A security bug in Adobe's software means users were able to access Amazon's video streaming service without payment, Reuters reports. The flaw was a rare example of a bug that gives extra functionality to users. In a trade-off between usability and security, Adobe technology permits the popular option of using video player …

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Monday 29th September 2008 11:48 GMT Tom Chiverton

! Adobe's fault

How is it Adobe's fault that Amazon stream the whole movie to everyone, weather you pay or not, rather than just streaming a separate 2 minute summary ?

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Monday 29th September 2008 14:12 GMT Anonymous Coward

It's not a bug

It's an intentional and deliberate design. It may be mind-numbingly stupid, but that doesn't make it a bug, that makes it a stupid system working exactly as intended - bugs are unintentional.

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Monday 29th September 2008 14:12 GMT Tom

No use adding a fancy lock...

Anything on Amazon will be on the "unofficial" sites. If people want a copy to keep (or just live outside the US) they don't need to use some commercial software tool to capture the stream.

They don't need perfect security, they just need to make it more difficult then other ways of getting the same content.

Just like the joke about meeting the tiger. If we meet a tiger I don't need to run faster then the tiger... I just have to run faster then you. :)

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Monday 29th September 2008 14:44 GMT Steven Knox

Really?

"The flaw was a rare example of a bug that gives extra functionality to users."

I though the current attitude in commercial software development today was that anything that gives extra functionality to users is a bug.

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Monday 29th September 2008 20:18 GMT Jodo Kast

Oh, it's a bug...

Adobe and Apple seem to be very uninterested in the unglamorous world of security.

Bizarre!

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Monday 29th September 2008 20:18 GMT Jim

WTF?

"One of the downfalls with how they have architected the software..."

When on Earth did architect become a verb? Am I really getting that old?

What is wrong with designed? Less syllables for a start or is this just another case of an arsehole using 5 guinea words to appear intelligent?

Mr Dettering should be made to walk the plank.

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Monday 29th September 2008 20:18 GMT Anonymous Coward

bug is a misnomer

"The flaw was a rare example of a bug that gives extra functionality to users."

No, you've got it wrong: it's not a bug it's a feature.

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Tuesday 30th September 2008 15:03 GMT Anonymous Coward

@Jodo

Where did Apple get into this?

Or did you misread Applian? Or Amazon?

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Tuesday 30th September 2008 22:40 GMT Maryland, USA

Adobe's Bizarro Public Relations comment

An Adobe PR flack issued this statement: "Adobe is committed to the security of all of our products, from our players to our server software. Adobe invests a considerable amount of ongoing effort to help protect users from potential vulnerabilities."

Memo to PR flacks everywhere: The clause, "is committed to" does NOT reassure skeptical customers and users. Like the verb "enhance" (safety, performance, security) it's PR-speak at its most self-absorbed fatuous. Give us deeds, not words.

As for the second sentence--"to help protect users from potential vulnerabilities"--that's not the issue! Who wrote this: Sarah Palin?

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Wednesday 1st October 2008 00:11 GMT Anonymous Coward

Dell

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