Those who are Android phones users, heed this post and beware: it was discovered just recently by Adobe that its Flash feature in Android phones is flawed and could leave users’ phones at risk.

What do we mean by that? Well, this ‘flaw’ has enabled hackers to ability to take control of your phone and steal all your information. Yikes!

According to Adobe, this ‘flaw’ only occurs if a person receives a Microsoft Word file with an embedded .swf (flash file) in it, and the link is clicked. However, if you’ve already updated your phone with the latest Flash update, then you should be safe from harm. Otherwise, if you have older versions of Flash, it would be highly advised that you download the new version of it. Adobe marked this as “critical”, saying that if hackers were able to hack into your phone, you would be in deep trouble. (Well, no kidding, Sherlock.)

Here’s the official statement from Adobe:

A critical vulnerability exists in Flash Player 10.2.153.1 and earlier versions (Adobe Flash Player 10.2.154.25 and earlier for Chrome users) for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Solaris, Adobe Flash Player 10.2.156.12 and earlier versions for Android, and the Authplay.dll component that ships with Adobe Reader and Acrobat X (10.0.2) and earlier 10.x and 9.x versions for Windows and Macintosh operating systems.

This vulnerability (CVE-2011-0611) could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. There are reports that this vulnerability is being exploited in the wild in targeted attacks via a Flash (.swf) file embedded in a Microsoft Word (.doc) file delivered as an email attachment, targeting the Windows platform. At this time, Adobe is not aware of any attacks via PDF targeting Adobe Reader and Acrobat. Adobe Reader X Protected Mode mitigations would prevent an exploit of this kind from executing.

We are in the process of finalizing a schedule for delivering updates for Flash Player 10.2.x and earlier versions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Solaris and Android, Adobe Acrobat X (10.0.2) and earlier 10.x and 9.x versions for Windows and Macintosh, Adobe Reader X (10.0.2) for Macintosh, and Adobe Reader 9.4.3 and earlier 9.x versions for Windows and Macintosh. Because Adobe Reader X Protected Mode would prevent an exploit of this kind from executing, we are currently planning to address this issue in Adobe Reader X for Windows with the next quarterly security update for Adobe Reader, currently scheduled for June 14, 2011.

Keep in mind that hacking can occur on ANY smartphone. So even if you have an iPhone, be cautious and tread lightly. After all, the iPhone was hacked into in two days whereas Android and Windows 7 went unscathed in a recent hacking competition.

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