Update your computer's Flash Player software

[Tom M]

Adobe's Flash Player is the software used to display some types of movies (e.g. YouTube videos) and some types of advertisements. There's a security bug in Flash Player that's being used to attack & infect computers.

I suggest running Adobe's Flash Player Uninstaller first, then going and getting the latest version of Flash Player afterwards. Flash Player Uninstaller can be downloaded from this page, and that page also has links to the newest version.

For Windows users, I also suggest a couple more checkups:

1) you probably know about Windows Update. But did you know about the Microsoft Update site? It checks more stuff than Windows Update does.

2) Secunia has free checkups that'll tell you if you need security updates for third-party stuff like Adobe Reader, Sun Java, Flash Player, RealPlayer, Skype and hundreds of other things. If you need the updates, it'll give you links to them. Secunia has a simple version that runs in your web browser, and an installable version that monitors your system all the time: secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/ Less than 2% of first-time users actually have all their security updates already, so this is likely to be worth your time.


If you use Windows and want to "harden" it further, I have more tips at www.mechbgon.com/security .

[Mike S]

Thanks for the information Tom. I, like most people I think, just assume that if I'm getting the windows and Norton updates that I'm safe. Everything is so automatic these days that I wasn't even aware that I should be doing something.

[Tim_L]

Good stuff Tom.
However I have to say as someone who has to fix these things I dont personally recommend the "Microsoft Update" page (nor do I let company systems run it). It adds bloat - the last thing windows needs is more junk to run in the background. Windows Update however I recommend - keep that Operating System updated! Just dont install windows search 4.0 - what a resource hog.

Also I'll say that when it comes to apps newer is not often better. In fact, most typical apps these days come with attached junk like toolbars, sidebars, search apps, system tray junk and more (install DivX or Real Player and you'll get toolbars unless you pay attention). This is the most common thing I fix; bloated systems loaded with tons of junk at startup. Malware comes in a close 2nd. Of the apps to update i'd say Java is the best one to keep up to date, I have seen malware get into a system via java flaws (however it can come with toolbar junk too!).

So dont rush through those installs, read them and pay attention - and be very careful what apps you install that promise to 'clean' your system!

Wow Tom you put some work into that webpage... nice!

[Tom M]

Wow Tom you put some work into that webpage... nice!

Thanks I condensed my sysadmin experience plus my malware-hunting experience into that guide. It's still Geek-talk to many folks, but stuff can only be simplified to a point.

The reason I suggest Microsoft Update is that many folks have something installed that MU would update, but WU would not. For example, my mom's system has the free PowerPoint Viewer, plus Microsoft Works, Silverlight, and probably a few other items that MU will update, but WU won't. They're definitely on the bad guys' hit list, as are full-on Office products like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Visio, etc, so they need to be patched somehow.

Given the current trend towards targeting application vulnerabilities, I'm able to sleep better knowing Mom's system is auto-patching that stuff. For those who'd rather not use Microsoft Update, however, Secunia's installable checkup utility is worth a try for doing it manually (its auto-start feature can be disabled if you don't want it to run all the time).