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Plugins - yes, they're handy but they also increase the surface of attack

  • 9 March 2016
  • 4 replies
  • 241 views
Jasper_The_Rasper
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Yasin Soliman | March 9, 2016
 
                                                


 

Any plugin could potentially put your computer - and your data - at risk

 
If you're reading this on a computer, it's pretty likely that you have at least one of these plugins installed: Adobe Flash, Oracle Java or Microsoft Silverlight.
 
You may have downloaded Flash to play a game or Silverlight to watch a live football match, inside of your web browser. Starting to sound familiar?
 
Whichever web browser you are using, you should know that using any plugin runs the risk of putting your system - and your data - in increased peril.
 
Let's travel back in time for a quick history lesson.
 
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4 replies

R
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My question is without these plugins how does one function or operate efficiently on the web???  It would seem to me it would be a constant battle to patch these plugins on a constant basis to avoid exploits.
Jasper_The_Rasper
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@Antus67 wrote:
My question is without these plugins how does one function or operate efficiently on the web???  It would seem to me it would be a constant battle to patch these plugins on a constant basis to avoid exploits.
It needs a system where the plugins are checked and updated automatically when necessary.
Baldrick
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@ wrote:
@Antus67 wrote:
My question is without these plugins how does one function or operate efficiently on the web???  It would seem to me it would be a constant battle to patch these plugins on a constant basis to avoid exploits.
It needs a system where the plugins are checked and updated automatically when necessary.
Agreed, Jasper...but just who is going to spend the time and/or effort to 'close the gap'? :(
Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete Beta Tester v9.0.24.49, imaged by Macrium Reflect v7.2
Jasper_The_Rasper
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Userlevel 7
Badge +54
@ wrote:
@ wrote:
@Antus67 wrote:
My question is without these plugins how does one function or operate efficiently on the web???  It would seem to me it would be a constant battle to patch these plugins on a constant basis to avoid exploits.
It needs a system where the plugins are checked and updated automatically when necessary.
Agreed, Jasper...but just who is going to spend the time and/or effort to 'close the gap'? :(
Some of the reputable ones such as Webroot update automatically the problem is though, there is also a lot of less reputable ones.

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