Firefox is blocking Flash by default

[Diosoth]

The irony here is that people are suddenly upset that Flash is so full of holes, yet we don't see anyone pushing to get rid of Windows for the same reason. It may be a popular OS but it's been a security nightmare since the early days. Though I suppose the only way to kill malware for such an OS would be to totally kill the ability for unauthorized end users to write software for it, let only paid and approved software even run. You' dhave to turn PCs into 80s-90s era game consoles with strict copy protection to get an OS that secure.

As for disabling programs, I'd wager it's a feature some people turn off because it's annoying to most. I guess it'd be like if a car could refuse to start because either a component was detected to be faulty or if a part was recalled, such as the tires. While it might be a useful feature, it's probably just come off as annoying and people would find ways to bypass it. And how many home end users even pay attention to security news at all? They'll get a popup that Flash isn't on but they can click a button to allow it, so they'll do just that to go on with their browsing without giving it a second thought.

 

[FerchogtX]

The irony here is that people are suddenly upset that Flash is so full of holes, yet we don't see anyone pushing to get rid of Windows for the same reason. It may be a popular OS but it's been a security nightmare since the early days. Though I suppose the only way to kill malware for such an OS would be to totally kill the ability for unauthorized end users to write software for it, let only paid and approved software even run. You' dhave to turn PCs into 80s-90s era game consoles with strict copy protection to get an OS that secure.

As for disabling programs, I'd wager it's a feature some people turn off because it's annoying to most. I guess it'd be like if a car could refuse to start because either a component was detected to be faulty or if a part was recalled, such as the tires. While it might be a useful feature, it's probably just come off as annoying and people would find ways to bypass it. And how many home end users even pay attention to security news at all? They'll get a popup that Flash isn't on but they can click a button to allow it, so they'll do just that to go on with their browsing without giving it a second thought.

Infections in Windows systems have decreaced a lot since Windows 7 came out, with an improved Firewall, scheduled patches (tuesdays IIRC) and some changes in the kernel and at user usage level to prevent infections.

You might be talking about Windows XP...

 

[Diosoth]

I'll be honest, I had far more infections on my current PC than I ever did back when I had that old Compaq XP from 2002-2009. Much of it is the newer delivery method through web browsers and such that make malware delivery easier. Back then you had to actively save and execute the malware most likely, now it can run because an ad banner had a payload.

Though I haven't had a single browser infection since setting up with AdBlock Plus, NoScript and Ghostery running together. Still get some PUP crap with supposedly legit installs from reputable companies though.

 

[FerchogtX]

...Though I haven't had a single browser infection since setting up with AdBlock Plus, NoScript and Ghostery running together...

And this is the secret, personally, I use uBlock Origin, which also blocks some websites based on the amount of crapware and malware ads they have...

 

[lehnerus2000]

Though I haven't had a single browser infection since setting up with AdBlock Plus, NoScript and Ghostery running together. Still get some PUP crap with supposedly legit installs from reputable companies though.

I use a similar set of add-ons.

As for XP, my malware issues (which weren't anywhere near as great as with W98SE) were solved when I stopped using IE 6 and swapped to Firefox (~2006).

 

[Kim4]

I use Firefox with Shockwave Flash 18.0.0..
Bad or Good it is set to "Ask to Activate" meaning that if I want to use it, the browser will give me button options "Allow now" or "Allow and Remember", where I always use Allow now.
An example is the yahoo website that is literally filled with video ads, thus consuming my bandwidth, and being annoying.

 

[peteralcott]

yes mozilla has by default block the flash .

 

[FerchogtX]

Latest version seems to fix this, ver 18.0,0,209 is allowed by default.
Buuuut, I woudn't reccomend executing flash in Youtube, there is a bug where Flash seems to take over the GPU and hardware acceleration doesn't work on HTML5 videos, specially HD/60fps.

If you want it automatic, disable it only in yourtube or any other video stream places that use HTML5 instead of Flash...