Learn how to remove fake Adobe Flash Player update virus from Mac and thereby prevent the browser from being redirected to rogue software installation websites.
Oct 08, 2012 This update addresses the vulnerability discussed in Microsoft Security Advisory (KB2758994). To find out if other security updates are available for you, see the Additional Information section at the bottom of this page.
Update: November 2019
The Adobe Flash Player update virus is one of the common ways cybercriminals try to deposit additional harmful code onto a Mac. It usually operates in tandem with such threats as bogus system utilities that report non-existent problems and thus attempt to manipulate users into activating the licensed copy of the scareware. This type of a ruse can be used to promote such unwanted apps as Mac Auto Fixer or Mac Cleanup Pro. Both will run phony scans of the host system and claim to detect hundreds of issues – ones that aren’t there for real. The targeted Mac users therefore deal with a double contamination scenario, where they first encounter recurrent and really annoying instances of browser rerouting and then suffer the consequences of counterfeit software activity. It’s the early stage of the brainwashing that is backed by the Adobe Flash Player update virus popups.
The reason why the architects of this trickery have added the Flash Player to the mix of their shenanigans is probably because it’s a commonly used program trusted by most users. The caveat is that a completely different piece of code is camouflaged as the explicitly stated software. This part of the incursion is usually isolated to the web browser, although there are rare cases where the misguiding popups appear when the browser is closed. The virus manifests itself through random redirects to a site that instantly displays a popup alert saying, “Adobe Flash Player is out of date”. Meanwhile, a prompt at the top of the page layout may wrongfully emphasize that “Latest version of Adobe Flash Player is required to encode and/or decode (Play) audio files in high quality”. Everybody likes quality multimedia content, so a lot of users end up falling for this trick.
![Flash Player Update For Mac Downloads Flash Player Update For Mac Downloads](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126248190/531771657.png)
In all of these adverse situations, those who pay attention to detail will notice that there is something wrong with such a recommendation. First off, the URL of the website that generates these Adobe Flash Player update popups is a giveaway. Obviously, it has nothing to do with the genuine vendor, being clearly designed to mimic the legit update workflow. Furthermore, despite the fact that the alerts may provide a button to opt out, such as “Later” or “Cancel”, clicking it isn’t likely to close the dialogs for more than a few milliseconds. The pre-configured website script will relaunch the ads, so the victims may have to force quit Safari, Chrome, Firefox – or whatever browser is infected – to get the bogus notifications out of the way.
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Fake Adobe Flash Player Update virus may re-infect your Mac multiple times unless you delete all of its fragments, including hidden ones. Therefore, it is recommended to download Freshmac and scan your system for these stubborn files. This way, you may reduce the cleanup time from hours to minutes. Download NowLearn how Freshmac works. If the utility spots malicious code, you will need to buy a license to get rid of it.
Fake Adobe Flash Player Update virus may re-infect your Mac multiple times unless you delete all of its fragments, including hidden ones. Therefore, it is recommended to download Freshmac and scan your system for these stubborn files. This way, you may reduce the cleanup time from hours to minutes. Download NowLearn how Freshmac works. If the utility spots malicious code, you will need to buy a license to get rid of it.
A whole new attack mechanism with the fake Adobe Flash Player update popups at its core is distributing an emerging Mac threat codenamed Tarmac. Also known as OSX/Tarmac, this infection relies on another type of harmful code called OSX/Shlayer. The latter is a notorious Mac Trojan whose objective is to set large-scale malvertising schemes in motion. Its original entry point is a phony alert about an out-of-date version of the Flash Player. Once inside, it reaches out to the Command and Control server and downloads a copy of Tarmac onto the host. The second-stage malware is code signed and leverages RSA encryption to camouflage the fishy gist of its payload, which allows the pest to fly below the radar of quarantine-aware software running on the Mac. As soon as OSX/Tarmac is launched, it attempts to elevate its privileges on the machine by generating a dialog that says, “Play wants to make changes”.
This popup asks for the administrator’s username and password, making it look like the request comes from Adobe Flash Player. Even if the victim is prudent enough to refrain from entering the credentials, Tarmac continues to run with fairly high permissions. Just like Shlayer, it can easily connect to its C&C server and download arbitrary code from it, such as rogue system utilities, adware, or even Mac ransomware. This recently discovered tandem of dangerous programs relying on counterfeit Flash Player update ads demonstrates that the campaign is evolving and assuming more unsettling characteristics.
