Adobe recently released a security update for its Flash Player. The update patches known vulnerabilities that give third parties access to -- and possibly take over -- a machine.
"Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and ChromeOS. These updates address critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system," the official statement for the latest patch says.
Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Chrome OS users are advised to download and install the latest patch. To check the version installed on a user's system, one can check the About Flash Player page. The version that needs to be installed on the system should read 21.0.0.213 for Windows and Macintosh OSX while Linux machines should have 11.2.202.616 for Mozilla Firefox browser and 21.0.0.213 for Chrome-based browsers. Lastly, Solaris OS should display version 11.2.202.223 (the supported last version) . For those seeing earlier versions on their system, now is the right time to update to the latest version.
PCWorld reported that there are quite a number of known vulnerabilities with the older version of the Flash Player -- 22 to be exact -- and attackers can use these exploits to remotely launch and execute a code. Hackers can then insert ransomware into an infected system. Once a computer is infected, a user will not be able to access the specific machine or its data, and they would need to pay a specific amount to the attacker to put things back to normal.
Sophos, an internet security company, suggested two things to computer users: first and the best is uninstall or turn off the browser. The second option is, for those who cannot live without it, that users should opt for the "click-to-play" feature on the browser. The second choice will need a secondary confirmation before the browser runs a Flash content. This is very useful when going to those websites that a user has never visited before.
Adobe added last week that the latest vulnerability issues are targeting Windows 10 users, as ArsTechnica reported.
