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Windows Microsoft Operating Systems Software

New Windows 10 Update Permanently Removes Adobe Flash (zdnet.com) 102

Posted by BeauHD from the gone-forever dept.
Microsoft has released a Windows update that removes Adobe's Flash Player before it reaches end of support on December 31, 2020. ZDNet reports: Update KB4577586 is part of Microsoft's effort to follow through with plans it announced along with Adobe, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Mozilla in 2017 to end support for Flash by December 2020. The Flash-removing update is available for all supported versions of Windows 10 and Windows Server, as well as Windows 8.1.

This new update removes Flash Player from Windows devices and cannot be uninstalled, Microsoft says in a new support note. However, it isn't rolling out via Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) just yet, and the update needs to be downloaded and installed from the Microsoft Update Catalog. It will become available to WSUS in early 2021, but admins can import it to WSUS manually today. Microsoft is releasing the Flash-removing update ahead of the end of support so that enterprise customers can test the impact on business applications when Flash is removed from a Windows PC or server. But the company says it will continue to deliver Flash security updates until support ends.

Microsoft has also detailed two methods that users and admins can follow to continue using Flash Player after the update is installed. Users can reset a device to an earlier system restore point. However, users need to explicitly enable this feature and a system restore point must have been created on the Windows device before the update is applied. The other option is to reinstall Windows without applying the update.
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New Windows 10 Update Permanently Removes Adobe Flash More

New Windows 10 Update Permanently Removes Adobe Flash

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  • Awesome (Score:5, Informative)

    by saloomy ( 2817221 ) on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @07:39PM (#60660528)
    Flash should be retired by now. Any sites still using it are abandonware.

    • Re:Awesome (Score:4, Insightful)

      by saloomy ( 2817221 ) on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @07:40PM (#60660530)
      Do Java Web Start next....

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by GeRM_007 ( 627791 )
      Abandonware, or my company's ADP Payroll site.
      • That's on your company. ADP has phased it out years ago. Should be able to update simply.

      • Abandonware, or my company's ADP Payroll site.

        and a friend of mine's company benefits site. Will be interesting when the entire staff can't access it.

        • That sort of thing is always interesting.

          I can't say I have ever seen the blame fall where it should. It'll be something along the lines of Why did Microsoft do this to us?, or See, you can't rely on computers!, or My internet is down.

          • That sort of thing is always interesting. I can't say I have ever seen the blame fall where it should. It'll be something along the lines of Why did Microsoft do this to us?, or See, you can't rely on computers!, or My internet is down.

            How true. I would think the benefits provider would have fixed it, i stead you geta "You need Flash to access this site."

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • older IPMI's need java so there that as well!

      • Run an OS that supports Flash in a VM to connect to Virtual Center.

      • Ya, I've got a buttload of 5.5 crap that can't be upgraded because the hardware is past support and drivers compatible with 6+ were never released. Boss doesn't want to spend the $$ to replace them, so I have a semi-isolated version locked security nightmare Windows box I can RDP to.
        • Comment removed based on user account deletion

          • It's just owner greed. Not only do they hate to spend money for something that "still works" when they could be filling their reserved parking spot with the latest German sports sedan.

            Most of them are too cheap to even hire even kind of skilled IT people, it's often some guy promoted from some blue collar side of the business "because he's good with computers."

            Literally dealt with many of these clients as a consultant. One guy worked in shipping and more or less became the IT guy because he fixed some min

      • 6.0 and below still work with the .Net client, so there's that.

    • Re:Awesome (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @07:56PM (#60660578)

      Yes, Flash sucks. I get it. And I try to avoid it.

      But that is none of Microsoft's business. Deleting Flash and not allowing it to be re-installed is just another example of Microsoft believing that they they own your computer just because you installed some of their software.

      • So what happens if you rely on a critical application that is only available on Flash?

        Can you manually install it?

        You certainly do not want random websites to be able to use flash to attack you. But that is a different issue.

        I am waiting for the sad day when Microsoft bans installing programs not downloaded from their app store. They are already making it difficult to install apps that do not have an EV certificate.

        • steam, gog, others will push antitrust if that app store lock in is tried. Steam is to big to lock out.

