5 ms·

Embed Flash SWF content without the Plugin

61 points by velmu 6y ago

emayljames 6y ago
This one is the best I have seen. It converts the swf very accurately: https://swf2js.com/en/ https://swf2js.com/en/
tyingq 6y ago
If you decide to go a different route and hand install an older Flash player that doesn't have the built-in time bomb, it appears the version you want is 32.0.0.371 or older. Unfortunately, there's a free-after-use vulnerability. https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb20-30.html https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb2... I'm somewhat surprised nobody has packaged up an old version and wrapped it with "only run flash for these urls" and "don't update the ppapi plugin" type functionality. All the pieces seem to be available: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7084871?hl=en https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7084871?hl=en
- Santosh83 6y ago
  Hasn't Adobe removed all Flash player binaries from their site?
  - tyingq 6y ago
    Yes, though the Internet Archive has 32.0.0.371 and many other older versions: https://web.archive.org/web/20200701045943/https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/archived-flash-player-versions.html https://web.archive.org/web/20200701045943/https://helpx.ado...
- Hello71 6y ago
  > I'm somewhat surprised nobody has packaged up an old version and wrapped it with "only run flash for these urls" and "don't update the ppapi plugin" type functionality. All the pieces seem to be available: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7084871?hl=en https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7084871?hl=en This is likely to be of minimal use, since browsers will soon be removing Flash support entirely. Firefox in particular is carrying a significant amount of code to shim gtk2 in a gtk3 program.
  - tyingq 6y ago
    >since browsers will soon be removing Flash support entirely My assumption is that if you manually install an older Flash plugin that it will work.
    - sp332 6y ago
      But it might only work in an older browser.
      - tyingq 6y ago
        Ppapi plugins are supposed to be supported through June of 2022 in Chrome.
  - irrational 6y ago
    But you can run Flash files outside of a browser. At least, you used to be able to. It’s been a long time since I last did that.
    - m-p-3 6y ago
      It's called the Adobe Flash Projector IIRC
- kmeisthax 6y ago
  If you're looking for "old Flash with a curated set of movies" you can use Flashpoint.
ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
> there is a lot of content built with Flash that is absolutely worth preserving. True, dat. I remember a stick figure animation interactive story, called "Time to Die," that was a riot.
danboarder 6y ago
"..decades of content built with Flash and published as SWF (Small Web Format) files.." The SWF extension was originally an acronym for ShockWave Flash file, not Small Web Format (however, this was adopted later as a "backronym"). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWF https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWF
- tyingq 6y ago
  Wikipedia says this: "The term "SWF" has originated as an abbreviation for ShockWave Flash.[5] This usage was changed[by whom?] to the backronym Small Web Format to eliminate confusion with a different technology, Shockwave, from which SWF derived.[6][7] There is no official resolution to the initialism "SWF" by Adobe.[8]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWF https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWF
32gbsd 6y ago
I am surprised that flash wasn't made into a interactive video format. At least for flash 2.0 content. Fk action script 3.
apignotti 6y ago
Hi there, lead-dev of CheerpX for Flash and CTO of Leaning Technologies here. If you are curious about our tech, feel free do drop questions here or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexpignotti https://twitter.com/alexpignotti
daviddever23box 6y ago
A sandboxed, standalone inspector / player might be welcome for archival use, but there’s little light between Flash vulns and candy-flavored menthol cigarettes, IMHO.
krapp 6y ago
Worth mentioning, the Internet Archive is now archiving Flash animations[0,1] using Ruffle.rs[2] [0]http://blog.archive.org/2020/11/19/flash-animations-live-forever-at-the-internet-archive/ http://blog.archive.org/2020/11/19/flash-animations-live-for... [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25154128 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25154128 [2]https://ruffle.rs/ https://ruffle.rs/
resynth1943 6y ago
Looks great. That being said, a lot of the open-source Flash runtimes I've seen have been left to rot. I'm hoping this doesn't go down the same path, because it's a very good idea.

