Completely Unacceptable Practice in Flash Upgrade

Question

I was attempting to access a website, Allied Boats, and was advised that I needed to upgrade the version of Flash on my computer. I clicked the link to do so. Other apps immediately began loading onto my computer. Booking.com suddenly appeared. Also seemed that a scan of my computer was performed, with a subsequent question asking if I wanted to begin paying for MacAfee security software. I declined and immediately shut everything down. Since then, I've had two individuals unknown to me attempt to access my computer. I am beyond livid. Does Adobe now act as a trojan horse for unwanted apps? Was considering using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, but now having significant reservations.

Why does Adobe find it acceptable to bring other, unsolicited apps to the table when all I wanted to do was upgrade the version of Flash I was using? Now very concerned that my computer has been compromised

_maria_ · Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, it sounds like you downloaded a fake/malicious Flash Player installer, which are, unfortunately, quite common. The only official Flash Player is downloaded from adobe.com, not any other site.

I went to http://alliedboats.com/ (not sure if this is the same site), poked around a bit and didn't see any Flash content.

It's possible you may not have accessed the correct page to begin with. I launched Chrome, performed a Google search for Allied Boats and clicked on the first hit (which happened to be alliedboats.com). I immediately got some 'congratulations google user survey' page (I see it the browser history). I knew this wasn't correct and closed the tab. Went back to Google search results, clicked the same link and the http://alliedboats.com page displayed. It's possible there was some hidden pixel or something on the search results page that I clicked on without knowing. I'm no longer able to reproduce the behaviour.

Now very concerned that my computer has been compromised

It may have been. I recommend uninstalling anything that was installed via the malicious Flash Player installer. Clearing browser cache and cookies (in case there is a malicious cookie saved). Running a full system scan for viruses, malware, adware, spyware, etc.

<edited: fixed typo>

Robert Mc Dowell · Answer

Never Ever download flash plugin in other websites than Adobe Flash Player Install for all versions

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