Adobe substitutes

Discussion in 'Software' started by peterr, Nov 12, 2010.

  1. peterr

    peterr MajorGeek

    Secunia always names Adobe products as insecure.
    Are Foxit and Gnash reliable substiutes for the reader and flash?
     
    peterr, Nov 12, 2010
    #1
  2. tgell

    tgell Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Personally, I use PDF X-change viewer. Very light and fast. Not sure about the flash substitute.
     
    tgell, Nov 12, 2010
    #2
  3. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Hi Peter

    Well they are no worse, if you keep your apps fully upto date then you are covered for all know issues, just because some say another app is better doesnt mean its not secure and open to exploits.

    Personally I have had no issues with Adobe Reader or Flash, if kept upto date.

    One thought for the day, while these two apps are singled out, just think of the others on your PC that maybe just as bad security wise, like is your Antivirus really that good?!, is your browser and surfing habbits safe?! (not saying they are not but just a thought to ponder)
     
    DavidGP, Nov 12, 2010
    #3
  4. peterr

    peterr MajorGeek

    If you use Adobe I feel it is safe to use the products.
    As I mentioned, Secunia reports Flash is insecure.
     
    peterr, Nov 12, 2010
    #4
  5. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Secunia report Apple's Quicktime as insecure but people still use it, in the end is a measure of degrees of security, to be honest and you are not one of them, but some folk have surfing and downloading habits that are 100% worse then having Flash or Quicktime on your PC, add a P2P client and use it then your more at risk of malware than using Flash or Quicktime et al
     
    DavidGP, Nov 12, 2010
    #5
  6. mjnc

    mjnc MajorGeek

    It's just that the process seems more tedious and more frequent than with some other apps.
    1. You find out that it needs updating
    2. You find the updated version
    3. Download and Save the update
    4. Uninstall Flash which requires it's own special removal tool
    5. Reboot
    6. Install the new version
    7. Load your Browser and go to the Adobe Flash web site to verify that it is
      working AND that you have the latest version installed

    Personally, I could live without Flash, but some sites require it.

    However, I do like Adobe Reader better than the alternatives that I've tried.
     
    mjnc, Nov 12, 2010
    #6
  7. pwillener

    pwillener MajorGeek

    What you describe is indeed the best and safest way to update Flash Player. However, in most cases it works just as well to install the new version over the existing one. (The installer contains an uninstaller that will try to uninstall all previous versions.)
     
    pwillener, Nov 12, 2010
    #7
  8. mjnc

    mjnc MajorGeek

    It's odd that after completing that procedure, the Adobe Flash installed version verification page
    shows the current ver. installed in Firefox/Pale Moon and in Opera but it does not
    get installed in Internet Explorer.
    IE requires installation from within the browser. :confused
     
    mjnc, Nov 13, 2010
    #8
  9. peterr

    peterr MajorGeek

    I understand and have reinstalled Adobe. With the latest version(which I thought I had) Secunia produced 100%.
    Yes, my download and surfing habits are very conservative.
    Thank you
     
    peterr, Nov 13, 2010
    #9
  10. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Good Stuff Peter and I knew your surfing habits where fine from our previous conversations etc
     
    DavidGP, Nov 13, 2010
    #10
  11. plodr

    plodr MajorGeek Super Extraordinaire Moderator Staff Member

    There are two flash installers. One is for IE and the other is for other browsers.

    You can get standalone installers, which is what I generally use and then put these on a USB stick because I need to install on 5 windows partitions. So, 10 installations for me every time flash is updated.

    http://www.filehippo.com/download_flashplayer_ie/
    http://www.filehippo.com/download_flashplayer_firefox/

    I then fire up each browser and go to
    http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/about
    to check the current version and make sure I'm up to date.
     
    plodr, Nov 13, 2010
    #11
  12. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    DavidGP, Nov 13, 2010
    #12
  13. usafveteran

    usafveteran MajorGeek

    This may be obvious but just to be perfectly clear on the point about two installers that plodr mentioned, you need to separately update IE from other browsers when updating Flash Player (FP). In other words, updating, let's say, Firefox will not update FP in IE, or vice versa.

    I could not. There's too much content I'd miss by not having it.
     
    usafveteran, Nov 13, 2010
    #13
  14. peterr

    peterr MajorGeek

    If programs are available I get them from MG and have not gone wrong.
    Both browsers have Flash and Secunia reports that they are fine.
     
    peterr, Nov 13, 2010
    #14
  15. mjnc

    mjnc MajorGeek

    Thanks.
    I didn't know that there are two separate installers.

    Thanks.
    I get it now.
    The main download is for Internet Explorer and the link at the bottom is for the other browsers.
    Convenient to be able to get them both at one point. ;)
     
    mjnc, Nov 13, 2010
    #15
  16. plodr

    plodr MajorGeek Super Extraordinaire Moderator Staff Member

    Sorry Halo, I searched and did not see the MajorGeeks link. Can you please edit my links to another site out. Thanks in advance. I try to post MajorGeeks links because I know the files are clean.
     
    plodr, Nov 13, 2010
    #16
  17. pwillener

    pwillener MajorGeek

    This is because the Internet Explorer version of Flash Player operates with ActiveX controls (Flash10l.ocx), the other browsers use the Flash Player plugin (NPSWF32.dll).

    I really think, since most users use multiple browsers these days, that Adobe should combine the two into one installer. I will file an enhancement request with Adobe.
     
    pwillener, Nov 13, 2010
    #17

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