site that uses Flash to display ads you will see the following message:
“Adobe Flash Player” is out of date.
The version of “Adobe Flash Player” on your system does not include the latest security update and has been blocked. To continue using “Adobe Flash Player”, download an updated version from Adobe’s website.
Users are given the option to download the update from Adobe. Or they can click on OK, essentially barring Flash from their Mac.
Adobe released the patch to Flash on 7 February. According to Adobe’s release notes, it addresses “vulnerabilities that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system”.
Adobe notes that is aware of reports that CVE-2013-0634 is being exploited in the wild in attacks delivered via malicious Flash (SWF) content hosted on websites that target Flash Player in Firefox or Safari on the Macintosh platform. There are also attacks designed to trick Windows users into opening a Microsoft Word document delivered as an email attachment that contains malicious Flash (SWF) content, claims the company.
You can download the update from Adobe’s website here.
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Apple bans Java from Macs, businesses that rely on Java bereft
Author: Karen Haslam, Editor
Macworld editor since 2008, Karen has worked on both sides of the Apple divide, clocking up a number of years at Apple's PR agency prior to joining Macworld two decades ago.
Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Her focus is Mac, but she lives and breathes Apple.