Now you see me: Exposing fileless malware

[ParaXY]

A good idea would be to uninstall Adobe Flash altogether.

An even better idea would be to uninstall Adobe Flash, and if you have it, uninstall it.

I don't have Adobe Flash installed

This is the version that comes with Windows 10..../sigh Can it be removed/uninstalled without breaking things?

 

[Deleted member 65228]

This is the version that comes with Windows 10..../sigh Can it be removed/uninstalled without breaking things?

What built-in Windows 10 version of Adobe Flash?

I have nothing from Adobe on my local environment... Including no standalone Adobe Flash. I'm on Windows 10 64-bit (latest version, stable releases only).

I remember you're using Microsoft Edge though, and Microsoft Edge has Adobe Flash built in. This might be what you're referring to? I believe Google Chrome has it as well but I disabled all the auto-play content and require a click-to-play anyway so it's all good.

 

[ParaXY]

What built-in Windows 10 version of Adobe Flash?

I have nothing from Adobe on my environment... Including no Adobe Flash. I'm on Windows 10 64-bit (latest version, stable releases only).

I've neither uninstalled it, because there was none installed to begin with.

Have a look in these folders:

C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash

 

[Deleted member 65228]

Have a look in these folders:

C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash

Oh that.

Pretty sure it's for ActiveX content. If you need ActiveX then don't disable it.

 

[ParaXY]

I blocked the Flash files in AppGuard a week ago and all good on this side!

 

[Daviworld]

If you are skilled enough to switch to linux, you are surely skilled enough to stay safe and sound on windows...

This is true, I haven't had any security issue's on window's and have a very small attack surface. But, the direction Window's is going as a company is counter-intuitive to my day-to-day computing need's. I spend more time trying to customize something or circumvent something in Window's, while in most Linux distro's I can usually change/add whatever I was intending to, and go on about my daily computing task. For instance patching security hole's right away, or updating

 

[Deletedmessiah]

a lot more efficient

I disagree with this portion. Agreed with the rest.

 

[509322]

Thanks. I somehow thought it was patched, I guess I confused this exploit with another one that was patched.
But it's really cat and mouse, because the bad actors will just keep on finding new ways. So protection is needed, otherwise you end up behind the eight-ball, as Lockdown says.

To deal with the "8 Ball Rule" and throwing the dice, it's a whole lot easier to not put ammunition in the cannon barrel than to instead stand behind the loaded cannon and try to protect it by carrying 100 different types of loaded small arms. The anology is apt. And the second protection strategy is just plain stupid. It bankrupted the Soviet Union.

 

[509322]

If you are skilled enough to switch to linux, you are surely skilled enough to stay safe and sound on windows...

You can stay safe on Windows.

Disable the unneeded stuff that is shipped in the general OS. It's a decades old Microsoft recommended best practice that has proven time-and-again to work like no other solution out there except turning off the electricity.

Just because it is shipped and used by a tiny fraction of the time does not mean it is needed.

Until people get past their fixations and beliefs that if Microsoft put it there or some publisher is using it then it shouldn't be disabled, then I don't know what to tell anyone. Because there are Microsoft divisions that will tell those people "That just ain't true."

However, I will say this... it takes a script of gargantuan size to disable all crapola that Microsoft has managed to pack into Windows over the years. And that is sad for the Average Joe.

Average Joe... get Chromebook. You'll be much better off.