Flash
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Nintendo's long-lost Flash games are returning to the web
A Nintendo enthusiast is busy rescuing the company's treasure trove of Flash games. The titles, which served as promotional tie-ins for releases like Donkey Kong 64, Metroid Prime, and Mario Kart: Double Dash, have long been missing from the internet. But, thanks to the efforts of a modder known as Skelux they're making a comeback. You can sample a selection of the games, dating from 1999 to 2010, on his website (as spotted by Motherboard).
Latest Adobe Flash vulnerability allowed hackers to plant malware
Adobe Flash may be on its way out, but apparently, its goodbye tour is going to be marred by security issues just as the software has for most of its existence. Kaspersky Labs reports that a new Adobe Flash vulnerability was exploited by a group called BlackOasis, which used it to plant malware on computers across a number of countries. Kaspersky says the group appears to be interested in Middle Eastern politics, United Nations officials, opposition activists and journalists, and BlackOasis victims have so far been located in Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Libya, Jordan, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Netherlands, Bahrain, United Kingdom and Angola.
Equifax may have been hacked again (update: not a breach)
When Equifax's interim CEO penned a letter of apology on The Wall Street Journal, he admitted that it will take a lot of effort to regain people's trust. Unfortunately, the company still seems to be lacking when it comes to security, because according to Ars Technica, it's been hacked yet again. Independent security analyst Randy Abrams told Ars that he was redirected to hxxp:centerbluray.info and was met with a Flash download when he went to equifax.com to contest a false info on his credit report.
Flash was useful, but developers are glad it’s on the death march
Earlier this week, Adobe announced it would cease support and development of Flash at the end of 2020, a decision that had many people saying, "Finally." The "Flash is dead" rhetoric has been around for years, and people like Facebook's chief security officer, Alex Stamos, have called for Adobe to set an end-of-life date for some time. Well, it finally has, and Adobe tells Engadget that the transition out has been planned for several years.
Adobe is ending development and support for Flash in 2020
Adobe announced today that it is ending support for and development of Flash in 2020. The company cited declining usage statistics (80 percent of Chrome users visited a site with Flash daily in 2014, as compared to 17 percent today) and a plethora of alternatives as the reason for the termination.
US: North Korea's been hacking everyone since 2009
US authorities believe the North Korean government has been using an army of hackers called "Hidden Cobra" to deploy cyber attacks over the past eight years. That's according to the Technical Alert formally issued by the Homeland Security and the FBI, which contains the details and tools NK's cyber army has been using to infiltrate the media, financial, aerospace and critical infrastructure sectors in the US and around the globe. The government agencies issued the alert after tracing the IP addresses of a malware variant used to manage NK's DDoS attacks to North Korean computers. While other players can spoof their IPs to frame NK, the US is encouraging cyber analysts to be on the lookout, warning them that the Asian country will continue to use cyber operations to advance its government's military and strategic objectives.
Malware infects computers by hiding in browser ad GIFs
Unless you still use Internet Explorer (and please don't do that), you probably don't have to worry about new malware discovered by Eset researchers. However, the Stegano exploit kit shows how adept hackers have become at slipping infected ads past major networks and then hiding the malware from discovery. It's been operating stealthily for the last two years and specifically targeting corporate payment and banking services.
Google Chrome now defaults to HTML5 for most sites
Google proposed making HTML5 the default over Flash in its Chrome browser back in May. With the latest release, Chrome 55, the company has nearly completed the transition. Chrome now defaults to HTML5 except when a site is Flash-only or if its one of the top 10 sites on the web. For every other website you visit, you'll be asked to enable Flash the first time you go there.
Facebook built a Snapchat-like app for developing countries
Facebook has launched a new Snapchat-like app less than a year after it killed its old Snapchat-like app Slingshot, according to Recode. What's special about this one is that it was built specifically with emerging markets in mind. The new application called Flash was reportedly created by a team within the social network in charge of building apps for developing nations. They also could've been the ones behind Facebook and Messenger Lite. Flash is less than 25MB in size, which is much smaller than Snapchat for Android that's roughly 70MB. It was also built to work even in areas with limited connectivity.
Microsoft patch for Google-outed exploit is still a week away
Microsoft is still more than a little upset at Google revealing unpatched Windows security flaws, but it'll at least have a solution in hand in the days ahead. The software giant now plans to issue a patch for affected version of Windows on November 8th. You're in good shape if you use both Windows 10 Anniversary Update and a sufficiently up to date browser (both Chrome and Edge should be safe), but you'll definitely have to be cautious if you can't use one of the known safe browsers or the latest version of Windows.
