Adobe Flash Player EOL (End of Life)!

[Corrine]

With the numerous critical security vulnerabilities over the years, the end of Flash Player has long been awaited. The time is coming, although not until 2020.

See Flash & The Future of Interactive Content | Adobe,

The End of an Era – Next Steps for Adobe Flash - Microsoft Edge Dev BlogMicrosoft Edge Dev Blog and

Firefox Roadmap for Flash End-of-Life | Future Releases

 

[Digerati]

The "end" of 2020. It should have been phased out long ago, IMO.

It is interesting how Adobe's announcement makes no suggestion at all that this end is related in any way to all those security vulnerabilities, or that moving on to open standards like HTML5 improves user security.

Oh well. This is still good news and the long lead in time better not catch anyone off guard.

 

[x BlueRobot]

It's a nuisance that some businesses still choose to use Flash, I recently had to install Flash again in order to complete an online assessment for a job application.

 

[Node]

It's a nuisance that some businesses still choose to use Flash, I recently had to install Flash again in order to complete an online assessment for a job application.

I have also had to do the same thing, quite sad to see companies still supporting such a failing software.

 

[Corrine]

From Update on removing Flash from Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer by Colleen Williams, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Edge:

In 2017, we published a roadmap to remove Adobe Flash from Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer by 2020. Since that post, we announced our intent to build Microsoft Edge on the Chromium open source project. In this post, we will provide an update on what to expect for the Flash retirement in Microsoft browsers.

Here's what you can expect for each Microsoft browser:

In the next version of Microsoft Edge (built on Chromium), we will continue to retire Flash in the same timeframe as other Chromium based browsers. You can learn more of that timeline in this blog post. Flash will initially be disabled, and the user will need to re-enable Flash on a site-by-site basis; Flash will be completely removed from the browser towards the end of 2020. Group policies are available for enterprise admins and IT pros to change the Flash behavior prior to that date.

For both the in-market version of Microsoft Edge (built on EdgeHTML) and Internet Explorer 11, the current experience will continue as-is through 2019. We plan to fully remove Flash by December 2020.

 

[Corrine]

From Adobe wants users to uninstall Flash Player by the end of the year | ZDNet:

Adobe says that once Flash reached the EOL date, the company doesn't merely plan to stop providing updates, but they also plan to remove all Flash Player download links from their website.

This will prevent users from installing the software and continuing to use an unmaintained version.

Furthermore, Adobe also said that "Flash-based content will be blocked from running in Adobe Flash Player after the EOL Date," suggesting the company has added or plans to add a so-called "time bomb" in the Flash Player code to prevent users from using it starting next year.

 

[Digerati]

I wonder when Microsoft will remove Flash Player (32-bit) from the W10 Control Panel?

 

[Corrine]

The final scheduled update of Adobe Flash Player for all regions outside of Mainland China was issued on December 8, 2020. It will no longer be supported after December 31 2020, as having reached EoL (End of Life). Beginning January 12, 2021, Adobe will block Flash content from running in Flash Player.

Although Microsoft has made KB4577586 available in the Microsoft Update Catalog, it will also be released via Windows Update and is expected to be included in the Microsoft January 2021 Security Updates.

As indicated in the below-referenced Microsoft "Update for the removal of Flash Player", if you are using a browser that supports NPAPI (Firefox/Pale Moon/MyPal) or PPAPI (Opera and Chromium-based browsers), it is necessary to also use the referenced Flash Player Uninstaller. (Note: a restart will be needed when running the Adobe Flash Player uninstaller.)

"This update only removes Adobe Flash Player that was installed by your version of Windows. If you installed Adobe Flash Player manually from another source, it will not be removed. For more information about how to remove Adobe Flash Player, see the Uninstall Flash Player | Windows topic on the Adobe website."

References

• Adobe Flash Player End of Life
• Microsoft Update Catalog
• Uninstall Flash Player for Windows
• Uninstall Flash Player | Mac
• Update for the removal of Adobe Flash Player: October 27, 2020

 

[Corday]

R.I.P.

 

[Digerati]

And good riddance!

 

[Corrine]

From Microsoft reveals final plan to remove Flash Player in Windows 10:

Quote

Starting in June 2021, Microsoft will include it in their optional Windows 10 preview cumulative updates for Windows 10 1809 and later. These updates are released in the third and fourth weeks of the month as part of their scheduled "C" releases.

Microsoft will then include the update in the mandatory July 2021 Patch Tuesday cumulative updates for Windows 10 1507 and later, Windows Server 2012, and Windows 8.1.

Quote

• Starting in June 2021, the KB4577586 “Update for Removal of Adobe Flash Player” will be included in the Preview Update for Windows 10, version 1809 and above platforms. It will also be included in every subsequent Latest Cumulative Update.
• As of July 2021, the KB4577586 “Update for Removal of Adobe Flash Player” will be included in the Latest Cumulative Update for Windows 10, version 1607, and Windows 10, version 1507. The KB will also be included in the Monthly Rollup, and the Security Only Update for Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Embedded 8 Standard.

For those who install Windows 21H1, which will begin public preview this month, the KB4577586 update will automatically be installed and the Adobe Flash Player plugin will be removed.