Adobe Flash Player is a necessary evil. We still need it for some websites and browser games we might be playing. However, every couple of months a severe flash vulnerability surfaces, and we mush rush to update flash player. Let's see the safest way to do so.
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Which Flash Player version do I have?
To find our Flash Player version on any browser, we just visit http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html and click "Check Now".
If we get a "Congratulations" message, we have the latest version.
If not, we need to update Flash player.
I am using Google Chrome. Do I need to update Flash Player?
As opposed to Firefox, Internet Explorer, and most other browsers, Google Chrome has an integrated flash player. We can see its version both from the Adobe website and by typing chrome://plugins at the URL bar.
Provided that Chrome has Flash version 18.0.0.203 or greater, we are safe from the July 2015 vulnerability.
If Chrome has an older version...
...we still don't need to do anything. Google updates Flash player automatically when a newer version is available, even if we don't update Chrome to a more current version.
Often we just need to close Chrome, reopen it, and we will have the latest version of Flash.
How can I update Flash Player on other browsers
There is only one 100% safe way to update Flash Player. We download the latest version from:
https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html
If we use any browsers other than Internet Explorer (Firefox, Opera, etc.) we need the "Plugin-based browsers version". It's not important if we download the EXE installer or the MSI installer, both will update Flash Player.
This method is safer than visiting https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/.
The reason is that this page has pre-checked the "McAfee Security Scan Plus", which has nothing to do with Flash, and we don't need it in any way.
Downloading from the distribution channel, we avoid McAfee or any other third-party app Adobe wants us to download. We also get an offline installer, which we can use even if we aren't connected to the internet.
The Flash installation or update using this file is pretty simple. We just read the license, check the checkbox, and click Install.
Once it is installed, we select the "Notify me to install updates", so when there is an Adobe Flash update, we can download it from the distribution page.
I got this on Windows Startup. Should I update Flash Player?
Every now and then, on Windows startup, we might get a Window like this:
This window could be a legitimate reminder to upgrade Flash Player, but it could also be from a malware pretending to be Adobe.
The safest solution is to close this Window and download manually the latest version of Flash Player.
I went to an illegal streaming movies website, and it asked me to update Flash Player
We never, ever click those "Flash Player updates", especially when we find them on pages with illegal content (movies, pornography, etc.).
There is a 100% chance that they are malware that have nothing to do with updating Flash Player, and everything to do with infecting our system.
If there is a chance we have an outdated version of Flash, we must download the latest version from Adobe, and Adobe alone. If the page insists we need an update, we go to a different page.
Do I need to update Flash Player on Linux?
Firefox in Linux, even with the latest updates, only uses version 11.2.202.468 of Flash, which is vulnerable.
The safest solution is to install Google Chrome on Linux (careful: NOT Chromium), which uses the latest Flash version.
On future guides, we will cover how to install Google Chrome on Linux, and also how to get the most recent open source version of Flash for Firefox.
Do I really need Flash Player?
For better or for worse, there are still a lot of websites that use Adobe Flash, especially video sites.
Of course, YouTube has made HTML5 the default playback option since early 2015.
We are still a long way, however, from completely getting rid of Flash. But it's a matter of time.
Did you have any trouble to update Adobe Flash?
If there was any problem with the update, leave us a comment.
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Michael says
It's a great article Angelo (as usual) but please visit page https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html read the warning message and update your instructions. Thanks!