Dear Players! 

We've recently been getting a lot of questions about our desktop application, Plarium Play, and how it uses the Adobe Flash Player. You probably already know that Flash will be disabled on all browsers soon, due to security threats. This naturally leads to fears, doubts, and questions about Plarium Play. For some, though, those doubts come from other worries about safety and security. Well, we're here to help out, and hopefully we can clarify any questions you might have. The most common questions - whether they're about Flash, or just about Plarium Play in general - are listed below. If you are still worried, you can also reach out to us if you want to know something that's not covered here.

Issue: It says that Plarium Play doesn't support my operating system (Chromebook, Linux, Ubuntu, etc.). What's going on?

Answer: Right now Plarium Play is only available on Windows and MacOS. There are currently no plans to expand coverage to other operating systems.

Issue: If Flash Player is being retired because it's not safe, but Plarium Play games still use Flash, am I still in danger?

Answer: No. Flash Player has two major security vulnerabilities that allow hackers to trick a user's computer into downloading malicious code. Neither of them apply to Plarium Play.

First, the hacker can construct a fake webpage that looks indistinguishable from the real one. This fake webpage contains malicious code, designed to download and install spyware or malware on your computer.

Second, a legitimate website can sell advertising space to someone who is hacking, or has been hacked. Hackers can then create advertisements that will download and install malicious code, and legitimate websites will accidentally display that code to you, tricking your computer into running it.

In both situations, the problem occurs when you give your browser permission to run Flash Player. When you do that, it runs ALL Flash code on the site, including the hidden malicious code.

Plarium Play obviously lacks these vulnerabilities. There are no fake webpages to worry about, and Plarium Play doesn't rent out ad space. Even if it did, it doesn't just run any code put in front of it.

In short:

- By using Plarium Play, it is impossible for hackers to redirect you to a website infected with malware or spyware

- Plarium Play does not embed harmful code in advertisements, nor does it allow advertisements from third parties.

- Plarium Play does use Flash Player, but it does not run every file it sees. It only ever uses Flash Player to launch and run its games. This does not expose you or Plarium Play to hackers.

- The only remaining way a hacker could use Flash Player to access your computer via Plarium Play is by including malicious code in the games themselves. We're the only people who get to put code into our games, and we don't include malicious code. You are safe.

Issue: My antivirus software says that Plarium Play is a virus! What's wrong?

Answer: Nothing. Plarium Play isn't a virus - your antivirus software just doesn't know it yet.

There are a ton of different kinds of antivirus programs on the market, and all of them use different criteria to decide what software is a virus and what software isn't - some go so far as to block any software it hasn't seen before. However, nearly every antivirus program has a whitelist; a list of programs that it knows are safe, regardless of what its algorithms might say.

Not long ago we had a number of Antivirus programs confuse Plarium Play for a virus. We reached out to the most popular antivirus programs to get Plarium Play whitelisted, and after their examinations they agreed that the program is not a virus.

However, there are a lot of antivirus programs out there and we don't know most of the algorithms they use to determine what is and is not a virus. Even then, updates to software we thought liked us can make it suddenly start considering Plarium Play a threat. We can't reach out to get on every whitelist preemptively, so you may see Plarium Play flagged as a threat by your antivirus software.

If your antivirus software identifies Plarium Play as a virus, please contact our support services and let them know. We might be able to follow up with that company in the future.

Also, go ahead and tell your antivirus to back down. Plarium Play isn't dangerous to your computer.

Issue: Plarium Play is asking permission to modify my computer. What does it need to do, and why does it need to do it?

Answer: The Plarium Play installer wants to install software on your computer. That software is Plarium Play. That shouldn't come as a surprise, but it does require your permission to do so.

Giving it this permission will also allow Plarium Play to later download and install other software on your computer. That software is the games you tell it to download and install.

Any game launcher on the market needs the same permission for the exact same reasons. None of this is out of the ordinary, and it will never do anything you don't tell it you want it to do. 

Issue: Why is the Flash plugin used by Plarium Play safe?

Answer: Plarium Play uses a pepper flash plugin that cannot be accessed by browsers or hackers so it's completely safe. This solves the vulnerability that your Flash Player has, which allows all browsers access, creating an opportunity for attackers to send a link with an unsafe Flash application.

Ours is a closed process so there is no such risk. As such, you can freely delete the Flash Player as recommended since we don't use it. While installing the game, Plarium Play will use a build with our plugin: pepflashplayer32_23_0_0_162.dll.

Plarium Play prevents any possibility of browsers accessing this plugin as well as any other Flash applications being launched through it. So, don't worry!