In response to last week's MySpace hack, which used a redirect from Flash to hijack people's pages, MySpace recently announced that they will be upgrading all Flash widgets to Flash Player 9. The security updates in Flash Player 9 apparently prevent this sort of attack.
The Watch Flash Player 9 penetration soar thanks to MySpace! article by Aral Balkan, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 UK: England License.
A message regarding the upgrade was sent from Tom to all MySpace accounts and reads as follows:
hey folks - we are moving myspace music players and video players to flash 9.0. flash 9 has security fixes so that people can't mess with you on myspace. if your 'about me' got screwed up this weekend, you could have been safe if you had flash 9 installed. here's an easy way to install it, go watch this dashboard video i posted last week. if you don't like dashboard, just watch any video in our video section, and you'll be prompted to install flash 9.
(It appears that having a couple of million in the bank doesn't necessarily mean that you know grammar and punctuation rules.)
Given the huge audience that MySpace has, I predict that we will be seeing a spike in Flash Player 9 adoption in the coming days.
The Watch Flash Player 9 penetration soar thanks to MySpace! article by Aral Balkan, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 UK: England License.
Coupled with this steathly announcement, yeah.
this is to good timing to be kicked off by adobe. isn’t it?
too! too! omg! why on earth do i have a spell checker extension, if i never use it!
Aside from turning dishwashers into rockstars and pissing off the record industry it gives fp9 a nice marketshare boost. So good. :)
Regarding to the security fix, is it just because Flash 9 is now still a new format so not easy to be decompiled and also hard to find security holes? If once a day Adobe release specifications of Flash 9, are they still safe any way?
This is healthy for Flash
MySpace getting more hits than Google
http://weblogs.hitwise.com/bill-tancer/2006/07/myspace_moves_into_1_position.html
Flash 8 having a security hole is a bad thing, not a good thing. It could make clients back off from using Flash. Not everyone will want to upgrade to Flash 9 when they view a webpage. In my opinion, it’s too early to force the mass of humanity to make this upgrade.
What is the security hole? Are there any technical details available? What is the fix? (Maybe we shouldn’t be told until Adobe has an easy fix.) Are there features we should avoid? Is it really a problem with Flash, or is it a problem specific to MySpace, and Flash is tangentially involved in some way?
This is huge news. Why isn’t everyone freaking out and having a heart attack? Am I missing something?
Just found this and thought, hmm, that looks familiar…
What’s your stance on Blog plagiarism?
There doesn’t even seem to be a linkback.
LOL, Jolyon — I think that’s the first time one of my blog posts has been copied. Reminds me, I should put up the CC Attribution license for my blog.
Hi,
I think MySpace unintentionally caused a bit of confusion with the way they messaged the upgrade to v9. They are not utilizing a “security fix” to prevent this particular worm from spreading on their site. Rather, there is a new HTML tag that v9 understands called “allowNetworking” that allows site owners to set the networking capabilities of SWFs on their site. It is more of a “security countermeasure” that can be used by sites like MySpace to reduce the risk of attacks affecting the use of Flash content.
More information on Flash Player 9 security is in the updated whitepaper on the DevNet (www.adobe.com/devnet/flashplayer).
best,
Emmy Huang
Product Manager, Flash Player
MySpace, Flash…
MySpace, Flash: The link here goes to a TechMeme flurry about the third-party business aspects of the earlier security issue. But I think the concern may be just a temporary condition… “Dan” at Streampad showed how the problems seem due to the curr…
This is going to have an impact for all developers on sites that serve the MySpace demographic. Maybe even stodgy corporate sites will soon be giving in to designer’s requests to update the site standards to Flash 8 in little time because of this.
Thanks for the clarification, Emmy.
ok well i have a myspace .. and i got the message thing about flash player but it wont let me download it! … & IM GOING CRAZY! .. i cant hear any music and i cant see slideshows! …. UGH! i wish they never changed it :(
This isnt good for a site like mine or many others who makes a living off selling “Flash Toys” and our only link back is one through a flash object.
To put it short, Flash 9 Sucks!
Unfortunately though, I, as are most of my friends, especially firefox users, have the same problem as Jenny and can’t download it! Also meaning we cant hear or watch any files!
If you are having issues downloading with Express Install from the MySpace site, you can download Flash Player here: http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer.
best,
e
What is it about Firefox that doesnt allow the flash to do its thing. Like i downloaded Flash 9 and I can see videos and slideshows but I cant hear any myspace music?
I downloaded flash 9 (as prompted by Myspace) but it has never installed correctly. I am using Mac OS 10.3.9 (G4 PowerPC) and have tried Safari, Firefox, Netscape and even IE! My friend also has a Powerbook and has the same problem. I can’t re-install flash 8 as it will not allow me to, says something about access privileges even though I am the only user and am logged on as admin. I wish I had never tried to install it as now I can’t view anything with Flash content.
Hi Julie,
Try downloading the Flash Player uninstaller from:
http://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/downloads.html#uninstaller
Once you’ve uninstalled it, try downloading Flash Player 9 from the URL below and installing it:
http://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/downloads.html#fp9
Let me know how you get on.
I upgraded to Flash 9 and wow it messed EVERYTHING up! I dont know what to do now, I cant see slide shows or my videos or hear them! What happened? What am I to do? Will Flash 8 work if I unstall it?
i cant hear any music and i can see any vidos what dio i do!
Anyone else having bother with myspace or is it just my pc?
Last couple of days it seems it wont let me download any song from anywhere.
Anyone having same bother – or anyone how to sort it?
thanks for the info. I was experiencing the same problem but i done the uninstall flash and reinstalled it and now everything works. Thanks a million
George,
I wouldn’t bet your life on it that Flash player 9 is hard to decompile. More secure than prevoius versions, probably. Harder to decompile, not significantly to anyone that is serious about decompiling it.
But, more importantly does anyone have any idea on what the current adoption rate for flash player 9 is ….
myspace and adobe flash player 9 causes my computer to get stuck on some profile pages. not appreciated.
Thank you for this article. I will let others know about this site so then can learn as well
Sorry but is it just me?
1. I can’t change the running order of the tracks.
2. The lyrics button doesn’t work.
3. There’s no longer a download facility.
4. I can’t change the pictures.
5. My proud record of over 16000 plays has been reset to zero.
6. It just gives me error messages when I attempt to upload tracks.
7. It no longer displays the album name or year.
8. It grotesquely stretches the pictures to make them fit the box.
9. There’s a button at the top which does nothing.
Aaaagh!
Rick
i installed flash 9 and still get the damn either you have java turned off or dont have flash 9 or greater message . both from myspace and youtube, i uninstalled then reinstalled it,it still does it. These morons should make sure it works with all programs,browsers,etc and making sure there is absolutly no bugs in it before releasing it.
This upgrade was the worst thing to happen to myspace & my MAC OSX 10.3! I have tried every possible suggestion trick upload download install uninstall & then some & I’m still ready to say screw it & cancel myspace deal with facebook & play find & buy music elsewhere! It has screwed up my firefox my clearwire internet & my sanity! This blows! I don’t want any silly try this replys or do this then this then this to get this maybe! Once it’s fixed with one simple click & install let me know till then I hope the idiots who have plagued us with this eternal waste of time & misery get as many grey hairs as their giving! Next time use some common sense & test these applications updates etc before you post & demand we use them rather than be in such a hurry for your claim to fame & recognition!
I never had any problems with the old player. Is Flash Player v9 going to be the new Vista? Yet again we get forced to deal with a lemon.