        • You can decline updates in WSUS, either for individual machines or for groups. Unless this update is different, you can exempt machines from receiving it.

          Any machines with Flash exemptions (that are accessing critical infrastructure) should have no internet access. And, ideally, no direct IP connectivity to assets with internet access.

      • Re:Awesome (Score:5, Informative)

        by freeze128 ( 544774 ) on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @08:26PM (#60660644)
        Nobody said that Microsoft is preventing you from re-installing Flash. You just cant UNINSTALL that particular update, which removes flash that was distributed with Windows. You can still install Flash via executable from Adobe... if you really want to.

        • Nobody said that Microsoft is preventing you from re-installing Flash. You just cant UNINSTALL that particular update, which removes flash that was distributed with Windows. You can still install Flash via executable from Adobe... if you really want to.

          There's nothing to stop hackers from deploying attacks against Adobe Flash about 3 seconds after Adobe support ends too.

          Bah, what am I saying? 3 seconds? I'm certain attacks are being written now in anticipation, and we seem to easily overlook the risk posed with millions of humans quarantined and removed from their source of legal employment.

        • Adobe will no longer distribute the Flash executable after Dec 31st. They have also claimed that all existing players will stop loading Flash content on that date. I don't know how many versions ago that hard-stop was put in place, or if it even actually exists.

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • lightspark is a project to make a open source flash.

    • Flash should be retired by now. Any sites still using it are abandonware.

      Abandonware does not necesarily mean devoid of value/knowledge/entertainment.

      http://techno.org/electronic-m... [techno.org]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by c-A-d ( 77980 )

      But... what about Weebl Stuff? And Joe Cartoon? I need my frog in a blender!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jrumney ( 197329 )

      I didn't realize it was still installed on my PC until Adobe Updater popped up a warning this week and suggested to uninstall it. But since uninstalling, I've already encountered one website that said it required Flash, but in the fine print they had a link to a beta site that used HTML Canvas instead.

  • I made 2020 my Microsoft Independence Year! And I don't see any reason to go back yet!

    Long live Ubuntu 20.04 LTS with KDE
    • Welcome, friend. I still have a VM for windows 7 (used solely to run a CD/DVD catalogue) but abandoned dual boot in 2017. Now on a fully Linux workflow with Kubuntu and the Ubuntu Studio audio packages. No driver hell. No crap- or spy- or ad- or bloatware. And with LTS, everything simply works and won't change for at least 2 and a half years.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by bobs666 ( 146801 )

      I welcome both of you Mr. Oldgraybeard and Mr. Cowtard to computing, now you have put down your fancy automated typewriter. I ended a 30 year career 8 years ago. I to need a re-baptism since I don't do much computing any more, just movies /etc.

      IMHO /. should be more about a bale out from windows and less about pop culture. Excluding things like NASA and Telsa.

    • If you do find yourself needing that Windows fix, might give 8.1 a try - with a few usability-related software packages (OpenShell, primarily), it's pretty usable. Microsoft barely touches it. They clearly want it to die, but still appear to be supporting (security updates only) it until early 2023.

      • The only Windows machine I have at home, that I control, is a Windows 8.1 laptop. I find it hard to use for all the standard reasons, but, being the only Windows machine I directly control, it comes in handy when an interviewer needs me to run some abomination of a Windows-only pile of group meeting software instead of the now fairly standard Zoom, Skype, or MS Teams, all of which I have running fine on Gentoo Linux.

        But there are no more signed driver updates; hence, security holes in some drivers will nev

  • How about they remove IE 11 instead?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Dwedit ( 232252 )

      Say what you like about IE11, but Internet Explorer's embedded Web Browser feature has been around since Windows 98, has a stable ABI, and is *much* leaner than embedding full Chromium in your application. So if you want to add a little HTML widget to an application, IE is still the better way to go.

