14 DAY TRIAL // On Friday we mentioned Macromedia's update of Flash Player, which was considered critical in order to patch a serious vulnerability that experts know of since July. But there is a different angle about this story that makes it even better: Microsoft is getting involved and is urging users to upgrade to version 8.0.22.0 of Flash Player, which proves how important this component is to the online scenery.
Microsoft has now posted a security advisory directing users of its Windows XP, XP SP2, 95, 98, and Me to the third-party patches. The company is doing this kind of promotion for a third-party for the first time. This involvement could also have a lot to do with the fact Flash is re-distributed by Microsoft in several of the Operating Systems developed by the company.
The vulnerability that started it all could have allowed hackers to gain access to the system and take over. Microsoft didn't just publish warnings about the need to have this update installed but also presented alternatives which vary from deactivating Flash ActiveX in IE to uninstalling the player itself.
The Flash Player update can be obtained from here.