Bug in Adobe Creative Cloud

[Geo 🇺🇦 🌻]

Mac Only:

This bug may permanently delete some data in your Mac user folder without your permission.

arstechnica.com/apple/2016/02/warning-bug-in-adobe-creative-cloud-deletes-mac-user-data-without-warning/

There are mitigation steps in the article that do involve creating a dummy folder that Adobe can delete. Also I think Adobe has pulled the offending update.

[Jae]

Does Adobe just not test things before releasing them into the wild, or...?

[Geo 🇺🇦 🌻]

Whaaat? Adobe...test things? Nope. That's probably why the Adobe Flash plugin is like Swiss cheese, full of security holes and vulnerabilities.

Also, please don't follow any instructions given in the comments section of that article. They are merely snarky responses and not intended to "fix" anything except they purge the existence of all Adobe software from your machine.

[Jae]

Regarding Flash, it's probably the other way around: it's simply too easy to crack that they can't account for every possible potential vulnerability. Which, now that I think about it, just makes Adobe look worse, if anything. P:

I didn't notice any instructions that weren't just quoted from the article itself, although I wasn't reading closely. Most of what I saw was a debate about purchasing a product up-front vs. subscription-based models.

In general, though, not listening to advice from the comment section is a pretty good rule of thumb on any website.

[Geo 🇺🇦 🌻]

Generally plugins are bad. Let's provide a way for the website to gain direct access to files on your computer. Surely there won't be any issues there.

This is why the Java plugin (not to be confused with Javascript) and Silverlight are both projects that will end. Flash would be the only remaining widespread plugin.

Anyways, stay safe, even with programs that you pay for and expect not to exhibit malware behavior.