Adobe Flash Installer wanted to install Helper Apps

[Space-Buckaroo]

The Adobe Flash Player Install Manager, version 32.0.0.142 (32.0.0.142) popped up and wanted me to update the Flash Player.

I searched the internet and that version was the latest so I decided to accept it.

I checked the URL and it was an adobe.com website so I thought:  Adobe - Adobe Flash Player Download

https: //get3.adobe.com/flashplayer/update/osx/  (I had to include a space between the : and // to be able to type in the URL).

I hit the Update now button and opened it up and ran it.  After entering my admin password, it installed Adobe Flash Player (I believe) and then it asked to install a "Helper" app.  I hit cancel and again I got a request to install another "Helper" app.  Again I refused.

Is Adobe including spam apps now?  I hope that the Flash Player is okay, but I'm concerned.  Please advise.

Thank you.

[Test Screen Name · Accepted solution]

The helper app is needed because the Flash Player is a system component, and Apple have an extra layer of protection for system components in recent versions of Mac OS. The helper tool is just part of the installer (and updater). If this is the official download, it's fine. Your download is official, so it's ok.

[awuwork]

Baloney! I had to click through the "Helper app" install several times and it installed the BokkingRentalCars.app (and opened it) as well as the Mac Cleanup Pro.app and added the Anysearch extension to Safari, which changed my search to Yahoo.

[Test Screen Name]

Bad stuff. You have been tricked into installing a Fake Adobe Flash Player. Recommend you wipe your hard disk and start from scratch, you may have got some much worse badware than you know.  Never download updates to your software from a link or page given by a web site you visit, even if it seems really trustworthy. Go back to source

[pluebberman]

Unable to do this was installed by Dell when I purchased it!  This is rediculous, blocking 3 games unable to do anything, this is a pain! Is this legit??  & don't give me any gobeldegook   how to fix it!

[Test Screen Name]

Is WHAT legit? Please ask your question clearly and describe your problem in detail. If we assume your problem is the same we may give you bad info. Especially as all the questions up to now were about Mac.

[squixz]

That is just one part of the answer. It is correct however, the message comes from an action to install the auto-updater. So Adobe forces Flash-users to opt-in that function in stead of asking for it. An  opt-out should be the default regardless how much "caring" Adobe is for its users. Fiddling around with root priveledges without questions and alternatives is not how modern software developers should behave.

[Test Screen Name]

Opinions differ very much on this. One school of thought (for example, Microsoft with Windows 10 updates) is that because security risks are high and attacks follow fixes very quickly, that this justifies defaulting to automatic updates, and making it difficult or impossible to opt out. Anyway, the problem will be resolved at the end of the year.

[Robert Mc Dowell]

Nothing will be resolved at the end of the year since JavaScript is the main language having 1000 times more attacks and securiity holes than Flash, for example intercept a browser client to calculate crypto currency mining and use all the client machin resources.

[squixz]

I somewhat agree with that. However, Adobe should at least be more clear about where the message comes from, why, and give the user a choice. Just saying "it's MacOS" and "Flash is a system component" is simply very far from the truth.