Mozilla edges closer to replacing Flash with JavaScript

[Brink]

The efforts to remove Adobe as a source of pain for Mozilla and Firefox continue at pace, with the announcement that Shumway has entered the Firefox codebase.

The Shumway experiment intends to replace the omnipresent Flash plugin with a JavaScript renderer for Flash's SWF file format that does not use any platform native code. Should the experiment be successful, it would allow Firefox to dispense with the need for a Flash plugin, which would allow the browser to render Flash content on platforms that Adobe does not support, while at the same time removing a common attack vector via Flash from the browser.

Read more at: Mozilla edges closer to replacing Flash with JavaScript | ZDNet

 

[ThrashZone]

Sounds interesting but are they saying JavaScript is safer than shockwave ?
I used Firefox briefly but do remember getting several popup warning messages about JavaScript and how dangerous it is to have it enabled although I never downloaded it so it was included in the download of firefox.
I rather prefer to download objects separately or not at all that way I know what is installed and what isn't.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Java vs JavaScript

Sounds interesting but are they saying JavaScript is safer than shockwave ?
I used Firefox briefly but do remember getting several popup warning messages about JavaScript and how dangerous it is to have it enabled although I never downloaded it so it was included in the download of firefox.
I rather prefer to download objects separately or not at all that way I know what is installed and what isn't.

You may be thinking of the menace known as Java.

All Browsers include JavaScript Engines.
Trident, Gecko and WebKit are used in the "Big Three" (Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome respectively).

Wikipedia links:
Trident
Gecko
WebKit

Most websites won't work correctly if you totally disable JavaScript.

 

[ThrashZone]

Thanks for the explanation,
Cheers.

 

[lehnerus2000]

JavaScript is dangerous

Thanks for the explanation,
Cheers.

Don't get me wrong though.

JavaScript is dangerous.
Cyber-criminals use it to corrupt links and pages, so that malware can be delivered to your device.

If you are using Firefox or Pale Moon, you can install add-ons like NoScript, which you can use to selectively block scripts (and Flash).
It is also supposed to protect you from XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attacks.

Wikipedia
XSS (Cross-Site Scripting)

I'm not sure how Chrome or IE deal with JavaScript issues.