'Flash Player Upgrade Required' Fake Message

Criminals typically use the 'Flash Player Upgrade Required' fake message to deliver Trojans and other malware disguised as fake updates for Adobe Flash. The 'Flash Player Upgrade Required' fake message has been linked to scams on social networks, such as Facebook, in which a fake viral video will be posted repeatedly – usually promising attractive women, outrageous stunts or a great special offer. Regardless of the supposed content of the video, clicking on its link will result in the appearance of the 'Flash Player Upgrade Required' fake message. Of course, if the victim clicks on this message in order to 'update' their Flash Player, the file that will be downloaded will probably be anything but a legitimate update for this essential application. Criminals use the 'Flash Player Upgrade Required' fake message to distribute Trojans that are designed to deliver rogue security programs or open up a backdoor into the infected computer system. Because of this, ESG security researchers strongly recommend against clicking or following the instructions on any of the variants of the 'Flash Player Upgrade Required' fake message. Instead, close your Internet browser and scan your computer system for any possible malware infections. Websites associated with the 'Flash Player Upgrade Required' fake message will often carry other kinds of malware threats or attackers that try to exploit security vulnerabilities in your Internet browser or operating system.

Possible Sources of the 'Flash Player Upgrade Required' Fake Message

As was mentioned before, the 'Flash Player Upgrade Required' fake message is linked to social media scams in which infected users will post some kind of video which will then refuse to play and instead display this insidious message. However, the 'Flash Player Upgrade Required' fake message has also been linked to one of the most popular ways of becoming infected with malware, pornographic video websites. Many fraudulent pornographic video websites will claim that a particular video cannot be played unless the user downloads a particular codec or updates Adobe Flash Player, usually with the 'Flash Player Upgrade Required' fake message or some variant of this fake error message. The 'Flash Player Upgrade Required' fake message can also appear on streaming video websites, which lure their victims with promises of pirated movies and instead are simply vehicles for distributing dangerous Trojan and rootkit infections through social engineering and deceptive practices.