Concern over AdobeFlashPlayer_18_a_install vs AdobeFlashPlayer_18au_a_install

[sams73536716]

Hello,

   I'm running Mac OS X and have turned on automatic updates of Flash Player. I'm kind of concerned over the flash player version. I was prompted to download a version few days ago.

This was AdobeFlashPlayer_18au_a_install of size 674 KB. I installed the version and for some reason the progress window seemed to be fake. Anyways, i ran a scan and things seemed to be fine.

A few days later, i get another alert to update the player again. The file name seemed to be the same as that of the previous update (AdobeFlashPlayer_18au_a_install). This time the file size was 761 KB.

I didn't install this version.

   This time i tried downloading the flash player directly from adobe's web site. It was called AdobeFlashPlayer_18_a_install of size 763 KB.

So, i'm kind of concerned over the inconsistent file sizes and names. Did i get some malware installed?

- Sam

[piyush2508]

Hi sams73536716‌,

In the past few weeks we have had back to back fixes which have been pushed to live, hence the notifications. The File which you are downloading is the Adobe Download Manager file which manages the Adobe Flash Player download and Installation.

What I can do i ask the product team which handles the ADM to look into this and provide with an answer to your query.

--

Piyush

[_maria_]

Hi sams73536716,

While the online installer file name is different, they do download the same version of Flash Player in the background.  The difference is as follows:

• AdobeFlashPlayer_18_a_install - installer file downloaded from http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer
• AdobeFlashPlayer_18au_a_install - installer file downloaded from an update notification dialog window

As for the difference in File size, I do know the team that handles the online installer made a few changes to the file recently which may explain the difference in size. 

HTH.

--

Maria

[sams73536716]

Thanks for the clarification. I'm glad it was from Adobe. For future reference, is there any way to cross check and verify the authenticity of the disk image file? A MD5 hash or SHA-1 or something like that specified in Adobe's web site would help.

[_maria_]

Hi sams73536716,

Unfortunately the MD5, SHA-1, etc values are not posted on Adobe's site. I'm not aware of plans to make these available.

--

Maria