Google reveals unpatched Windows bug that hackers are exploiting (update)
Google has revealed that it came across previously undiscovered Flash and Windows vulnerabilities in October, and one of them remains unpatched. The tech titan gave both Adobe and Microsoft a heads-up on October 21st -- Adobe issued a fix on October 26th through a Flash update, but Microsoft hasn't released one for its platform yet. The real problem is, according to Google, that unpatched Windows flaw is "being actively exploited."
Google Chrome will begin blocking Flash in favor of HTML5
Though it's been a long time coming and the writing's been on the wall for a while, Google Chrome is finally de-emphasizing Flash in favor of HTML5. Come September, Google Chrome 53 will begin blocking Flash, such as the kind that loads "behind the scenes," as Google says, which can slow down casual web browsing. HTML5 is a lot less resource-heavy and when pages utilize it, it improves battery life, page loading and responsiveness across the web.
Firefox will leave Flash off by default in 2017
Add Mozilla to the ranks of web browser developers giving Flash the boot. While it previously blocked Flash over security issues, it's phasing out regular use of Adobe's often-criticized plugin, starting with one of its next major releases. As of August, Firefox will block some Flash content that's "not essential to the user experience." And in 2017, it'll leave Flash off by default -- much like what other companies are doing, you'll have to click to activate any Flash-only material.
Apple will deactivate Flash by default on Safari 10
You know that Maya Angelou quote that says "Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option?" If Flash were a person following that tenet, then it now has to drop Safari from its dwindling list of priorities. In a post on the WebKit blog, Apple engineer Ricky Mondello has revealed that the company is deactivating Adobe Flash by default on Safari 10. That's the version of the browser shipping with macOS Sierra this fall.
Chrome will make Flash player a last resort as soon as fall
We've come a long, long way from the time when Google was praising Adobe Flash as if it were a cornerstone of the internet. The internet firm has quietly proposed an "HTML5 by Default" initiative for Chrome that would make Flash more of an if-you-must backup than a must-have. The web browser would pick the HTML5 web standard for content when given the choice -- when it isn't an option, it would ask you to activate Flash. It'd skip that activation prompt for the 10 most popular sites using Flash (currently including YouTube, Facebook and Twitch), but only for a year. You'd first see HTML5 by Default in the open source Chromium browser in the fourth quarter of this year, with regular Chrome likely following soon afterward.
Canon's latest EOS M lens has a built-in ring flash
Canon's first EOS M may have landed with a thud, but things are getting much better for the mirrorless system. The company launched the excellent EOS M3 late last year, and just revealed a very interesting lens, the EF-M 28mm f/3.5 Macro IS STM. It's the first EF-M macro lens, and only the eighth native model in the family so far. What's more, the lens is has a very unique design with a dual "ring flash" attached to the end.
Microsoft's Edge browser is clamping down on Flash, too
"Adobe Flash isn't responding." It's the message you can feel coming as soon as your browser grinds to a halt and you abandon all hope of salvaging what you were working on. Well, if you're a developer that's part of the Windows Insider program and have grabbed Windows 10 build 14316, you're living in a future where the aforementioned nightmare scenario sounds less likely. Microsoft is changing how its Edge browser handles Flash elements by disabling all but those that it says are central to the page you're viewing, like games or Flash-based video.
Adobe warns users to patch a critical Flash vulnerability
Stop me if you've heard this one. Adobe has released a new patch for Flash that fixes "critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system," according to the security bulletin. It says the update (version 21.0.0.182) is a top priority for users of Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and ChromeOS, so you should install it tout de suite. The upgrade patches 23 holes in the software, but Adobe said one of them, CVE-2016-1010 "is [already] being used in limited, targeted attacks."
The FBI teaches teens about extremism with a game that defies logic
The FBI recently fired up a new site urging teens and other young internet people not to "be a puppet," which in this extremely specific case requires recognizing and understanding violent extremism. Fine! Great! As incidents of extremism continue to tear lives apart lives the world over, young people deserve to understand the mindset that leads some to make tragic decisions. Then the FBI tried to make a Flash game starring a goat avoiding blocks and all logic just flew out the window.
Google is killing off Flash-based advertising
Google has announced that its Google Display Network and DoubleClick Digital Marketing (DCDM) platforms will begin phasing out the use of Flash ads starting June 30th. From the start of July through the end of the year, advertisers will no longer be able to upload Flash ads into AdWords or DCDM. And, starting January 2nd, 2017, any existing Flash ads will cease to function on any of Google's ad networks. This only applies to static ads, mind you. Flash-based video ads will not be affected.
