You’ve probably read it all over the blogs today - Microsoft has discovered a security vulnerability in the Flash Player which seems to affect almost every version. The good news is that Adobe has published a fix already. And it sounds to me like you really shouldn’t wait too long to make that update - it might become quite ugly out there in case someone finds out how to make use of this exploit.

I see two possible consequences out of this issue, as soon as this news hits the mass media:

a) Panic - people disable their Flash Plugins alltogether
b) Chance - 99% penetration rate for Flash Player 8 within weeks

Of course I am an ambassador of alternative b - especially as it is the much more logical consequence - ultimately the exploit has already been found and been fixed - it’s not some unknown danger lurking in the depths of your system. All you have to do is spend maybe 2 minutes for the update. How about doing it right now - I’ve prepared a little ExpressInstall swf which should do the magic almost automatically - if it doesn’t ask you to update and shows you “Flash Player 8.0.24.0 installed” you are fine. (If you are beta testing the new 8.5 player you’ll have to tread a bit more carefully for a while).

Of course this will only update your browser plugin. For the standalone player, the debug player or other version you should consult the Macromedia update page.