Aral Balkan

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.

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.

Comments

• Coupled with this steathly announcement, yeah.

  by JesterXL on 2006-07-19 17:30:35

• this is to good timing to be kicked off by adobe. isn't it?

  by m!chael on 2006-07-19 17:51:29

• too! too! omg! why on earth do i have a spell checker extension, if i never use it!

  by m!chael on 2006-07-19 17:54:19

• Aside from turning dishwashers into rockstars and pissing off the record industry it gives fp9 a nice marketshare boost. So good. :)

  by Brandon Ellis on 2006-07-19 19:41:52

• 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?

  by George on 2006-07-19 23:12:26

• 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

  by Bjorn Schultheiss on 2006-07-20 01:50:14

• 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?

  by Joel May on 2006-07-20 10:38:00

• 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.

  by Jolyon on 2006-07-20 14:14:59

• 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.

  by aral on 2006-07-20 21:56:47

• 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

  by Emmy Huang on 2006-07-21 16:15:10

• 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...

  by JD on EP on 2006-07-21 20:41:05

• 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.

  by Kevin Hammer on 2006-07-22 18:33:58

• Thanks for the clarification, Emmy.

  by aral on 2006-07-23 14:24:53

• 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 :(

  by Jenny on 2006-07-28 04:31:15

• 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!

  by POQbum on 2006-07-28 05:55:09

• 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!

  by Random Dan on 2006-07-30 18:35:53

• If you are having issues downloading with Express Install from the MySpace site, you can download Flash Player here: www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer. best, e

  by Emmy Huang on 2006-08-02 05:28:26

• 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?

  by Smooth on 2006-08-17 14:52:47

• 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.

  by Julie on 2006-08-18 11:58:07

• 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.

  by aral on 2006-08-19 10:08:49

• 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?

  by Lindsey Martin on 2006-08-31 19:25:36

• i cant hear any music and i can see any vidos what dio i do!

  by ronnie on 2006-11-13 02:32:45

• 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?

  by Brayan on 2006-12-01 11:34:33

• 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

  by jenn on 2006-12-08 14:08:24

• 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 ....

  by Chris - Flex Factory on 2007-07-18 02:24:28

• myspace and adobe flash player 9 causes my computer to get stuck on some profile pages. not appreciated.

  by not happy on 2007-07-27 16:02:39

• 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.

  by gary keller on 2008-09-27 19:28:16

• Thank you for this article. I will let others know about this site so then can learn as well

  by marketing on 2008-07-25 20:10:20

• 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

  by Rick on 2008-09-27 12:00:56

• 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!

  by Shannan on 2009-06-05 21:09:52

• 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.

  by buskerbuoy on 2009-09-11 10:29:41

• good in cool

  by elegancegross on 2011-07-30 17:21:53