Adobe has released an update to its Flash Player 10.3 browser plug-in for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux operating systems. Version 10.3.181.26 is primarily a security patch, plugging a number of potential vulnerabilities.

Version 10.3 was released last month an includes a number of backend developer-oriented improvements such as better hardware acceleration support, media measurement, and acoustic echo cancellation features.

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For the end user, the most visible change is now you will see a “Flash Player” System Preference panel which will allow you to directly control privacy settings. This was possible before, but now it’s much more accessible.

The System Pref also includes automatically checking for updates (installation must still performed manually, however).

Note: If you are not sure which version of the Flash plug-in you are using, go to the Adobe Flash Player Version Check webpage.