Browser plug-ins enhance the functionality available in the browser and especially so for multimedia content; examples are Adobe Flash, Java Runtime Engine and Applets, and Microsoft Silverlight.
Also this version 3 blocks floating ads, removes malicious
browser plug-ins & toolbars, and protects homepage from being changed.
To mitigate the ransomware risk, the CTU report advises companies to adopt a number of measures, including: keeping operating systems, web browsing software and
browser plug-ins up to date; re-evaluating permissions on shared network drives to prevent unprivileged users from modifying files; and backing up data offline.
Although Facebook didn't reveal the names of the other companies that were also targeted, PC Mag points out that Twitter had also suffered a similar attack recently, one that it had blamed on Java
browser plug-ins. However, in Twitter's case, the attack did result in user credentials being exposed.
The 2013 edition of the contest will offer $560,000 in potential prize money to hackers who demonstrate exploits of previously unknown vulnerabilities in Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer (IE), Safari, or the Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash or Oracle Java
browser plug-ins.
* Outdated plug-ins continue to be a ripe attack vector - Users are slow to update
browser plug-ins and attackers know it, as witnessed by the Flashback Trojan, which infected over 650,000 Macs leveraging a Java vulnerability.
Research carried out by G Data SecurityLabs indicates that unclosed security holes in
browser plug-ins are very much in fashion with bands of cyber criminals.