THE NEWS WRAP: Facebook’s security chief calls for the end of Adobe Flash

Plagued by continual security flaws and even more continual demands to be updated, Adobe Flash doesn’t have many friends anymore.

Now Facebook’s new security chief Alex Stamos has joined the growing chorus of people calling for Adobe to kill off Flash once and for all.

“It is time for Adobe to announce the end-of-life date for Flash and to ask the browsers to set killbits on the same day,” Stamos said in a series of tweets yesterday. “Even if 18 months from now, one set date is the only way to disentangle the dependencies and upgrade the whole ecosystem at once.”

Snapchat redesigned to focus on news

Not content with just being a platform allowing friends to share ugly photos of themselves with each other, Snapchat has launched a new layout which aims to bring attention to the ‘Discover’ tab.

News articles and ads from the startup’s partners, which include ESPN, CNN and Yahoo, are now much easier for users to access.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, this is Snapchat’s first real attempt at monetising their app, as it tries to get their 100 million daily users to view the full screen ads that appear in between videos. Snapchat was said to be valued around $16 billion earlier this year.

Microsoft launch Windows 10 advertising blitz

Microsoft will roll out Windows 10 at the end of the month, and have announced a two-week, multi-million dollar global advertising and marketing campaign to mark the occasion.

As Microsoft senior vice-president Yusuf Mehdi states in a blog post, the campaign aims to “celebrate those who make a difference, with a series of TV and digital ads and numerous “fan celebrations” around the world on the release day, including in Sydney.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 217.27, rising 1.22% overnight to 17,977.68. The Australian dollar is currently trading at US74 cents.

Raising your first round of capital? Starting a crowdfunding campaign? Want to grow your business with Instagram? StartupSmart School can help.