Flashback: anyone know if this is serious concern?

[NaOH]

Quote: Originally Posted by johngpt NaOH, it seems that you have found a way around this potential threat. Have you any easy to follow suggestions for someone like me who doesn't know how you removed the system wide Flash plug-in that you mentioned?

I use Flash with this method from the main Hints site. I'll note that the article mentions InDesign in CS4 including Opera with an embedded version of the Flash plugin, but that is not an up-to-date version of Flash.

There are two other related actions I take for making things easier which that article doesn't detail. In Safari, use the Safari menu to select Preferences. In the Advanced section, enable the option for Show Develop Menu In Menu Bar. With this enabled, there is now a Develop menu, and it has an Open Page With submenu that will list any available browsers on your computer, and there is a User Agent submenu.

I combine some of those with keyboard shortcuts to simplify when I do want to handle a page containing Flash content. Using System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts I set a shortcut for reloading a page with the Safari for iPad user agent and one for opening the current page with another browser. The reason I have both setup is because many pages will give an HTML5 version of content if the site thinks you're using a mobile device (Flickr is an example of this when someone visits a page which has a video). But there are times when that doesn't work and a Flash-capable browser is necessary, and that's when I open the page using another browser.

The net result is I have two custom keyboard shortcuts for when I browse upon Flash content. I press Control-P to reload a page telling the site that I'm using an iPad. This probably works about three-quarters of the time since, as benwiggy noted, many sites are built for Flash-incapable devices like iPhones and iPads . For the sites that genuinely requires Flash, I then press Control-Shift-P and the page is opened in my Flash-capable browser. To me, that's all very easy and simple, but others may find that too complex or annoying.

[johngpt]

My HD>Library>Internet Plug-Ins folder doesn't as yet have Flash in it. I guess this MBP is too new. But I've installed iCab and can get to it from the Develop submenu. This could be interesting.

And both the Develop's submenus for opening with iCab and User Agent Safari - iPad work to refresh or open this page.

[NaOH]

I meant to note earlier that the comments to that Hints article include notes for embedding Flash into a number of other browsers not mentioned in the article.

Quote: Originally Posted by johngpt My HD>Library>Internet Plug-Ins folder doesn't as yet have Flash in it. I guess this MBP is too new.

A couple years ago Apple stopped shipping Flash as part of a default install, so you won't have a systemwide Flash plugin unless you add it.

I use Flash with iCab. While Flash is commonly updated to patch security issues, I don't get the sense that there are many active Flash exploits. So I simply update the version of Flash I embed in iCab when the idea comes to me, probably every couple of months. To acquire the latest Flash I download Chrome and copy Flash from the Chrome package contents into iCab.

[johngpt]

I think I understand. You download Chrome, open its package, drag Flash from Chrome's package into a folder of iCab. Then trash the Chrome package without installing.

I've read that I would have to create an iCab plug-ins folder to drag the Flash into. But so far my googling hasn't shown me how/where to do that.

Edit: Okay, I figured out that when I had installed iCab, I had dragged the app itself from the iCab folder into Applications. I've now dragged the iCab app back into the iCab folder and put that whole iCab folder into Applications. Now, if I understand this correctly, I can create a Plug-Ins folder within that iCab folder that is now in the Applications folder. And from iCab preferences I can enable it to use the Flash plug-in.

Am I understanding this correctly?

[NaOH]

Right click on iCab and select Show Package Contents. Open the Contents folder, then create a PlugIns folder there (note the capitalization). I don't know if it's necessary, but whenever I grab the Flash plugin from Chrome I rename it to Flash Player.plugin.

[johngpt]

I think I was editing my 6:08 PM reply as you were writing you 6:21 PM comment. I see my edit was posted after your comment, but because I was editing at the time I hadn't seen it.

[johngpt]

I've downloaded Chrome and when I look in the package contents I don't see what could be the Flash player plugin.

I was able to show the Package contents of iCab and I've created a Plug-Ins folder, so it's all ready to go.

[NaOH]

Quote: Originally Posted by johngpt I've downloaded Chrome and when I look in the package contents I don't see what could be the Flash player plugin.

Right click on Chrome and select Show Package Contents. Open Contents/Versions/18.1025.151/Google Chrome Framework.framework/Internet Plug-Ins and you'll see Flash Player Plugin for Chrome.plugin. That's the file. (Note that the 18.1025.151 folder will have a different name in future versions of Chrome as that folder is based on the current version number)

Like I said earlier, I don't know if it will work if you keep the file with that name. I always change it to Flash Player.plugin. You could easily test to see whether it works in iCab with the original name, or you could simply change it like I do.

Quote: Originally Posted by johngpt I was able to show the Package contents of iCab and I've created a Plug-Ins folder, so it's all ready to go.

In my setup, the folder is called PlugIns, not Plug-Ins. I don't know if it matters.

[johngpt]

Again, I had to laugh, as I looked earlier at the Versions folder in the package contents and saw the 18.1025.151 folder but didn't look into that one, figuring, "nah, couldn't be... "

Thank you. I named my folder Plug-Ins as when I had gone through /Library/... I saw that the folder there and in my user library was named Internet Plug-Ins.

If there seems to be a problem, I'll change it to Plugins.

I've got to say that there is no way I would have figured this out without your help. Thanks very much.

[NaOH]

Quote: Originally Posted by johngpt Again, I had to laugh, as I looked earlier at the Versions folder in the package contents and saw the 18.1025.151 folder but didn't look into that one, figuring, "nah, couldn't be... "

Not that a circumstance like this comes up very often, but there are two techniques I use for such circumstances. One is EasyFind since it can search within a specific path for package contents (and invisible files). The other is to have a window in list view, then use Option-Right Arrow to open a selected folder since this will open the folder and any sub-folders. That's much easier than double clicking to open a folder, then another, and another....

[johngpt]

Again, thanks!

[freelunch]

Quote: Originally Posted by NovaScotian And ClamXav has a sentry daemon that you can install from the program. When it appears in the menu bar you can start it and configure it to watch a selection of folders. The most obvious are your ~/Desktop, ~/Dropbox if you share it, and /Downloads.

Good tip. Thanks!