      • Until recently maybe. My understanding is that Microsoft has just released this [microsoft.com] for at least .NET Framework and Core. Not sure if it supports multiple platforms yet, but the old .NET Framework version didn't either, so, hopefully, this is at least a modest improvement. YMMV.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by antdude ( 79039 )

      How about Windows itself? ;)

  • I remember about 10 or so years ago, there was talk about making a Flash-interpreter (or maybe even a Flash-compiler) coded using a combination of JavaScript and HTML5. Whatever happened to that? There's still plenty of Flash content out there that will become unplayable if no alternative exists.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Dwedit ( 232252 )

      There is a much newer project since then called "Ruffle" [github.com]. It's a Flash Player clone that can run lots of existing Flash content, but still has some issues. For example, it plays flash with sound fine, but will not synchronize the sound to the timeline if you tab away to a different tab.

      • This.
        I think the project cjellibebi is talking about is Mozilla Shumway, which was abandoned several years ago, pretty much like Gnash and Lightspark. Or, perhaps, GP is thinking of swf2js [swf2js.com], which is active, but it's a proprietary project. Parent is right: Ruffle is a better bet in 2020.

  • Firmware updates? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Vrallis ( 33290 ) on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @08:23PM (#60660632) Homepage

    Great, so is Microsoft committing to provide firmware updates for all of my security cameras and other devices that use Flash-based interfaces?

    • Great, so is Microsoft committing to provide firmware updates for all of my security cameras and other devices that use Flash-based interfaces?

      Exactly. I recently bought a very inexpensive PoE camera [amazon.ca]. It happens to have a Flash-based interface. I'm OK with that.

    • No.

      For Windows 8.1/10 Microsoft bundled in Adobe Flash Player with the OS. Every month, they repackage and ship Adobe's update for Adobe's Flash Player. In December, at Adobe's request, they will be removing the Microsoft bundled Adobe Flash Player. If you want to get the Adobe Flash Player from Adobe, even though Adobe isn't shipping updates for it, then you are completely welcome to do so.

    • You do realize that you don't have to install any update Microsoft offers, right? They aren't putting a gun to your head. But you're using Flash-based security cameras, so clearly you aren't the most educated (or interested in security, performance, and more).
      • Are you sure about that?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Vrallis ( 33290 )

        Only if you are are using 10 Enterprise, or you've jumped through a bunch of hoops to try to break Windows Update at the network level (or just decided to not to give that PC any internet access at all).

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Great, so is Microsoft committing to provide firmware updates for all of my security cameras and other devices that use Flash-based interfaces?

      How long have you known Flash support was ending? And you still bought those new cameras? Oh, it's old hardware that is critical to you or your employer and we're 60 days away from support ending, and you still haven't addressed that issue with a business plan?

      Yeah, I may be in the same boat with a few corporate apps that we are now having to mitigate, but I'm certainly not blaming anyone buy myself. We've known about this EOL for a damn long time. Enjoy the risks and vulnerabilities in January. I alre

      • "How long have you known Flash support was ending? And you still bought those new cameras? Oh, it's old hardware that is critical to you or your employer"

        There is a lot of legacy shit still out there, but the problem would be the cost of installation even if the cost of the hardware would be very little for a company.

        It wouldn't surprise me in the least if grainy, wavy b&w analog CCTV systems are still used by many, the ones where you would be lucky if you can tell if the guy who is robbing you is actua

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      This update is entirely optional, if you need Flash for your cameras you can keep using it. Just don't expect any updates, but do expect that as soon as support ends a wave of exploits will hit the web.

      My advice would be to install a separate copy of Firefox (e.g. the Portable version) with Flash, and keep your main browser clean. Only use that copy for the cameras and nothing else.

      A better option is probably to find some alternative software for your cameras. Most of them actually support standard video st

    • The above comment should be moderated -5 Dunningâ"Kruger [wikipedia.org] not +5 insightful.

      It shows just how low slashdot has fallen.You really have no idea do you.

    • Great, so is Microsoft committing to provide firmware updates for all of my security cameras and other devices that use Flash-based interfaces?

      No, just install Adobe Flash rather than using the windows one. Less kneejerk, more RTFM.

    • Nope. Not Microsoft's job. It was your job to make sure your device has support from the manufacturer for as long as you need it, and if it does, than it is their job to provide such updates.

