Adobe Shockwave Player for Mac

Adobe Shockwave allows you to play Flash content, created using Adobe Director, on the Web.

Pros

Content works well: No problems or errors were encountered when viewing any type of Shockwave content with the newest version of the player.

Cons

Security flaws: Adobe does a very good job of updating Flash to address security vulnerabilities, but the Flash component that comes bundled with Shockwave is not updated at the same schedule, which means that Flash vulnerabilities could be exploited through Shockwave.

Outdated technology: There are now a number of ways for producers to create interactive content that are easier to use and more effective than Shockwave.

Activation: After installing this program, every piece of content we viewed required us to allow Shockwave to launch first. This seems outdated and slow.

Bottom Line

If you need to view Shockwave content, then you need to have this piece of software. However, the odds are that unless you're working specifically with Adobe Director to develop content, you probably don't need this installed on your system. If you do install it, be sure to keep all your other security measures up to date, as there are potential vulnerabilities.