Avoid Malware Version of Adobe’s Flash Player (Adobe_flash.exe)

Beware of fake Adobe Flash Updates in the form of the executable file 'adobe_flash.exe'. Hackers and trojan makers have been using fake Adobe Flash Update alerts that claim to update a user's Adobe Flash Player only to install a trojan on their computer. In order to view a video from a website, many computer users have fallen under the online scam when prompted to update their flash player using the file 'adobe_flash.exe.' Computer users feel confident to download "adobe_flash.exe" because the file name mentions "adobe," but what they don't realize is that they're giving hackers or trojan makers access to their computer.

How did I end up downloading a fake Adobe Flash Player?

Many times computer users are very anxious to view a video online and sometimes will do whatever it takes to open and play the video even if it means doing something as simple and petty as updating your Adobe Flash Player. Hackers know this human behavior and they are taking advantage of this very situation to the fullest nowadays. With spam messages like 'CNN.com Daily Top 10' and 'msnbc.com - BREAKING NEWS,' users are being spoofed into clicking on full story links found within the text or images which, at first glance, appear to be a legitimate message, yet are only links that point to fake video codecs that prompts the user to download a file named 'adobe_flash.exe.' You must remember that malicious links can be embedded within images and the text body of email messages.

The name of the file may throw off the judgment of many computer users today as it appears to be an executable file to either update or install a new version of the Adobe Flash Player. Unfortunately, the file 'adobe_flash.exe' may be malware that installs a Trojan Zlob version known as 'EncPk-DA' and 'Exchanger.mn' Trojans.

Adobe cannot reiterate it enough: 'Do not download Flash Player from a site other than Adobe.com'.

If a website other than Adobe.com offers a download or update of the Flash Player then you should NOT download or install it. This should be a common practice in knowing that you may potentially damage your computer or become a victim of identity theft from malware that is installed on your system. If you ever get a popup message prompting you to download or update your Flash Player, then you may want to navigate directly to Adobe.com to perform this task.

It may be wise to keep your anti-spyware or anti-virus software running at all times with the latest dat files installed. This may assist you in the case that you make the ultimate mistake of downloading the dreadful 'adobe_flash.exe'.

We want to hear about your experiences. Have you ever been prompted to update your Flash Player? Do you think you may have been infected with malware by performing a fake Flash Player update or download? Do you only download your Flash Player updated directly from Adobe.com?