Note to folk using Firefox, and who recently updated to Firefox 5.0...
Please check your Flash Player Settings, after this update to firefox was applied the settings for Flash were reset to their defaults, restoring many settings which may be of concern for some, particularly for Game players & Privacy folk (due to the existence of flash-cookies).
Although it may be just worthwhile to check these settings regardless of the browser you use.
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Most folk can change these settings via their computer's Control Panel but a more comprehensive way is to use the original online settings manager at Adobe itself, link provided below.
http://www.macromedia.com/support/do...s_manager.html
Some Settings to check specifically for...
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Gamers...
Check the Global Storage Settings, for gamers who play flash games online it is recommended to have this setting set to Unlimited, plus the 2 check boxes below the storage slider ticked.
Note... do not tick the Never ask again box, this sets the storage to None, it is mislabeled - it should read, block storage.
With these settings of unlimited all games can store as much data as they require for the game thus allowing it to run smoothly with no loading problems.
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Privacy folk...
Due to the existence of the so-called Super-Cookie (flash-cookies) that are not stored within a browsers normal cookie storage place but stored within a Flash Local-Shared-Object, these flash-cookies have some controversy with them regarding their use by companies to avoid attempts of tracking to be deleted, they can even restore cookies that were previously deleted. Information on these flash-cookies can be found on wiki.
In the flash settings manager, to prevent any sort of extra data being stored in such flash-cookies it may be useful to change the settings for Global Storage to None (and tick the never ask again box below the slider, also un-tick the 2 check boxes below the storage setting.
This will stop any flash data from being stored on your computer at all, I have checked a browser with these settings and it still managed to play a flash video with no problems, so it shouldn't prevent most sites from working.
One other thing to check in the settings is the setting for the Peer-to-Peer networking, a system which uses unused bandwidth of the user for sending data from the flash object to others who may be using the same site & object's video etc.
There may be nowt wrong with this setting but I have had a bad experience with programs using spare bandwidth in the background and therefore I have the Disable P2P check box ticked.
Also, check the use of your web camera & microphone settings too, I have these disabled or set to ask for each site (which is the best choice if you actually use the cam & mic with flash applications over the net) but if you have a cam & mic attached to your computer and never use it with flash applications (Live Messenger etc. use their own way of accessing the cam & mic so these won't count) then you should disable (Always Deny) globally this setting to prevent yourself from being seen or heard without your knowledge.
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I have no idea why these flash settings were reset to their defaults after this update, but there were other times in the past when these settings were defaulted, after a prior update of flash but since the updates no longer reset these settings to their default.
It is wise to check these settings on your computer periodically, just for your own awareness, Whether it be for gaming or for your own privacy.
As I said above, the Flash settings via your computer's control panel isn't as comprehensive (or explained in full) as the one provided online by adobe themselves, so it is useful to use the online one instead.
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Note though... DON'T PANIC! :shades:
The default settings are useful as they are, except for Gamers & Privacy Nuts like myself. :winks:
