Adobe Searches for Solutions in the Clipboard Attack Case

We have previously reported on a malware threat disguised into Flash banners appearing uncompromisingly on Newsweek, Digg and MSNBC websites. Adobe, the owner of the Flash technology, made a brief announcement according to which the company was acquainted with the problem and was trying to find a suitable solution for it.

"We are aware of recent press reports about a potential 'Clipboard attack' issue that involves Flash Player. Adobe is currently investigating potential solutions to this issue and will update customers as soon as we have more information to provide." says the Adobe Product Security Incident Response Team on the official blog of the company.

The problem, which affects Windows, Linux and Mac OS X users alike, seems to be more annoying than dangerous, especially to people who usually are aware of the dangers that may be hidden on rogue anti-spyware websites. Each time users try to paste the address of a legitimate link found on one of the affected websites in their browser, they get redirected. What they find is another website that pretends to host a security solution when, in fact, it installs spyware on the machines whose owners fall for the fake warning of a virus.

The link can be easily spread by any means - emails, different documents or weblog articles, as it can be concealed within any block of written information.

Although the company in charge with the development of Flash Player couldn't offer an actual solution to the problems encountered by those who just wanted to check the latest headlines, it did go on record saying that coming up with a solution was entirely its duty. Setting the "High" option on the Pop-up blocker was reported as useful in some cases, but the action that must be taken to eliminate the cause is clearly Adobe's responsibility. Judging by the prompt response on its blog, the software maker seems to be highly aware of this.