Is it safe to download the Adobe Flash Player to my macbook

Relatively. You have to keep up with updates, since Flash can have security vulnerabilities. And there's malware out there right now that pretends to be a Flash updater. So, if you do install Flash, the only place you should download it from is directly from Adobe's web site (www.adobe.com).

DO not install Flash from anyplace but here (bookmark this page in your browser)

http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

There are a lot of "tricks" out there that try to get you to install Flash (or other plugins) and it's a trojan, or bad software that looks like it's ok to install.

This online check will assist to make sure your browser plug-ins are up to date, unfortuntly it's on Mozilla's site, but it works for all browsers

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/

It's ok to install Silverlight if you need it, it's used for Netflix (bookmarkt this page in your browser)

https://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight/get-started/install/default.aspx

Outside of that, Perian, Flip4Mac and VLC are pretty safe if you need to install them.

Please backup your personal data

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3045

Hello, ds store. I have a couple of questions I hope you can answer for me. I will first point out that I have an iMac; my search led me here. I wouldn't think there would be much difference in this case.

ds store wrote:

DO not install Flash from anyplace but here (bookmark this page in your browser)

http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

Adobe Flash Player is listed in my system preferences in 'Other.' I updated from there. Is that not a good idea? I do most of my updates from my 'Software Update." Is that also not to be trusted? And checking for updates in the menu of third party software? I thought these methods would direct me to the correct update, at least in most cases.

I also went to the firefox link you suggested (https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/ ). It indicates that my Shockwave Flash and Java Applet Plug-in are outdated. Doesn't updating Adobe Flash Player also update Shockwave? And system update or Safari update take care of the java plug-in? Clicking on 'Research' boxes for other plugins resulted in a 'whoops' error page, unfortunately.

I know this thread started a year ago, but I'm hoping you're still watching 😎

Adobe Flash Player is listed in my system preferences in 'Other.' I updated from there. Is that not a good idea?

That's perfectly okay. You just don't want to click mystery links in e-mail messages, on web sites or click buttons in unsolicited Flash update warnings. These things have been problems in the past. In all such cases, ignore it and go update Flash from Adobe's web site or through System Preferences.

I do most of my updates from my 'Software Update." Is that also not to be trusted? And checking for updates in the menu of third party software?

Those should also be fine, though don't do this sort of thing on an unknown public wireless network. Sometimes, such networks can be set up with the express purpose of getting people to join and then fooling their computers into downloading fake updates. Do your updates on known, trusted networks, such as your own home network.

I also went to the firefox link you suggested (https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/ ). It indicates that my Shockwave Flash and Java Applet Plug-in are outdated.

Shockwave is not quite the same. You can install (or update) it separately here:

http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/

However, I have never had a Shockwave plugin installed on my computer. There's very little Shockwave content on the web these days. You may do better to simply uninstall it.

Regarding Java, you MUST update it as quickly as possible! See:

Java is vulnerable… Again?!

If you have Java enabled in your web browser, it may be worth scanning your hard drive for malware using something like Sophos.

Thank you, that's very good to know.

I checked Safari preferences to make sure, and I have JavaScript enabled, but not Java. I recall previous Mac system updates have sometimes included Java updates. Is it likely I still need to update Java? How do I determine that? I don't know how long ago I disabled Java, so I will check out Sophos.

I searched for Shockwave in Finder and the only item that came up was this:

I just assumed (apparently incorrectly) that it is part of Adobe Flash Player. Should I do anything with this?

Thanks again 🙂

If you have Java installed, you should be keeping it up-to-date, but that would happen automatically through normal software updates for Java 6 or through the Java control panel in Java 7. You can check what version you have by opening the Terminal and entering the following command:

java -version

If you are running Mac OS X 10.7 or 10.8 and have not installed Java, you will not even have it. In that case, entering that command will prompt you to install Java. (You should decline at that point!) If you don't have Java, you're perfectly safe.

As for Shockwave, it's unlikely that you're actually using that actively. You could try moving that file onto the desktop and then restarting your web browser. If you don't notice any difference over time (missing functionality on some site you rely on, for example), you can delete it.