Apple Sandboxes Adobe Flash Player for Safari 7.0

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Safari 7.0, only for OS X Mavericks, runs the oft-hacked Adobe Flash Player in a protective sandbox to keep you safer.

Apple users, are you still deciding whether or not to upgrade to OS X Mavericks?

Safari 7.0, released this week for OS X Mavericks only, runs Adobe Flash Player in what's called a sandbox: a secure, separate environment that limits Flash's access to the rest of your computer.

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Adobe Flash Player has long been a thorn in the side of Web users and developers alike. So much of the Web still uses Flash to support videos and other animated content, yet Flash is also notoriously unsafe.

To turn Flash content into a viewable video, game or clickable item, browsers use Flash "plugins," or software extensions.

These plugins connect Web-based content with the software saved on your computer, thereby opening up a number of less-than-secure pathways that leave your computer vulnerable.

Implementing a sandbox closes off some of these potential attack vectors that cybercriminals could use to invade your computer. However, sandboxing doesn't make Flash perfectly secure.

You can also disable Flash entirely by going into your browser's Settings menu.

Apple has been particularly tough on Flash in the past. Steve Jobs declared in a 2010 talk that Flash would no longer be supported on any iOS devices, citing security concerns as his main reason.

Many content creators are working to move from Flash to HTML5, a safer and more robust video-playing mechanism.

But meanwhile, other browsers have already taken steps to safely run Flash content. Google, Mozilla and Microsoft have all worked with Adobe to develop sandboxes for Flash in the companies' Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers, respectively.

Mac users running OS X Mavericks can download Safari 7.0, which automatically runs the Flash sandbox, at www.apple.com/safari.

Email jscharr@techmedianetwork.com or follow her @JillScharr and Google+.  Follow us @TomsGuide, on Facebook and on Google+.

Jill Scharr

Jill Scharr is a creative writer and narrative designer in the videogame industry. She's currently Project Lead Writer at the games studio Harebrained Schemes, and has also worked at Bungie. Prior to that she worked as a Staff Writer for Tom's Guide, covering video games, online security, 3D printing and tech innovation among many subjects. 

5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jhansonxi
    Should be "litterboxes"
    Reply
  • dextermat
    Add java, and flash player ect. too would be wise!
    Reply
  • antilycus
    flash blows. Crap "programmers" (aka point and clickers, with little logic to any reason programing skill) and almost as insecure as Java. Google made sure Java is here to stay (which is why I don't use Android unless forced, as Android is just Java ontop of Linux). Do the world a favor, visit pages in https:// and only ones that support HTML5. No visits, no ads. No ads, no money. no money, changes happen.
    Reply
  • mrmike_49
    jhansonxi - good one!
    I've got a pc, and I NEVER install flash!
    Reply
  • falchard
    Apple 1995 called, they would like their "revolutionary" idea back.
    Flash is useful for some things in minor game development. Its a lot harder to create bugs with Flash compared to other languages, so it's good for crap "Programmers"

    I also can't bring myself to purchase Android or iOS devices since they are developed in Objective C or Java. Windows Phone is far superior with its C#/C++ implementations.
    Reply