This troublemaking scenario tends to be bolstered by a malicious browser plugin or extension. The fake helper object modifies Internet settings, such as the homepage or search defaults, and may even interfere with the DNS server preset. This is what causes the redirects in the first place. What happens if you click “OK” and actually download the pseudo Adobe Flash Player update is a whole new attack layer. The affiliated harmful program will establish persistence on the Mac by adding itself to Login Items and utilizing antivirus evasion mechanisms. Then, it will start launching scans of the macOS, purporting to find numerous memory issues and security problems each time. Again, this routine is aimed at pressuring the victim into making a hasty decision to pay for the cyber-impostor’s licensed version. So much for the tactic. Speaking of the fix for the Adobe Flash Player update virus activity, the only method is to spot the components of the pest on the Mac and remove them. See below to learn how it’s done.
Fake Adobe Flash Player update virus manual removal for Mac
The steps listed below will walk you through the removal of this malicious application. Be sure to follow the instructions in the order specified.
• Open up the Utilities folder as shown below
• Locate the Activity Monitor icon on the screen and double-click on it
• Under Activity Monitor, find an entry that appears suspicious and shouldn’t be among the running processes, select it and click Quit Process
• A dialog should pop up, asking if you are sure you would like to quit the troublemaking process. Select the Force Quit option
• Click the Go button again, but this time select Applications on the list. Find the malicious entry on the interface, right-click on it and select Move to Trash. If user password is required, go ahead and enter it
• Now go to Apple Menu and pick the System Preferences option
• Select Accounts and click the Login Items button. The system will come up with the list of the items that launch when the computer is started up. Locate the likely culprit that doesn’t belong there and click on the “-“ button
Get rid of fake Adobe Flash Player update popups in web browser on Mac
To begin with, settings for the web browser that got hit by the Adobe Flash Player update Mac virus should be restored to their default values. The overview of steps for this procedure is as follows:
1. Reset Safari
• Open the browser and go to Safari menu. Select Preferences in the drop-down list
• Once the Preferences screen appears, hit the Privacy tab at the top. Find the option that says Remove All Website Data and click on it
• The system will display a confirmation dialog that also includes a brief description of what the reset does. Specifically, you may be logged out of some services and encounter other changes of website behavior after the procedure. If you’re okay with that, go ahead and click the Remove Now button
• In order to selectively clear data generated by certain websites only, not all of them, hit the Details button under the Privacy section of Safari Preferences
• This feature will list all websites that have stored potentially sensitive data, including cache and cookies. Select the one, or ones, that might be causing trouble and click the appropriate button at the bottom (Remove or Remove All). Click the Done button to exit.
2. Reset Google Chrome
• Open Chrome and click the Customize and Control Google Chrome menu icon
• Select Options for a new window to appear
• Select Under the Hood tab, then click Reset to defaults button
3. Reset Mozilla Firefox
• Open Firefox and select Help – Troubleshooting Information
• On the page that opened, click the Reset Firefox button
Get rid of Adobe Flash Player update virus using Freshmac removal tool
When confronted with malicious code like the Adobe Flash Player update virus on Mac, you can neutralize its toxic impact by leveraging a specially crafted system utility. The Freshmac application (read review) is a perfect match for this purpose as it delivers essential security features along with must-have modules for Mac optimization.
This tool cleans unneeded applications and persistent malware in one click. It also protects your privacy by eliminating tracking cookies, frees up disk space, and manages startup apps to decrease boot time. On top of that, it boasts 24/7 tech support. The following steps will walk you through automatic removal of the Adobe Flash Player update infection from Mac.
1.Download Freshmac installer onto your machine. Double-click the Freshmac.pkg file to trigger the installer window, select the destination disk and click Continue. The system will display a dialog asking for your password to authorize the setup. Type the password and click Install Software.
2. Once the installation has been completed, Freshmac will automatically start a scan consisting of 5 steps. It scans cache, logs, unused languages, trash, and checks the Mac for privacy issues.
