‘The Shockwave Flash Player has crashed’ Pop-Up Message

The 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message is a fake warning message meant to resemble a prompt to reinstall, reactivate or update Flash, but actually is an attack that tries to install unrelated, and potentially threatening software onto your PC. Because the 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message may distribute high-level PC threats that may inject themselves into other memory processes, steal personal information or open backdoor security holes. Even unwitting contact with the 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message is a cause for immediate concern. Through analyses of the 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message, and similar attacks, malware experts have found appropriate anti-malware defenses useful both for blocking the actual attacks, and for removing any threat that may have been installed through them.

The Crash with a Threat-Riddled Landing

The 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message is one of more than a few variants of a tactic that seeks to install threats on your computer whenever possible. Malware researchers most often find the 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message occurring in Chrome browsers, which may be indicative of additional PC threats, such as browser hijackers, injecting new content into that browser's Web pages as they're loaded. However, similar attacks to the 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message also are prolific on most widely-used browsers of other brands.

The 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message can be distinguished from real Flash Player-related error messages by its unusual warning message, which differs from normal alerts, as well as its prompt for you to download additional software. While malware experts may see the benefit in keeping Flash up-to-date, and, particularly, recommend doing so for your PC's security, you never should trust download links offered by websites that are unrelated to the downloads being prompted. In the case of the 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message, this even is true for otherwise legitimate websites like YouTube or Google, since they may be specially modified to load a the 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message.

Climbing out of a Fake Flash Crash

Since the 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message may be just one of several types of attacks that could assault your PC, having generalized forms of browser protection are advisable. Disabling scripts and using anti-malware applications that protect your online browsing sessions are two of the most common, and simple ways to block just such an attack. With respect to fake Flash updates and other disguises used by this kind of attackers, you also may want to consider keeping track of the version of Flash that you're using. Most similar attacks always may claim that Flash is out-of-date even when you're using the latest version.

Legitimate Flash updates, while critical for your online safety, should be identified strenuously, due to the frequency with which criminals use Flash-themed attacks like the 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message. Always install these and other updates from sources that are as direct from the primary company as possible, and malware researchers particularly recommend avoiding updates delivered through the 'Shockwave Flash Player has crashed' pop-up message and other pop-up windows, like the 'Notice! Please update your FLV Player' Fake Pop-up Alert or the 'Flash Player Update' Pop-Up.