The security vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash Player should be a concern for every user. Threats such as the BadRabbit, which used a fake Adobe Flash Player update, should be taken seriously.
It can be recalled that BadRabbit was a malware made available via social engineering techniques. In this case, it posed as a fake update for Flash Player. The entire plot for this malware was to hold hostage the files of unsuspecting victims.
The user would first execute the file manually thinking that it would enable the installation of Adobe Flash Player onto the system. So, the execution would be done manually, thereby allowing malware to create a scheduled task for another file when executed. The compromised computer will then be encrypted via a hardcoded list of file extensions. The ransomware will only decrypt the files if the victim will pay through Bitcoins.
This scenario would never have happen if the user was quick in implementing updates. In fact, Adobe has released a number of updates to address security vulnerabilities in its Flash Player plug-in. You can update your version of Flash by visiting the official website of Adobe to download and install the plug-in.
Security patches are also available in the Windows Fall Creators Update, which address the security vulnerabilities of Flash Player. Patch KB4049179 will support different editions of Windows, including Server 2016, Server 2012 R2, Server 2012, Windows 10, and Windows 8.1, among others.
You can automatically download the patch via the Windows Update mechanism. A standalone package can also be acquired from the Microsoft Update Catalog website. If in case you have installed a language pack after installing the patch, you need to re-install the update. You can also install any language pack that you require before you patch the latest update.
