Updates 4/7/16 - Flash: Emergency update to patch RANSOMWARE vulnerabilty

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-adobe-systems-cyber-ransomware-idUSKCN0X502K

[This] emergency update [for] Flash software [patches] a security flaw that was being exploited to deliver ransomware to Windows PCs.

The software maker urged the more than 1 billion users of Flash... to update the product as quickly as possible after security researchers said the bug was being exploited in "drive-by" attacks that infect computers with ransomware when tainted websites are visited.

Ransomware encrypts data, locking up computers, then demands payments that often range from $200 to $600 to unlock each infected PC.

MS16-050 Security Update for Adobe Flash Player (3154132)    [ 12 April '16]

                 [This updates Flash in IE/Edge on Win8.1/10 to  21.0.0.213 ]

So I completely disabled Flash in IE11, but now it seems like almost every website pops up a banner asking me to allow Flash to run (even sites I didn't expect to want Flash). Some do seem to need it while others load/work fine without allowing Flash.

Is there any way to suppress that annoying pop-up in IE11 or do we just have to wait until all those sites get updated so they don't ask for it?

Just can't win... :emotion-40:

For what it's worth, I continue to use Flash... always keeping it up-to-date.   While many sites have been recoded to use an alternative (typically HTML5), your anecdotal evidence confirms the prevalence of flash on numerous sites.   So if you need to see that content, you'll just have to bite-the-bullet and keep flash activated.

Attacks on Flash seem to be coming faster than ever and Adobe can't seem to get ahead of the hackers.

Was hoping more sites would be friendly to HTML5. I wonder if some of them "prefer" Flash, hence the popup, but use HTML5 if Flash is disabled... ?

So, we either risk getting attacked by a Flash hack or deal with that annoying popup. Six of one, half dozen... :emotion-41:

Ron,

If you're concerned enough about the safety of using Flash in your browser, you could consider "hardening" your browser by running it either:

1) inside Sandboxie, to limit the impact [and remove the consequences] of any Flash-based exploit; or

2) along with MBAE (Anti-Exploit), to intercept [and prevent] any Flash-based exploit.

I'm using MBAE [except in IE on a 64-bit system, as something is getting messed-up for me in that configuration].

http://www.sandboxie.com/

https://www.malwarebytes.org/antiexploit/

I'll look into those... Thanks.

FWIW, I uninstalled Adobe Flash some years ago, and don't really miss it. I don't really need to see the Flash videos at the websites I frequent (typically news sites).

Alternatively, one might consider maintaining Flash in one's secondary browser only.

I uninstalled Adobe Flash some years ago

So do you just ignore the popup banner from sites that want Flash? Or have you found a way to block the popup?

I'm using IE11 and haven't found a way to turn it off.

 I generally don't get popups for Flash content, just a placeholder about the size of a YouTube video that states  I need Adobe Flash to view the video. I just ignore them.  This is using IE11 with Adblock Plus.

I get this annoying popup banner even on some sites which don't seem  to need Flash, eg they're mostly text and jpgs, and there's no placeholders for a video.

Ron,

Do you get that popup [on the same web page] if you try an alternate browser (e.g., IE vs. FF)?

Only have IE11 on this PC and don't want to install FF or Chrome so I don't know if they'd have the same popup banner.

Ron:

You state that you "disabled" the Flash add-on in IE11. By contrast, I uninstalled it completely in Win 7 via control panel, for both IE and FF. That might explain why I'm not seeing the pop-ups you do.

That would explain it. You can't be asked to run something that ain't there. :emotion-4:

I only disabled Flash on the Manage Add-ons screen in IE11.