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18-10-2020, 10:00 AM
1

Adobe Flash Player ... still required?

I got a pop up this morning saying ....

Adobe's support for Flash Player will end on December 31st 2020 ...

Please see ...

https://www.adobe.com/uk/products/fl...d-of-life.html
So what is Flash Player? and do I need it? Hmmmm ...
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18-10-2020, 10:21 AM
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Re: Adobe Flash Player ... still required?

It's unlikely that you will need it. Flash Player is/was for playing animated content on the Internet. YouTube videos were Flash presentations. Flash Player was always being updated because of security holes and in the end has been found so much of a security risk that it has been phased out. HTML 5 is now widely used instead. This lifehacker article says more about it..

https://lifehacker.com/you-really-sh...ymo-1829721122
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18-10-2020, 10:38 AM
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Re: Adobe Flash Player ... still required?

Originally Posted by mart ->
It's unlikely that you will need it. Flash Player is/was for playing animated content on the Internet. YouTube videos were Flash presentations. Flash Player was always being updated because of security holes and in the end has been found so much of a security risk that it has been phased out. HTML 5 is now widely used instead. This lifehacker article says more about it..

https://lifehacker.com/you-really-sh...ymo-1829721122
Thanks mart.

So I think I'll click the Uninstall button.

BTW this pop up was on my W8 turned W10 machine, I downloaded Flash on a regular basis to that machine. My other machine is newer and I always assumed Flash updates were done automatically, but I've just done a search and there appears to be no Flash on that, the newer machine. Hmmm
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18-10-2020, 11:07 AM
4

Re: Adobe Flash Player ... still required?

The Flash and Java browser plugins were 'must have' items once but the Java plugin suffered from security issues too. There isn't much content in websites based on Java now and there hasn't been for a while.

I haven't had the Java or Flash plugins installed or enabled (Flash) for years now had haven't noticed any drawbacks or web page content not displaying because of that.

Note that Java isn't the same as Javascript. Browsers do use Javascript.
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18-10-2020, 11:46 AM
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Re: Adobe Flash Player ... still required?

Originally Posted by d00d ->
I got a pop up this morning saying ....



So what is Flash Player? and do I need it? Hmmmm ...
That just popped up on my PC so I uninstalled it. Then another pop up asked me to install it for a free trial ,so I clicked that off too. Wish they'd make up their minds.
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18-10-2020, 02:14 PM
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Re: Adobe Flash Player ... still required?

I clicked Uninstall and a web page opened saying:

Thanks for using Adobe Flash Player. We're proud that Flash had a key role in evolving web content across animation, interactivity, audio, and video -- and we're excited to help lead the next era of digital experiences.
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18-10-2020, 02:19 PM
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Re: Adobe Flash Player ... still required?

The important word is 'had' ..and Adobe Flash Player did what the message says. A very popular and almost necessary plugin at one time.
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18-10-2020, 02:20 PM
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Re: Adobe Flash Player ... still required?

dOOd - I am glad you brought this up dOOd, because the same 'ininstall' message popped up on my screen last night too.
I didn't know what to do, and what (if any) difference it would make if I clicked uninstall, so in the end I just clicked the - 'Remind me later' message, until I knew what to do.



Mart - so if I uninstall Flash, does that mean I won't be able to see YouTube vids anymore?
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18-10-2020, 03:04 PM
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Re: Adobe Flash Player ... still required?

Originally Posted by Mups ->
Mart - so if I uninstall Flash, does that mean I won't be able to see YouTube vids anymore?
'
YouTube videos now use a standard called 'HTML5', so you should still be able to watch YouTube videos with Flash uninstalled.

Edit: I have looked for an explanation of what HTML5 is about but haven't found one that isn't techy. I don't pretend to know all about it myself but do know it is used to play videos in browsers without the need for a plugin. There is this 9 year old video that says a bit but it has probably come on a bit since then ..

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18-10-2020, 03:52 PM
10

Re: Adobe Flash Player ... still required?

Originally Posted by Mups ->
dOOd - I am glad you brought this up dOOd, because the same 'ininstall' message popped up on my screen last night too.
I didn't know what to do, and what (if any) difference it would make if I clicked uninstall, so in the end I just clicked the - 'Remind me later' message, until I knew what to do.
Ditto.
 

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