Computer security – Not "Update Flash Player" but "Remove Flash Player"

Added on 04/11/2018 by Frank Hissen → ORIGINAL LINK

In light of current events, many IT news pages create headlines like "Patch your Flash Player, now!". This happens – again and again – with regularity when a new vulnerability in Adobe Flash gets out or a corresponding security patch or update is published...

Likewise, every Internet user should ask herself/himself the question: Do I - still - need Flash at all? Today, most people are aware of the fact that even YouTube runs completely without Flash. There are some old video chat tools but even most online meeting rooms do not require Flash anymore. Their technology is based on HTML5 which is supported by every modern Web browser. Solely some popular online / browser games or special / enterprise applications still require Flash.

If you are not sure if you "really need" Flash or not, you can simply disable it instead of deinstalling it right away. If you discover no problems or limitations with your Internet surfing habits, you can remove Flash Player from your systems. This way, you automatically avoid any security problems with Flash forever!

In case you note problems later, because you do require Flash for some reason, you can always reinstall it. If you do require Flash, it is highly recommended to not activate Flash by default but only when needed! This way malicious web sites cannot call a maybe older or vulnerable Flash plug-in hidden in the background. Using the browser Firefox for instance you can activate Flash for ‘on-demand use’ by setting the option "Ask to activate" in the plug-in settings menu.

By the way: Adobe has announced the end of its support for the Flash Player for the end of 2020. Content providers should migrate to (modern) alternatives. Here you find the original article in the Adobe blog.