3. The scan report will then display your current system health status and the number of issues detected for each of the above categories. Click the Fix Safely button to remove junk files and address privacy issues spotted during the scan.
4. Check whether the Adobe Flash Player update virus problem has been fixed. If it perseveres, go to the Uninstaller option on Freshmac GUI. Locate an entry that appears suspicious, select it and click Fix Safely button to force-uninstall the unwanted application.
5. Go to Temp and Startup Apps panes on the interface and have all redundant or suspicious items eliminated as well. The Flash Player update malware shouldn’t be causing any further trouble.
FAQ
Whereas Adobe Flash Player is useful software that enhances your online experience in plenty of ways, it can as well be a source of vulnerabilities exposing your Mac to cyber-attacks. Furthermore, many users simply don’t catch up with the frequent patches rolled out by the publisher, inadvertently turning their computers into low-hanging fruit.
It comes as no surprise that many users end up disabling the Flash plugin in their web browser at some point. This tool can be safely turned off at the browser level without the need to uninstall it from a Mac altogether. Here is how to disable it in popular browsers:
Safari:- In Safari menu bar, select Preferences
- Select the Security tab, spot the Internet Plug-ins area, and click Plug-in Settings
- Remove the checkmark next to Adobe Flash Player in the subsequent screen
- Click Done
- Type chrome://settings/content in Chrome’s URL bar
- Scroll down and find the Flash entry on the page. Click it
- Spot the Allow sites to run Flash option and toggle it off using the adjacent slider
- Type about:addons in the URL bar and hit Enter
- Select Plugins in the left-hand navigation bar
- Find the Flash Player plugin and expand the appropriate menu
- Choose between Ask to Activate and Never Activate options. The latter is preferable if you don’t want to see annoying popup dialogs during web surfing.
In case the regular Flash Player update popups are interrupting your activities, there is a way to get them out of sight. Be advised that by clicking the Remind Me Later button on these notifications you simply postpone the process, and the irritating message will reappear in an hour. Here’s how to prevent these messages from appearing on your Mac for good:
- Go to the Finder and select System Preferences
- Click the Flash Player icon
- When on the Flash Player screen, hit the Updates tab in its upper part
- You will see the following options to choose from: Allow Adobe to install updates, Notify me to install updates, and Never check for updates
- Enable a radio button next to the Never check for updates option. You can alternatively allow Adobe to install updates – in that case, Flash Player will be updated on its own without producing any popups
If a malicious app is already on board your system, then a macOS update isn’t likely to fix the problem. That being said, updating your Mac does address known security vulnerabilities so that you are protected against common exploits and mainstream viruses further on. Another benefit of applying the updates as soon as they are available is that your Mac will be optimized to ensure smooth performance. Keep in mind that human error might undermine the built-in Mac defenses no matter how top-notch they are.
No, you can’t – as long as you diligently keep Flash Player up to date and all the new versions are installed from the official source. In a vast majority of incidents where this utility is exploited to deposit malware onto Macs, the victims neglect the update hygiene and use very old versions of the product with multiple unpatched security loopholes in them.
Flash updates pushed via popup alerts on rogue websites are a completely different story. The installation clients in this case include bundled malware. If you happen to opt for this kind of an offer, a contamination is pretty much inevitable. The article above highlights the common infection scenarios through fake Adobe Flash Player update notifications. Note that Mac users are typically redirected to these landing pages because their browsers have been hijacked. Therefore, removal of the underlying virus is a prerequisite of addressing the predicament.
Freeware
macOS
21.4 MB
91,116
Stage 3D Accelerated Graphics Rendering (Player & AIR desktop + AIR for TV)
Stage 3D is a new architecture for hardware accelerated graphics rendering developed that provides a set of low-level APIs that enable advanced 2D and 3D rendering capabilities across screens and devices (desktop, mobile, and TV). Using Stage 3D, app and framework developers can now access high performance GPU hardware acceleration, enabling the creation of new classes of rich, interactive experiences. Note: Stage 3D for mobile versions of Flash Player & AIR will be enabled in a future releaseEnter your state here.