61 points by velmu 6y ago

This one is the best I have seen. It converts the swf very accurately: https://swf2js.com/en/ https://swf2js.com/en/

If you decide to go a different route and hand install an older Flash player that doesn't have the built-in time bomb, it appears the version you want is 32.0.0.371 or older. Unfortunately, there's a free-after-use vulnerability. https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb20-30.html https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb2... I'm somewhat surprised nobody has packaged up an old version and wrapped it with "only run flash for these urls" and "don't update the ppapi plugin" type functionality. All the pieces seem to be available: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7084871?hl=en https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7084871?hl=en

Santosh83 6y ago
Hasn't Adobe removed all Flash player binaries from their site?
- tyingq 6y ago
  Yes, though the Internet Archive has 32.0.0.371 and many other older versions: https://web.archive.org/web/20200701045943/https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/archived-flash-player-versions.html https://web.archive.org/web/20200701045943/https://helpx.ado...
Hello71 6y ago
> I'm somewhat surprised nobody has packaged up an old version and wrapped it with "only run flash for these urls" and "don't update the ppapi plugin" type functionality. All the pieces seem to be available: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7084871?hl=en https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7084871?hl=en This is likely to be of minimal use, since browsers will soon be removing Flash support entirely. Firefox in particular is carrying a significant amount of code to shim gtk2 in a gtk3 program.
- tyingq 6y ago
  >since browsers will soon be removing Flash support entirely My assumption is that if you manually install an older Flash plugin that it will work.
  - sp332 6y ago
    But it might only work in an older browser.
    - tyingq 6y ago
      Ppapi plugins are supposed to be supported through June of 2022 in Chrome.
- irrational 6y ago
  But you can run Flash files outside of a browser. At least, you used to be able to. It’s been a long time since I last did that.
  - m-p-3 6y ago
    It's called the Adobe Flash Projector IIRC
kmeisthax 6y ago
If you're looking for "old Flash with a curated set of movies" you can use Flashpoint.

ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago

> there is a lot of content built with Flash that is absolutely worth preserving. True, dat. I remember a stick figure animation interactive story, called "Time to Die," that was a riot.

danboarder 6y ago

"..decades of content built with Flash and published as SWF (Small Web Format) files.." The SWF extension was originally an acronym for ShockWave Flash file, not Small Web Format (however, this was adopted later as a "backronym"). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWF https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWF

tyingq 6y ago
Wikipedia says this: "The term "SWF" has originated as an abbreviation for ShockWave Flash.[5] This usage was changed[by whom?] to the backronym Small Web Format to eliminate confusion with a different technology, Shockwave, from which SWF derived.[6][7] There is no official resolution to the initialism "SWF" by Adobe.[8]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWF https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWF

32gbsd 6y ago

I am surprised that flash wasn't made into a interactive video format. At least for flash 2.0 content. Fk action script 3.

apignotti 6y ago

Hi there, lead-dev of CheerpX for Flash and CTO of Leaning Technologies here. If you are curious about our tech, feel free do drop questions here or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexpignotti https://twitter.com/alexpignotti

daviddever23box 6y ago

A sandboxed, standalone inspector / player might be welcome for archival use, but there’s little light between Flash vulns and candy-flavored menthol cigarettes, IMHO.

krapp 6y ago

Worth mentioning, the Internet Archive is now archiving Flash animations[0,1] using Ruffle.rs[2] [0]http://blog.archive.org/2020/11/19/flash-animations-live-forever-at-the-internet-archive/ http://blog.archive.org/2020/11/19/flash-animations-live-for... [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25154128 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25154128 [2]https://ruffle.rs/ https://ruffle.rs/

resynth1943 6y ago

Looks great. That being said, a lot of the open-source Flash runtimes I've seen have been left to rot. I'm hoping this doesn't go down the same path, because it's a very good idea.