‘Flash Player Update’ Pop-Up

The 'Flash Player Update' pop-up is a misleading message that's disguised as a patch for Adobe's Flash, which often is required to view various types of online media. Unlike a real Adobe patch, the 'Flash Player Update' pop-up doesn't upgrade Flash, and, as a poor substitute, installs unwanted software or threats onto the PC. Safe Web-browsing behavior that avoids patches from less than official websites should be taken for granted as the simplest protection from a 'Flash Player Update' pop-up, but malware researchers also would find it best to launch anti-malware scans after any kind of brush with a website related to this pop-up attack.

The Update that Will Cripple Your PC as Quick as a Flash

Considered as a crucial piece of software for enabling the proper display of advanced website content, Flash often is exploited by criminals who want to distribute software without advertising the fact that that's what they're doing. The 'Flash Player Update' pop-up is a common format for these drive-by-download attacks, which may include non-consensual methods of installing software, but their raison d'être is to convince you to install this 'update' willingly. Examples of the sites that malware experts would rank as likely sources of 'Flash Player Update' pop-ups include Thecdn.04stream.com, Online.loginwinner.com and Eggdepot.com.

A 'Flash Player Update' pop-up is designed to look like a normal update prompt from Adobe and may include an implication that the relevant website isn't displaying its content properly. However, the 'Flash Player Update' pop-up appears even when Flash is completely updated and includes harmful or unwanted programs, rather than a Flash patch. Payloads that may be installed by way of a 'Flash Player Update' pop-up often include the following kinds of high-level PC threats:

• Spyware programs that record typed information, snatch account passwords from banking websites and/or monitor your webcam.
• Backdoor Trojans that open firewall ports and make illicit contact with a Command & Control server that lets criminals control your PC.
• Worms that often include multiple attack-related functions along with being able to create duplicates of themselves. Some worms also distribute themselves through your network connections or your peripheral devices.

A 'Flash Player Update' pop-up also may install non-beneficial but not illegal programs, including adware, browser toolbars or search engine hijackers.

Keeping a 'Flash Player Update' Pop-Up from Updating Your PC Directly to Danger

While it's recommended that you do your best to avoid the threatening and hacked websites that could launch a 'Flash Player Update' pop-up, fallback lines of defense also are important for your PC's safety. Blocking scripts, especially Java and JavaScript, is recommended for disabling many of the worst attacks that may launch through a 'Flash Player Update' pop-up, and malware experts suggest doing so whenever you're browsing a site you're not certain is safe. In any case, any contact with a 'Flash Player Update' pop-up should be used as a justification for an immediate anti-malware scan that, hopefully, will detect any on-board threats.

The 'Flash Player Update' pop-up is heavily invested in traditional social engineering strategies for compromising its victims. If you're interested in preventing future variants of the 'Flash Player Update' pop-up in the days to come, you should consider avoiding software updates from sites that aren't confirmed to be official. Only Adobe should be trusted to provide Flash updates, just as you wouldn't update any other program with a 'patch' from a source that's unaffiliated with that software's company.

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