      I don't want to sound like an ass, but if those of us sufficiently technically inclined to read and post on Slashdot won't bother to buy stuff that is reasonably future-proof, then who else will? And if no one will, where is the incentive for hardware vendors, among others, to do the right thing and to use technologi

  • for all eternity.

  • This gives a new meaning on "done in a flash." Hopefully it won't force Sliverlight to bring it back in a "popular comeback." for an outmoded technology.

  • I think it's sad that there are millions of interesting games in flash on the internet like Neopets that won't be usable in the future and whose code will just end up vanishing.

    • Sounds like a job for archive.org

      • Neopets was something like an MMO if I remember right, it'd require databases and a PHP interpreter and whatnot running on the server end, which is beyond the static content archive.org typically hosts. (Or ever hosts, as far as I know.)

        • "Neopets was something like an MMO if I remember right, it'd require databases and a PHP interpreter and whatnot running on the server end"

          So all you get is a useless executable and some game assets when the servers go down forever, even if you downloaded the .flv

          This is why it's never a good idea to get too attached to online games. Unless a real die-hard Neopets fan gets an indie server up and running (unlikely), all you have is a pile of dead assets and memories.

          Likely, the death will come only in the fo

          • "Likely, the death will come only in the form of a forever "Trying to connect to server" message. They made their money, they don't even need to say "Sorry, but we have shut down forever".

            That is, if you are trying to run the downloaded .flv from a player. Likely,
            you will end up with some "unable to connect" page in your browser, shortly followed by a generic host provider page.

    • The same could happen if they simply shut the servers down.

      Neopets? That's a name I haven't heard in ages. I'm surprised they are still around.
      When a game requires a remote server to work, you are already running on borrowed time.

  • Another feather in their cap (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Waccoon ( 1186667 ) on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @10:14PM (#60660898)

    So Microsoft is continuing its campaign to dictate which 3rd-party products you can use.

    The biggest reason why I refused to use Win10 was because it deleted stuff from my PC without permission. After running the "free" update on a test system, upon startup Win10 gleefully informed me that 11 applications were removed because they were "incompatible" with Win10. No warning, no prompts, and no chance to even check for updates -- Win10 just outright deleted the applications outright.

    I don't care if it's old, obsolete, insecure, "dangerous", or whatever. Fuck anyone who tells me what I can or can't use on my own computer.

    The sad thing is how many FOSS people are cheering the death of Flash. None of these hypocrites seem to be the slightest bit concerned about the lack of the user's choice in the matter. If it's obsolete, it will naturally die out on its own. The massive push throughout the industry to kill Flash by force is NOT a good thing.

    • Dude, would you defend the tag so vehemently? I love to see that.

    • So Microsoft is continuing its campaign to dictate which 3rd-party products you can use.

      Nope, they aren't removing Adobe Flash if you installed it from Adobe. They are only removing what was shipped with Windows.

    • Deleting apps for an "upgrade," other than perhaps its own, is a truly sh*t thing to do, and on that point at least I do agree with you.

      But I understand Microsoft's point of view regarding Flash. It created a lot of security issues regardless of OS, and it was closed-source and proprietary when open and functionally equivalent tools now exist to do the same job better (though not compatible with the Flash file format, which is what really sucks). Your choice if you want to use it or not, but I don't reall

      • Well to be clear, MS is removing their version of Flash that came from MS I think. They are not removing Flash if you installed it from Adobe themselves.
        • Understood, and that does make the headline a bit misleading. But come on . . .you can hardly expect people to RTFA before commenting now, can you??? :)

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by alexo ( 9335 )

            Understood, and that does make the headline a bit misleading. But come on . . .you can hardly expect people to RTFA before commenting now, can you??? :)

            Fuck, I feel old...

            • You have a 4 digit ID. Don't think of it as being old. Think of it as having experience, maturity, and wisdom, and, even more importantly, the right to tell young whippersnappers to git off your lawn. :)
    • First of all they are removing their version of Flash. I think you can still install it from Adobe if you want. However, I hate to tell you that EVERYONE is removing Flash, even Adobe themselves. If you must install it, download it from Adobe before December 31 and keep it safe in a vault if you must. Also, MS is removing it from their current Windows 10 and Windows Server versions. I do not believe there are removing from previous versions like Windows 7.

