Adobe Flash Isn’t Dead Yet

STATES CHRONICLE – On Thursday, it was revealed that the highly used software  suffered from a critical security vulnerability, but Adobe Flash isn’t dead yet, and the company is not ready to pull the plug. This is in spite of the fact that it’s considered one of the most vulnerable software out there to hackers.

In fact, the only two other tools that were found with more problems than Flash Player were browsers, specifically Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Google’s Chrome. While Chrome is being updated on what seems like a monthly basis, Internet Explorer seemed be edged out by Microsoft’s new browser, Edge. However, Flash doesn’t seem to back out.

Adobe was under fire again, after a cyber espionage organization tied to the Russian government managed to hack into devices using Flash. Apparently, they were able to attack global government agencies, and foreign ministries. They targeted the U.S., the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Ukrainian governments, militaries, media, and several political opponents to Vladimir Putin.

This has alleviated the worries of most users who were vulnerable to the attack, because apparently it did not target the average customer. However, the patch has rolled out and fixes have already been made in order to fix the vulnerability. But serious security breaches are becoming far too common, and it stands to question how long it would be before the next one.

Adobe Flash Player is installed on 99% of all the internet-enabled computers around the world. Its main function is working with streaming videos, casual games on browsers, or moving ads that are little else but annoying bits across the pages. Regardless, they’re avidly needed and unavoidable.

However, some question if their tool, Flash, still is needed as well.

Firefox Mozilla has recently renounced the use of Adobe’s tool, and a Facebook spokesperson has called out for its end. Perhaps it’s inevitable. In 2010, Steve Jobs even accused the software of being a battery drain, and dismissed its need considering a better option was out there in the form of HTML5.

In the first quarter of this year, 90% of websites used moving ads that were Flash-based. It seems that ad-makers are unwilling to switch from that technology to the allegedly better alternative. This could be due to the simple lack of time of learning a new tool or just refusing to fix something until it breaks down completely.

Flash does seem to be achieving that by itself though. In 2011, 50% of websites used Flash content, but the numbers have dropped drastically to 20% this year. It’s possible in the future that Adobe’s tool will remain a mere legacy and memory.

Image source: wccftech.com