Once again a bug in Adobes Flash plug-in presents a serious security risk to Mac users, and once again Apple has disabled all but the very latest version of it. Which means that if youre using Safari on your Mac and you try to load a webpage that requires Flash youll get a message about a blocked plug-in. Youll also see, if you click on the "Blocked plug-in" message, a little "sheet" sliding down from your Safari window, telling you pretty much what Ive told you here.
Heres Apples web page explaining the whole thing.
Basically, if you want to view Flash content with Safari youll have to upgrade your Flash plug-in.
My advice to you is a little different than Apples. Apple would have you click a button to download Flash.
I would rather you got in the habit of navigating to Adobes site on your own as a lot of rotten things masquerade as Flash updaters and I dont want you to start clicking everything that says "Click here to update Flash!" You can read my write-up on that by clicking "What to do about the Flashback trojan."
So… get Safari going, and go to www.adobe.com (no link provided here-- type it in yourself to ensure you know where its going). Then, roll over the "Downloads" button at the top, and slide down and click on Adobe Flash Player. THEN you download it, and then (very important) you have to actually install it. Adobe has instructions for that on its site and the instructions pop right up as soon as you start the Flash download.
The only thing they dont tell you is how to find the download. Ill handle that. Look for the Downloads button in Safaris toolbar (by default, its at the far right) and click it once. Youll see a list of things youve downloaded lately, with the Adobe Flash Plug-in at the top. Double-click on its icon and youre on your way. Follow Adobes instructions after that.
Heres what the Downloads button looks like:
You may be wondering "Why dont I see this blocked plug-in thing in Firefox?" The answer is "Apple doesnt control Firefox the way they control Safari (because Firefox is not Apples program to mess with)." So Safari users have Apple looking out for them, while Firefox users dont. But just because you dont get any warnings about Flash in Firefox doesnt mean Firefox users are safe. It just means that theyre not getting warned by Apple. But, having been warned by ME, go get the Flash plug-in update, same as the rest of us.
You may also be wondering "Isnt it a little weird that Apple can turn something off on my machine? Are they watching what I do?" Yes, its a little weird. But no, theyre not watching what you do. Theyre just noticing that youre trying to load Flash content using Safari with an out-of-date Flash plug-in. Still, it is a little weird. I dont remember signing up for that and I dont think you can opt out.
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