Flash Access Content Protection Support for Mobile
Flash Access content protection support is now available on mobile devices including Android powered smartphones and tablets. In addition, content protection is now supported on tablet devices powered by the BlackBerry® Tablet OS. Note: Flash Access for iOS is not supported at this time.
Flash Access Content Protection Enhancements
New Flash Access content protection features include key rotation support, V3 license chaining, domain support and enhanced output protection and device filtering.
Protected HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS)
Protected HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS) provides protection for streaming video across screens while eliminating the deployment complexity of a license server.
NetStream.dispose()
Similar to NetStream.close() except that it also clears up the last frame held up by NetStream to be displayed on the Video object. Use this instead of NetStream.close() if the NetStream is to be re-used for other streams later. It enforces garbage collection of the video frame and related decompressor objects. The video object will display a blank frame after the use of this method.
H.264/AVC Software Encoding for Cameras (desktop)
Stream high-quality video from your computer's camera with higher compression efficiency and industry stanard support, enabling both immersive real-time communications such as video chat/conferencing and live video broadcasts.
JPEG-XR support
Flash Player and AIR now include support for the JPEG-XR advanced image compression standard (International Standard ISO/IEC 29199-2). The computationally lightweight JPEG-XR format provides more efficient compression than JPEG, enables both lossy and lossless compression support, and adds support for alpha channel transparency.
Enhanced high resolution bitmap support
BitmapData objects are no longer limited to a maximum resolution of 16 megapixels (16,777,215 pixels), and maximum bitmap width/height is no longer limited to 8,191 pixels, enabling the development of apps that utilize very large bitmaps.
High efficiency SWF compression support
Developers can now take advantage of LZMA compression for their SWF files. LZMA compression can reduce SWF size by up to 40%, enabling users to benefit from richer experiences with shorter download times and reduced bandwidth consumption.
G.711 Audio Compression for Telephony
Support interoperability with legacy phone systems via the Flash Media Gateway (FMG) and other third-party clients (through the open RTMP protocol) without the need for transcoding.
![Mac Mac](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126248190/109495218.png)
Native JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) Support
Allows ActionScript developers to take advantage of high performance native parsing and generation of JSON-formatted data.
Garbage Collection Advice
Provides smoother, more responsive user experiences by allowing developers to provide hints to optimize garbage collection scheduling.
Cubic Bezier Curves
The cubicCurveTo drawing API allows developers to easily create complex cubic Beziers without requiring custom ActionScript code.
Secure Random Number Generator
Developers can now take advantage of cryptographically secure random number generation to build more secure algorithms and protocols.
Socket Progress Events
Improve management of data transfer using the Socket class by providing a new property to determine the number of bytes remaining in the write buffer and a new event for when data is being sent to the network layer. Using these new APIs, developers can build applications such as file transfer utilities that monitor socket progress and provide responsive feedback.
DisplayObjectContainer.removeChildren and MovieClip.isPlaying
DisplayObjectContainer now implements a removeChildren API allowing developers to quickly remove all of a container's children using a single API call. A new MovieClip.isPlaying property returns the MovieClip's current playing state.
New Features in Flash Player 11
Native 64-bit Support (Flash Player desktop) — Take advantage of native support for 64-bit operating systems and 64-bit web browsers on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows.
Asynchronous Bitmap Decoding (new for Flash Player) — Improve app responsiveness and deliver smoother animation by decoding images on initial load instead of on demand. Images are cached as needed.
TLS Secure Sockets Support (new for Flash Player) — Enables secure communications for client/server applications.
What's New:
In today's release, we've updated Flash Player with critical security and functional bug fixes. We recommend all customers upgrade to this version.
For those organizations that use the Extended Support Release (ESR), please note that we have incremented the ESR from version 13 to version 18 with today's update.
Current Flash Player 18 users who have enrolled in the 'Allow Adobe to install updates (recommended)' update mechanism will be automatically updated to the latest version of Flash Player over the next 24 hours.
Users who have selected 'Notify me to install updates' will receive an update notification dialog within 7 days from today. Please note that Windows users will need to restart their system or log out and in to activate the update notification dialog.
Flash Player can always be downloaded and installed by simply visiting https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer
Customers using Google Chrome or Windows 8.x Internet Explorer will receive the update through the Google and Microsoft update mechanisms.
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