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| Adobe's latest critical security update pushes scareware | |
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| Topic Started: Apr 1 2012, 03:45 AM (185 Views) | |
| Darcie | Apr 1 2012, 03:45 AM Post #1 |
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Skeptic
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Summary: Adobe just released a critical Flash Player security update. Good news: it includes a new automatic updater for Windows. Bad news: Adobe’s download page pushes a misleading “system optimizer” designed to scare users into paying for unneeded repairs. Update: Even on a completely clean installation of Windows 7, the “system optimizer” utility I discuss in this post found hundreds of “critical errors” that could only be fixed after paying for the repair. See Update 2 at the end of this post for details. March 30: I’ve captured a video of the entire process and uploaded it to YouTube. The unedited video (approximately 10 minutes) is here. Adobe did something good this week, releasing a new version of its Flash Player software with automatic updating capabilities. They also did something truly awful—using their update page to push a third-party scareware program designed to separate naïve PC users from their cash. I’ve criticized Adobe in the past for pushing foistware—browser toolbars and free virus scanners, usually—as part of the Flash download process. But this latest episode is far worse. First, the good news. Bad guys love to attack innocent computer users by targeting vulnerabilities in third-party software. One of the most common vectors is Adobe Flash, which gets critical security updates at an alarming rate. This year alone, three Flash Player security updates have been issued by Adobe: one on February 15, one on March 5, and one yesterday, March 28. If you use any of the affected platforms—Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Solaris, or Android 3.x and 2.x—you should update immediately http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/adobes-latest-critical-security-update-pushes-scareware/4681?tag=content%3Bfeature-roto |
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| Trotsky | Apr 1 2012, 07:08 AM Post #2 |
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Big City Boy
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I took the update but haven't noticed the system optimizer yet. Thanks for the warning. I usually ignore all those push ads...but this one I'll ignore TWICE. 023
Edited by Trotsky, Apr 1 2012, 07:08 AM.
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