Category Archives: Security

flash player install broken

The End of Adobe Flash

Published to Security, SEO, Technology on by .

On July 25th Adobe announced that Flash will reach its end-of-life by the end of 2020 effectively stopping development, support and distribution of Flash Player.

Why is this happening?

In the late nineties and early two thousands Adobe Flash (then Macromedia Flash) gained immense popularity. It provided means of creating very rich internet applications and games. It was also the main way of embedding video and audio content on the webpages. Unfortunately, since its very beginnings flash was riddled with issues which over time contributed to its demise:

  • Accessibility – It causes huge problems for screen readers. It also made it difficult to adjust text zoom levels for better readability.
  • SEO – Content implemented using Flash would often not get indexed without alternative text. This method was very limiting for the on-page optimization.
  • Security – Adobe Flash has been struggling with security issues. Over the years various security experts and research recommended against installing Flash. Large companies such Facebook and Apple warned against using flash all together. Finally, major browsers blocked earlier versions of Flash player.
  • Usability – Users include Flash on web pages using object embedding but when this option is blocked by a browser it can break page layout and functionality. Flash requires plugin download and installation. Furthermore Flash does not work well with responsive design. Finally, it is not mobile friendly as it lacks support on certain mobile devices for example Apple iPhone and iPad.
  • Privacy – Flash uses local shared object (flash cookies) to save application data. Although this data is not shared across domains, it is stored locally on the device. Privacy policies were often limited in disclosing this.

All these factors greatly contributed to the development of alternative technologies and the overall decline of Adobe Flash popularity. Google reports that current usage of Flash among Chrome browser users is down to 17% and it is of course expected to continue declining.

Source: The Chromium Projects (chromium.org)

Does it affect me?

If your website utilizes Adobe Flash player in any form then yes, it does. If you are not sure, you can use our Adobe Flash Test Tool to check if your website has any Flash elements.

What are the alternatives?

Over the years, new open standards were developed to compete with Flash. One such standard was HTML5 which is now natively supported by all modern browsers and it does not require download and installation of external plugins. It is now extremely easy to embed media to webpages. Here is an example that embeds “example-movie” in mp4 format using “video” tag:

<video width="640" height="480" controls>
  <source src="example-movie.mp4" type="video/mp4">
  Your browser does not support the video tag.
</video>

Additionally, using HTML5 standards together with open source Java APIs for 2D and 3D rendering like WebGL developers can create games and applications accessible via browser.

The future of rich internet applications is bright and full of possibilities. Adobe Flash has arguably played an important role in web development and content creation but it is now time for it to slowly sail off into the sunset.

8 Email Obfuscation Techniques

Published to Security, Tools on by .

email-phishingEmail addresses that are publicly posted on the webpages in plain text, will very quickly be collected by spam bots and used to send unsolicited emails. To stop or at least make it more difficult for bulk emailers to collect publicly accessible emails, we can utilize some email obfuscation techniques. Protecting publicly displayed email addresses by obfuscating them, can not only cut down on spam but is also considered a courteous gesture.

There are several techniques at your disposal to obfuscate or in other words hide email addresses that are posted on publicly accessible webpages from spam bots.

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Spammer Directory and IP Blacklists

Published to New Features, Security on by .

spam It is important to know if your website’s IP is blacklisted by spammer directory. Spammer directories provide lists of IPs from which spam distribution is reported. Emails sent from the blocked IPs are subject to closer scrutiny and are much less likely to be delivered.

One important factor to understand is that your server does not have to send spam in order for your IP to get blacklisted. Many websites are hosted on a single IP with shared hosting accounts. If one domain on shared IP is reported as distributing spam all other websites on the same IP are affected.

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How To Fix Website Blocked By Google Safe Browsing

Published to Security on by .

What is safe browsing?

“Safe Browsing is a service provided by Google that enables applications to check URLs against Google’s constantly updated lists of suspected phishing and malware pages.” (https://developers.google.com/safe-browsing/)

What happens if my site is flagged as suspicious?

It is possible that your website has been hacked and it is used for phishing attacks or to distribute malware. In this case your website is blacklisted and will be blocked by Firefox, Safari and Chrome browsers presenting users with a very alarming warning message:

Safe Browsing Warning on Firefox

Reported Attack Page!

This web page at [WEBSITE] has been reported as an attack page and has been blocked based on your security preferences.

Attack pages try to install programs that steal private information, use your computer to attack others, or damage your system.Some attack pages intentionally distribute harmful software, but many are compromised without the knowledge or permission of their owners.
Safe Browsing Warning on Safari

Warning: Visiting this site may harm your computer

The website you are visiting appears to contain malware. Malware is malicious software that may harm your computer or otherwise operate without your consent. Your computer can be infected just by browsing to a site with malware, without any further action on your part.
Safe Browsing Warning on Chrome

Warning: Something’s Not Right Here!

[WEBSITE] contains content from [WEBSITE], a site known to distribute malware. Your computer might catch a virus if you visit this site.

Google has found malicious software may be installed onto your computer if you proceed. If you’ve visited this site in the past or you trust this site, it’s possible that it has just recently been compromised by a hacker. You should not proceed, and perhaps try again tomorrow or go somewhere else.

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