Last year, Adobe announced the plan to end the life of Flash Player. In fact, it was an agreement made by tech giants Facebook, Google, Mozilla, and Microsoft that would seal the fate of the once reliable multimedia player.
End Of Flash By 2020
However, this is not the end of the road yet for Flash, since Adobe has announced that it will still be operational until the end of 2020. Adobe also stated that it will end its distribution and update by that time, giving the creators ample time to migrate any Flash content to new open formats.
Security Concerns
Adobe Flash Player started to become a favorite target for hackers in which they have found this to be a fit malware delivery mechanism. Thus, it was no longer safe for users to use Flash Player, since security updates were not fast enough to suppress this.
Flash really became a successful tool for Adobe during the PC era. But, in the advent of the mobile era, Flash simply falls short in all areas. This is due to the fact that the mobile era is all about touch interfaces, open Web standards, and low power devices.
It can be recalled in 2017 when Google has found out about the risk involved in the use of Adobe Flash Player. So Google was keen at introducing HTML5 as a default system to be used when its very own Web browser begins to load.
Flash Support Per Browser
- Google Chrome – This browser is able to update Flash automatically. So whenever Chrome opens properly and updates automatically, then you can rest assured that Adobe Flash will be updated as well.
- Mozilla Firefox – When Firefox updates, Adobe Flash Player remains as it is. Therefore, it is the obligation of the user to update it manually when prompted to download and install the most recent versions of Flash.
- Internet Explorer and Edge – The Windows Update mechanism of Microsoft Windows 8 and 10 will be able keep Flash updated. Nevertheless, Flash requires to be updated from the Flash download center of Adobe via IE.
- Safari – In the case for Safari, you can rest your hopes that Flash will be updated automatically. Therefore, you have to update Flash when using the Mac when prompted for a Flash Player update.
If you are going to use Flash until it finally rests, then it is important that you keep it updated. This is the only way that you can be assured that you are safe from online hacking. Alternatively, you can check the Adobe Flash version that your browser is using.
- Google Chrome – Just type the link chrome://flash from the address bar of your browser. A list will be shown, but take the one named Flash plugin in which you will be able to check the Flash version number found at the right side next to the entry.
- Mozilla Firefox – From the address bar, simply type about:plugins and search for the Shockwave Flash from the list.
With these in mind, perhaps it is for you to decide on whether or not you are going to keep Adobe Flash Player running in your computer next year and beyond.