14 DAY TRIAL // As has been the case ever since Adobe decided to match its security patch release cycle with Microsoft's Patch Tuesday, Internet Explorer users got a new Flash Player update today that comes with through the official Windows Update channel available for all computers powered by Redmond's operating system.
Of course, the new Flash Player update is specifically designed to fix some recently-found security vulnerabilities, which makes this new release mandatory for basically everyone running Internet Explorer.
Since it's being shipped via Windows Update, no user input is required, with download and installation performed automatically on all Windows devices.
“On July 8th, a security update for Adobe Flash Player in Internet Explorer 10 and 11 on supported editions of Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 is also available. The details of the vulnerabilities are documented in Adobe security bulletin APSB14-17. This update addresses the vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash Player by updating the affected Adobe Flash binaries contained within Internet Explorer 10 and Internet Explorer 11,” Microsoft announced today.
Adobe said in its security advisory that Adobe Flash Player 14.0.0.125 and earlier versions for Windows are the affected builds, so in case you're running either this build or an older one, you're highly recommended to update to this new release as soon as possible.
The company says that, due to the vulnerability, an attacker can easily take control of an unpatched computer using a malicious website hosting compromised Flash Player content.
“Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player 14.0.0.125 and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh and Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.378 and earlier versions for Linux. These updates address vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. Adobe recommends users update their product installations to the latest versions,” Adobe said.
Microsoft is shipping the Flash Player patch via Windows Update for Internet Explorer 10 and 11, which currently run on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 computers. Consumers still using an older version of the browser are still getting the other security patches, but need to download the fresh Flash Player release manually.
Of course, Softpedia has already updated its listing with the latest versions of software released by Adobe, so you can download Flash Player 14.0.0.145 right now to make sure that no vulnerabilities exist in the application and that you are perfectly secure when browsing the web.