Adobe Flash Player has been an online giant for over a decade now. You’ve most likely used it several times even without noticing. Adobe Flash is a staple plugin in most browsers from Chrome to Internet Edge and Firefox.
But what happens now that Adobe has stopped supporting it? Can outdated plugins be a threat to your online security?
Adobe Flash Player is a piece of software…
I had a few emails from readers asking about the end of Adobe Flash and what they should do about it.
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Adobe Flash is a piece of software that web developers used to place animations, audio and video on websites.
In case you don’t know, Adobe Flash is a piece of software that web developers used to place animations, audio and video on websites.
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It was great at first, but then it was found to be a big security hole for hackers to exploit.
Adobe kept issuing patches to keep the bad guys out, but ultimately it was determined that Flash was not worth the risk, so big companies like Apple and Google said they would no longer support it.
Finally, Adobe just threw in the towel and turned off Flash on Dec. 31.
So, what do you have to do?
There’s really not much from a content standpoint to do.
Website developers knew this was coming and they’ve (hopefully) removed Flash from their websites.
What you do need to do is make sure Flash is removed from your computers.
Hopefully it is already gone, but in case you still have it installed, here are some instructions to remove it.
WINDOWS USERS
If you have a Windows PC, you should download the Flash Uninstaller from Adobe, then quit all your browsers and any other programs that use Flash.
Other apps that use Flash might include AOL Instant Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger.
Basically, quit all your programs and then run the Flash Uninstaller.
You can find the full instructions at helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html.
MAC USERS
If you have a Mac, you have a bit more to do to remove Flash.
You’ll need to determine which version of MacOS you are using, then download the appropriate Flash Uninstaller from Adobe.
There are separate uninstallers for Mac OS 10.1 to 10.3 and for Mac OS X 10.4 to current.
You can download the uninstallers here: https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-mac-os.html
After the uninstaller finishes, you still need to delete two folders on your Mac.
They are:
/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash 1/4 Player /Library/Caches/Adobe/Flash 1/4 Player
You can find these folders inside your home directory in the Library…
SAN JOSE, Calif. (NewsNation Now) — It’s the end of an era on the internet. Adobe will stop supporting its Flash player on Dec. 31, 2020.
Most people won’t notice the change. Apple got rid of supporting Flash on most platforms a decade ago.
Part of the reason to get people to uninstall is that as of Dec. 31, Adobe won’t be updating the security of it anymore. For that reason, Adobe will also block Flash content from running in Flash Player beginning Jan. 12.
Flash debuted in 1996 as Macromedia Flash. The tool would go on to deliver animations, videos and other new experiences to the World Wide Web. Adobe announced the end of the platform in 2017.
“Several industries and businesses have been built around Flash technology — including gaming, education and video,” Adobe said in 2017. “But as open standards like HTML5, WebGL and WebAssembly have matured over the past several years, most now provide many of the capabilities and functionalities that plugins pioneered and have become a viable alternative for content on the web.”
According to the company, more than 1.3 billion people across web browsers and operating systems used Flash — 11 times more people than the bestselling hardware game console.
2.2% or 220,000 of the top 10 million websites are using Flash, as of Dec. 31, according to Web Technology Surveys, a site that tracks the top 10 million websites in the world.
If Flash is still installed on your device, you will likely be prompted to uninstall. Browsers like Google Chrome have been alerting users for months.
If you have Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, the browsers plan to remove the program in an update. Flash may also be installed on your computer. Adobe has created a tool to check if Flash is installed on your computer.
Here’s how to uninstall on Windows or Mac OS.
Whoops! Apple accidentally approved malware posing as an update for Adobe Flash Player, allowing it to run unhindered on macOS.
Graham Cluley
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