      • This is why I would use whatever tool or archive site you can to download that favorite game *now* before it disappears forever. Yes, things disappear from archive sites too. There are many offline .flv players you can use to continue playing them.

        Of course, if the game in question is an MMO or anything that requires "talking to the server" to work, well, all you will have are the memories. :(

  • trashed scanner (Score:2, Interesting)

    by bigtreeman ( 565428 )

    Win10 update also took out a wifi Epson scanner but printer still functions.

  • It only removes a specific version of Flash (Score:5, Informative)

    by alexo ( 9335 ) on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @11:29PM (#60661024) Journal

    According to various sources, KB4577586 only removes the 32-bit Flash Player version bundled in Windows 10 and managed via the Control Panel. That's the ActiveX version used by IE11 and legacy Edge. The PPAPI Flash Player bundled with Chromium-based browsers (including the new Edge) are removed by the corresponding browser updates (Edge 88 for example), and the NPAPI Flash Player used by Firefox needs to be uninstalled manually.

  • I find it mildly amusing the the "last version of windows" has no less than 7 distinct versions in the catalog for this update, excluding different architectures and duplicates.

  • I'm So Much Happier (Score:5, Funny)

    by CoolDiscoRex ( 5227177 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @01:23AM (#60661170) Homepage

    Since I stopped owning stuff. Now that the key parts of my personal property are "licensed", corporate CEOs now make most decisions regarding the disposition of my property, and this frees me up to worry about more important things. Such as if my local sports team got screwed by the refs on that 4th and inches play.

    I used to be like all you "but it's my stuff, I paid for it" people, but it was a never-ending battle, and I was largely on my own since most all levels of government offered me little more than a Kool Aid enema. For the record, do NOT get lime. It burns.

    Once I just accepted it, however, I realized how much better my life suddenly became. Worrying about what to install ... gone. Worry about when to upgrade ... gone. Worry that my stuff needed to be replaced ... gone. The guys who are smarter than me dictated all of the above. Furthermore, they did it while making me feel better about me.

    For instance, any time my computer upgraded itself while I was in the middle of an unimportant project, it always said "CONGRATULATIONS! You've been upgraded to Windows 15.22107!" I always instinctively shout "thank you!" at the screen. Why, I feel like I've won the lottery!

    I like it when the deciders compliment my on my leadership skills, or purchasing savvy, even though it's totally out of my control. Feeling good about me was always the point, and if I can do that without having to concern myself with computery things that I barely understand, so much the better.

    So if Microsoft says "no more Flash", then it's not more Flash for me. I know that Microsoft loves me, and would take anything from me unless it was bad for me.

    Some people are still insecure about Microsoft's love, but that's because they don't feel worthy of it. Learn to love yourself, and once you do, you'll realize that all these companies have ever wanted to do is make you happy.

    Give them the chance.

    You'll be glad you did.

  • this is only 20 years too late.

  • When Adobe introduced Actionscript 3, they opened up a world of possibilities for what Flash could do. But it was destined to fail due to two things. First, when they did that it ceased to be a great designers' tool and it became a development platform. And let's face it, there are good developers and not-so-good ones, meaning the door was also open for buggy user-generated code, which probably helped erode the viability of the platform in the long haul. "Buggy Flash" was probably due to this and Adobe's i

  • Yeah, I know, it's been a long drawn out end ...

    Been a long time since I built anything in Flash, but it certainly had it's good points from a development standpoint.

  • Really, it's legacy crap that should've been retired long ago.

    And if you are worried about losing any favorite Flash games, there are standalone players as well as sites that have archived them so you can download and play off line.

    I'm surprised and disappointed at how many sites still use Flash, or even a mix of Flash and HTML5/Java applets, but they need to upgrade and go extinct.

    While I am not fond of M$ forcing this, someone had to put the final nail in that coffin.

  • The Adobe end of life notification for Flash is here [adobe.com]. They've been warning about this since 2017. If you still need Flash support after EOL that page recommends a vendor that will help you with migration or accommodation strategies.
  • What, now that I finally got it running on Linux...?

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