If after installing this update, you find that you are unable to complete certain tasks, and need to reinstall Adobe Flash, you have only two options. The update is currently only available as an optional download from the Microsoft update catalog, but Microsoft has stated their intentions to include it in automatic Windows Updates as well as WSUS in early 2021. On October 26 th, 2020 Microsoft released update KB4577856, which completely removes Flash Player, as well as support for Flash, from it’s Windows operating systems. Many years later, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox followed suit, disabling Flash by default in their browsers. In 2010, Apple restricted use of Flash in iOS, it’s operating system for mobile devices, due to poor performance and the negative impact on battery life. Adobe officially announced in 2017 that Flash would be considered end of life at the end of 2020. As time went on, many websites began to adopt the more secure, and more rapidly developed HTML5 platform as well.

Due to high cost and effort of maintaining Flash, Adobe began to slowly transition away from Flash in favor of HTML5.

Flash media player still exists today but has been widely deprecated over the last decade.ĭue to its wide use, and constant updates, Flash has had hundreds of reported vulnerabilities, with many having been exploited to infect computers and mobile devices with malicious software. In 2005 Flash player was installed on more devices than any other internet-based media application, including Java, Quicktime, and Windows Media Player. Adobe Flash, originally released by Macromedia in 1995, is a once widely used and vastly capable web application platform.

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