Adobe Flash is almost done – time to purge! – WST

Adobe will stop distributing and updating Flash Player after December 31, 2020. We shouldn’t be surprised by this news; Adobe gave us three years notice, and browsers have been yelling at us forever that Flash is nearing end of support and has been disabled by default.

There’s been little need to download and install Flash for a long time, as Microsoft built it into Internet Explorer and Edge for years, and Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox have as well. Microsoft states that “Flash will be completely removed from all browsers by December 31, 2020, via Windows Update.” Google and Mozilla have also noted that flash will be removed from their browsers in the same timeframe.

It’s a good idea to identify if you have anything in use that requires Flash. Some IT management consoles require flash (looking at you, older versions of VMware!) and some HR related online training services that haven’t been updated may require it as well. It appears that it may be a significant problem to use Flash after end of life, as Adobe states that “Flash-based content will be blocked from running in Adobe Flash Player after the EOL Date.”

If you have installed Flash manually, identify where and work to uninstall it. Many patch management solutions will help you locate Flash installs. Other software inventory tools, both free and commercial, can help as well. We don’t necessarily recommend any product over another, but simple online searching will easily let you identify the major players to evaluate.

For more information, see https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/end-of-life.html