Patch Lady – two items of note in Chrome

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First off I noticed tonight (I’m sure it was there before this) that Chrome is giving the official countdown notice to let us know that it’s disabling
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Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Philomene123, woody, Pepsiboy

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Susan,
I have been getting that notice from Chrome on both of our machines (HP desktop & HP laptop) for about a week. We are both running Win 7 x64 SP1, group B.

So far it is only a minor nuisance.

Dave

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I noticed last week on weather.com that the interactive local map would not load in chrome but worked in other browsers. The web site showed a message that “this browser cannot display this map”. This week it loads but the map looks different. More like the old style they used to have.

I think if any browser can motivate companies to make the needed changes it would be Chrome.

Red Ruffnsore

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Mr. Natural said:
I think if any browser can motivate companies to make the needed changes it would be Chrome.

It remains to be seen if the resultant changes would be for the better, or turn out to be ultimately inconsequential. In cases where Flash is being used intentionally in 2019 — as opposed to due to (a) lack of budget &/or expertise to upgrade to a more secure technology, or (b) file format constraints (eg. Flash-built games) — I quite suspect that the websites in question will have their own way of perpetuating the status quo by other means — even when Flash goes extinct.

For instance, the (very rich) national archives at my location insists on using Flash to load oral history MP3 audio recordings, as well as PDF transcripts — both of which could otherwise have been better served in their native formats or with more efficient technology. (There must have been complaints, because the website tritely instructs users to use Google Chrome.)

Oh yeah, as pointless & unintuitive as it might seem, they really use Flash to display the contents of PDF transcripts. And this roundabout, slow-to-load ANTI-USER design is apparently done on purpose. It is not possible to save a copy of the transcript for offline personal reference, copy any snippet of text for the purpose of discussion (or input into a translation engine), or view more than a couple of lines of legible text within the size-restricted Flash window.

As such, I doubt the lack of Flash is going to change an ingrained mindset where users are seen as the enemy. In the aforementioned example, TPTB would simply find another way to antagonize users whose taxes pay for the website & the public officers’ salaries.

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Copy protection is a legitimate use for Flash. I’ve seen it used for audio streaming radio stations.
I’m sure they will find a replacement soon.

cheers, Paul

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Susan Bradley wrote:

Next if you want to see if your passwords have been compromised, there’s a Chrome add in to check if you are in owned database (note that this add in also works in the Edge browser based on Chrome).

I don’t trust Google. Have you checked Troy Hunt’s https://haveibeenpwned.com/ ?

César

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I agree, Cesar. I was going to ask, does this Chrome add-in tell you if Google has your password? They have everything else; I would be very surprised if they did not have your password.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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OscarCP, Cesar

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What does it mean “to be in owned database”? Why does it matter? Never heard or read that expression before.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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OscarCP wrote:

What does it mean “to be in owned database”? Why does it matter? Never heard or read that expression before.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pwn

César

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The term should be “pwned”, not “owned”. (Google it.)

Quick explanation:

If you NEVER reuse the SAME password on multiple websites, then there is nothing to see here.

However, if you DO reuse passwords, then you should STOP that practice. You should probably also consult Troy Hunt’s “Have I Been Pwned” website (see link in earlier post) for details about why that’s a BAD IDEA, and whether or not you are currently at risk, because some miscreant has stolen a hash of your favorite password from some site and cracked it so it can be used on another site, e.g. your bank or credit card account.

— EstherD

 

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Cesar

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Thanks, Cesar for the link and EstherD, in particular, for the further explanation that is also excellent advice any time

I’ve had some personal data stolen from a government site, some years back. Along with several million other unfortunate souls.

So far, my money has not been touched, I have not been sued for defamation by some aggrieved person or persons, the Mafia is not after me for not showing enough respect, and I just go on living my life, one day at the time, until I don’t, like everyone else.

So: what is Google going to do about it? Let me know I have been o(p)wned by someone somewhere? And then what? I hope it is something useful; that will be nice, for a change. I am not keen on learning that there is some unclear threat hanging above my head and that an unclear action is needed to remove it.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Cesar

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[Philomene123]

I use mainly Apple devices, and I have the notification about flash in Chrome since some time. I play flash games, so I have to enable Flash every time I log into to my games, no big deal.

For the addon into chrome, is it about email or password? Noticed tonight Firefox is having a similar  addon. For myself  I use Haveibeenpwned site, but it’s about email, not password. So I am a bit confused about addon in chrome. As for many, I don’t trust google chrome, I never had any password manager, I use different pw for all sites I have to log in.

I am a bit paranoid about security… it serves me well. I cross my fingers, caught very few malwares over the years.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 9 months ago by Philomene123.

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OscarCP

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