Is it safe to use Flash?

Earlier this month, Adobe released another crucial patch for Flash to address a security issue that allowed attackers to control an affected system. Given that we rely upon the web more and more for our everyday activities, we have to consider whether we should still be enabling Flash on our browsers.

It’s a particularly good question to ask given that HTML5 is being widely adopted for content delivery, and Adobe, Google and Mozilla have all committed to reducing or removing Flash support entirely.

We’ve seen time and again the number of times Flash has been exploited. If this question was being asked a few years ago, the answer would have been split, simply because HTML5 wasn’t in as strong a position as it is now.

But HTML5 has improved leaps and bounds, and more browsers are beginning to accept it as standard. HTML5 has obvious benefits over Flash: it supports rich media, boasts stronger security, and is far more dynamic on mobile.

Compared to Flash, HTML5 is something of a new frontier. It can adapt to different platforms, but that means an increased chance of things going wrong. In the early days, testing is a must. The tests you may have used for Flash may take more time with HTML5, but it’s time well spent to ensure your perform works as intended.

So why is Flash still hanging around?

Well, there are those that still rely on Flash to deliver content. But if Flash doesn’t play a vital role in your daily activity, you can do something about it: 1) You can uninstall the plugin from your system, or 2) Disable it.

That being said, the final decision is really yours to make. You have to assess whether you truly need Flash or not. If you do decide to keep the plugin enabled, make sure you keep it updated at regular intervals, and pay attention to industry chatter.

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